DugNevius

So if we dont promote censorship and work to restrict freedoms our mortal souls are in jeapordy? What happens when all the artwork, literature, film, radio and television that peoplelike you deem unworthy are eliminated, will you then seek to rid america of those Jesus-killing-jews? You realize of course that most likely NONE of the members of this website would have ever heard of this guy until you steped ontop of your Soapbox Of Antipathy?

Sorry Snake, i guess the term "Morally superior" is better fitting.

If the BSA were to accept homosexuals mass amounts of rednecks would leave scouting. If the BSA maintains its ban on homosexuality groups like the ACLU and buisinesses like Prudential financial and homedepot continue to not support the BSA. Cant please everyone. Personally, if homophobes fled the BSA it wouldnt bother me all that much.

Meamemg, my troop reforms patrols every six months. Here is how we do it. At the end of a 6 mont term we hold troop-wide nominations. Any scout can nominate any scout to run as a patrol leader. If that nomination is seconded and accepted the naominated scout is running for the position. After nominations are closed we hold short speaches. The next meeting the canidates running give a prepared speech followed by a town hall in which they must answer questions. Voting goes like this: If there are to be 3 patrols and lets say 6 scouts running each scout in the troop can put down 3,2,1 or none names on a ballet. If a scout doesnt feel that any running are quailified he can put zero names down, or as many names as he feels are qualified as long as it does not exceed the number of positions. The top three scouts in voting win elections. Then follows the patrol picking. The winner with the most votes gets to pick first and will "invite" a scout to join his patrol. The invited scout then has the option of accepting and joining that patrol or declining. Most scouts will already make a deal before this with the guy they want to be in with. That way every scout going into a patrol can control which patrol he is in. There you go.

Im pretty impressed thus far. Much better then other sites i know. Keep it up.

Ok, now you are just getting silly. Im not saying i agree or disagree with anything you have been saying, but it gets tiresome and there are government things that are much more shady then supporting a boyscout trip for youths. Makes me wonder about you though.

Snake-eater, i agree with you. Our troop maintains the NSP for only a few months (from march to june) until our next re-election when they are assimulated into the other patrols.

In a way, yes. Young men love the idea of being a leader, being in charge of something. Give the Quartermaster position a meaning. Our QM never has a lack of young scouts wanting to be his assistant. It is a lot or work, however, but with it comes a sense of pride.

Our troop is lucky to have a large room in the school that is soley for our use which is a huge help. Having it for 65 years, no matter how many times we clean it up we still find something neat. Last year i uncovered an old ham radio. Anyway, our troop has a patrol of senior scouts much like the Leadership Corp described in another topic by an SPL. This consists of the SPL and his "staff". One of these assistant spls is the Troop quatermaster and his sole job is to distribute, care for, retrieve and purchase equipment. He has assistants in the form of young scouts in patrols around the rank of first class. Being a troop quartermaster is a very difficult job. So why would a scout WANT it? Every scout has a little napoleon inside. heh. And kids like stuff. You cant try to add these chores onto a scout, you have to make it a unique and exceptional position. You cant expect a scout with many responsabilities already in the troop to want to add to it. SPLs and members of the PLC have enough to do already. Our quartermaster worries about his room and his gear. He doesnt worry about demos, advancing scouts, sitting on BOR (yes, we do that)planning meetings and other such things. During meetings when there isnt a game in session hes in the back with his gear, with a radio on low eating squeeze cheese and orginizing tents, fusing rope or sweeping up. This scout is generally in highschool, star or life rank and has held leadership positions as Patrol leader for 6-12 months. He was appointed to the position by the elected SPL for the duration of the SPL's term of 1 year, along with other senior scouts in the Staff Patrol, all maintaining one distinct position, like Scribe/webmaster, (in charge of website and editing and publication of monthly newspaper) Photographer/historian (Photographs all troop activities for website, newsletter, scrapbook etc) and Librarian (Orginizes and maintains library, badges, paperwork/documents and office supplies) These 4 assistants also fill in for the SPl when needed and provide guidance and assistance for the PLC. The Quartermaster assists the least because hes got enough to do as it is.

Our SPLs sit in for a One year Term.

My troop does a trip for the scouts that are too young for philmont that includes some time spent at the GC. I have nothing to do with that trip so i cant tell you much, but i do know its a major headache to get camping permits for the basin because they dont let in groups that are larger then 8 or something.

How is him selling books and calanders "Infultrating"? You arent buying them thinking its Care Bear books, getting home and being shocked. If you dont like it, dont buy it. Thats the wonderful thing about this country. If you WANT pics of christ like this you can get it and if you dont then you dont buy it. There is no deceiption here at all. From what i see here, the only infultrating thus far has been a lobbiest promoting her beliefs in a Boy Scout message board uninvited. So you like censorship, good for you, im sure there are plenty of corners to peddle that.

some people tend to forget that their interpretation is not the definitive one.

I guess our troop is one of those using a modern version. I was unaware this was something very few troops practiced.

The uniform just isnt practical in the back country.

So basically you have a Staff Patrol made up of senior leaders, the SPL and his assistants? Thats not all that different then our troop.

1) Scouting is advancing. Problem is, if it isnt fun scouts dont stick around. In our troop we have a game every meeting for 15-30 minutes. Sometimes its scouting related, other times its just sports like basketball or dodgeball. Sometimes some adults forget what Boy-run really means and that the program is for the scouts first, not for the adults. You need to voice your opinion about this problem to the scoutmasters the way you did here on this forum. Take charge. 2) One month minimum a year set aside as strictly patrol trips. Each patrol leader orginizes a trip for exclusivly his patrol, he creates the program, contacts the adults for supervision and does everything. Patrol trips are an important experience in regards to learning about leadership. Also, incorporate more competition between patrols. In our troop we have the month of April that is set up as our Troop Olympics in which the meetings and the camp out consist of many activities ranging from backpack relays, cooking contests and feats of teamwork. The winners go on a plaque or trophey.

If he is so inept how did he get the position? We have had a few PL that were not up to task in the past few years. One was very book smart but unable to command respect on trips and at camp. The other was having emotional issues that bled into scouting. In the first case, having a guide or staff member work closly with the PL helped a lot, getting him to think as a leader and gain the confidence to lead. In the second case it took a lot of counseling with the scout and his parents just to get him through his term and when his term was done he was not re-elected. Leadership positions can bring out the leader in the scouts. Some scouts take longer to be ready for those positions. Patrol leaders that arent preforming just need more attention from the older scouts to guide them along. Removing a scout from a position should realy only be done if absolutly needed.

One thing our troop does is set a goal of minimum Man-hours worked at above 100 for the project. If 10 people not including the scout who's project it is work more then 10 hours each it has reached minimum man-hours. Our average tends be be closer to 200 man hours.

I agree with yu, PrairieScouter. One can seperate Supporting the Troops and supporting the war.

my issue with the ribbons is simple. They are being sold by stores like wal-mart. Wal-mart is making money off them. The troops arent seeing much from the millions sold. The ones sold by vet groups are just a small portion that actually send to proceeds oversees.

Since we established that it is not stealing because Scoutmasters are acting as Guardians of the scouts, and that safety regulations are met if Adults have Cell Phones, the real question should be, what need would a scout have for a cell phone? What purpose would it serve besides a distraction? None.(This message has been edited by DugNevius)

we use coated nylon tarps for backpacking. They are durable, light weight at around 22.5 oz and have a waterproof urethane coating. http://www.campmor.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?productId=12165&memberId=12500226

so, anyway, what goes on at this philmont training?

heh, whew, ill try to avoid it then.