Eagle1973

why not get permission from the military unit in question? Write a letter to the Commanding Officer of the unit, tell them that you want to use their emblem as your patrol's. Throw in some mom and apple pie comments about the future of our country and how you support what the military is doing and hopefully we'll give you some good leaders..... I'd bet that you would get a letter of permission, suitable for framing. Then get the blank BSA patrol patch and get the unit's pin. Sew on the blank patch, pin on the pin and there you have it. (Maybe they will donate the pins) No pro

I had two guys join my W2 den last year. They tried like heck to earn the AOL, but didn't. They crossed over with the den, they just didn't do the AOL ceremony. I talked with each Scout and their parents about their options well before the ceremony. They were understanding and elected to cross over vice being "left" behind for a few months. One doesn't have to earn the AOL before joining BSA.

I'm an ASM with a soon to be TF. The way I work it is that I don't sign my son's book even though the SM and other ASM's say that I can and fully understand why I don't. I am the rifle mb guy and I am having my son answer all the questions in writing and he'll have the targets with holes to show his handy work. (son is on a competition shooting team, others know it and saw what he did at summer camp with "unknown" rifle without competition sights..... I don't expect a problem) Sounds like a "sour grapes" mom to me. Hang in there, your son won't let you down.

We use them for each outing. Our hope is that if we get the parent's signature, that means that they actually read the plan.

A side from all the help you can get from Council, we have linked our Troop to a strong Pack. We supply them with strong Den Chiefs, invite them to our Courts of Honor, have a special WII campout, and send our best to perform their cross over into our Troop.

I have a pair of BSA jodphurs, prob from the '20s, laying around somewhere. I ought to find them and see if they fit my soon to be Tenderfoot son.

Proud Eagle, what's the purpose of pistol belts if Scouts can't handle pistols? Cartridge belts to hold BB's/Pellets/.22's would be better.

I like most of your outline, but some questions to consider: Is it a private field or municipal? If municipal how much can they chip in (heavy equipment, dirt, paint, wood, etc.) since much of the maintenance should have already been done by the city. You'll have to plan/schedule around their availibility as well as your troop's. Will they maintain the after effects of your labor? If private, you'll have to more leg work to get the stuff donated. If private, is that ok for an Eagle project? I agree w/ Ky, I like projects that stick around for a while. Mine is still in use

Looks like Covey, TQM and TQL mixed together. (I'm a crewmember in the black helos)

Howabout instead of posting the actual syllabus, post the general topics?

That silver totem is a neat idea. Mine would have been the otter. Holy cow, I was out of uniform back then, don't let FOG know. (This message has been edited by Eagle1973)

You appear to me to be totally discounting what one has learned in life from positions of management, positions of leadership, personal observations, military training, corporate training, BSA training and all types of other past experiences by saying that I would have no usuable input to such a forum just because I haven't been to Woodbadge. Would you be so kind to post the Woodbadge syllabus?

eisely, I wear only the dangle because I don't want to join our local lodge at this time. But here is one for NWScouter. When I pulled my youth uniform outa mothballs, on my flap was a small (about the same size as the dangle arrow) sterling silver arrow pinned on the totem. Why was it there? I think it was to show that I am a Brotherhood member. Couldn't you wear the little triangle pin on your flap?

I am against having it password protected, maybe us untrained/untrainable have something to add.

"free to speak openly without any risk of lessoning anyones experience at Wood Badge" "Then I am in favor of a separate area for Trainers, password protected. WB is just another training course. The same logic you presented applies to all training." The secret might get out that the training isn't the best and therefore loose customers. Sorry to sound so skeptical, but I haven't had good trainee experiences as discussed in other training threads.

In our troop, the committee pays for the SM/ASM's food on campouts, the only gas reimbursement goes to the SM/ASM that pulls the trailer. The rest of use get to deduct the 14 cents per mile on our taxes.

Howabout by sound? Play a recording of a bunch of birds and other wildlife. Not having the requirements in front of me, but would sound be a sign?

Have you had a sit down w/ the Dad? Have you invited the Dad to be a ASM? Once he becomes a ASM, give him a patrol (not his son's) to mentor.

Well, if you are now an adult, act like one. Have a private conversation with this person and you may just find out that you are in agreement more then not. Ask him to back off when you or someone else has the lead, unless it is a safety issue. Tell him that he is undermining, in the eye of the Scouts, the authority of the person in the leadership position that he is interrupting. Once you have established some ground rules, if he butts in, just say that "you are doing it again", or something benign.

I'm with 2cubdad, always think of how the first answer could be "yes". It could be "yes, I'll look into that and find out....." or "yes, while we don't usually fund such and such, it's a great idea...." Starting out with "no", or worse yet "we've always done it that way before" usually puts one on the defensive and you get into more scraps as you described.

>>The FFA seems to promote the agrarian lifetsyle quite a bit, and so does 4H.

Thanks Dan!! I've been using that "seriously killed" line for years. A crusty old Bo'sun used it while mentoring me. I love it!

Dan, I understand lowest common..., hence my suggestion to validate training. Are you saying that I didn't get it because I don't understand "boy lead"? I very much understand boy lead. I believe I was a successful Naval Officer because of the leadership methods I learned as a Scout. I believe in discision making at the very lowest possible level. This can be achieved by instilling self-confidence in the person that is making the decision. Self-confidence is instilled by ensuring that the person is trained in the "whatever" he is making a decision about and allowing that person

"Mandatory" is not the way to go. Our council attempted that by saying if you aren't trained within two years, you must give up your position. That went over like a lead balloon. I'm a volunteer, don't tell me that I have to something. In order not to sound too negative, I'll start with what was good about my recent training experience. 1). It was free. 2). I got to meet some very good council volunteers and fellow SM/ASMs from my district. 3). It will add to our troops total number trained. Scouts love patches.... 4). It was conducted in 3 three hour sessions at night vice

I just went thru New Leader Essentials and Scoutmaster and Assistants Specific. What an incredible waste of time. I'll try to complete Intro Outdoor Leadership Skills, only because I promised the SM that I would become "fully trained". (The Youth Protection training is very good.) At least our council is trying to setup the mentor method for the Outdoor skills. That will make it easier because I'll be able to become certified on one of our normal campouts. I guess if you have never been involved in Scouting, the training is useful. There needs to be a way to be able to validate