Eagle732

"Once again this thread is NOT about firefighting, cpr or first aid, those are irrelevant to the topic at hand" Hey BadenP are you the moderator here? People using their real life experiences to relate to the topic at hand is a problem? All my ASMs are active or retired fire, police or military. There's a reason why I choose these guys as ASMs.

Maybe doing some continuing ed instead of having to take an entire course over would be more reasonable. I know where you're coming from Scoutfish, as a paramedic (retired) I had to keep up to date on changes, but they didn't make me take the entire course over every time they changed a protocol! I figured out a long time ago that some of this stuff from National is just a silly waste of time. I'll just keep on taking boys camping and ignore the silliness until they revoke my membership.

No pressure from me to attend anything. The easy answer is to increase the patrol membership from the traditional 6 -8 to about 12. That way when we go on a camping trip the patrols will be able to function with 5 or 6 members. Hard to run a good youth run program when the youth are part time participants.

Eamonn, Your decision to go to a rock concert was an individual decision. When Scouts pick and choose what they want to do it effects the patrol and troop as a whole. My son broke his arm during the first basketball game of the season and would not be able to play for the next 8 weeks. The next Saturday he comes out in his basketball uniform and says "Dad we have to be at the game in a half hour". So I take him to the game and he sits on the bench and cheers his team on for 8 weeks. I didn't have to tell him to do it, he just knew he was part of the team and should be there. He also goes on every camping trip and even though he doesn't like backpacking he still goes, he's part of the team. I hope this is what a boys gets out of being a Scout.

No problem boomerscout. I'm a little sensitive over the boy led thing. I've had major battles with my COR who wants an adult led troop which I refuse to do. The PLC decided last meeting to put the ASPL in charge of game/competitions for each meeting. I'm hoping for some activity each meeting. Eammon, when you say boys will participate in what they enjoy you infer that they won't participate in the things they don't enjoy. It's this selfish mind thought I'm having a problem with. When I was a kid in Scouts many years ago it was a given that I would go on every camping trip. By the time I made Eagle I had only missed one camping trip and that was because I was at JLT (NYLT today). Today my guys pick and choose what they want. Most could care less about their patrol, it's all about what "I" want. Of course none of this applies to sports, miss a practice and you don't play the next game. My son missed two baseball practices for Conformation and he sat out the next two games and didn't get on the All Star team. Meanwhile I have a small group of adults who rarely miss a camping trip, they are more committed than the Scouts.

Boomer, You took what I wrote out of context. Notice that I wrote "both the Scouts and adults who work hard to bring a quality program" and I put the Scouts first. Yes adults are involved, that's why we have a SM, ASMs, CC, CMs etc.

I'd like to see my Scouts commit to 1.5 hours a week for a meeting and a weekend a month for a trip. I would expect more from PLs and my SPL. They should plan to get to the meeting a few minutes early and stay a few minutes late. The reality is I haven't been able to get this kind of commitment from most Scouts. What I see is a lack of commitment to the team, the patrol. There just seems to be no feeling of obligation to support the team, Instead I hear "I don't like (fill in the blank i.e. canoeing, backpacking) so I'm not going on the next trip. No sense of commitment, no feeling that going on a trip or attending a meeting supports the team. Just a lot of "If it's not what I want then I'm not doing it". I find it all very selfish and disrespectful to both the Scouts and the adults who work hard to bring a quality program. Wish I had the answer.

Here's the link to the story: http://video.foxnews.com/v/1216072056001/town-wants-military-dad-to-tear-down-sons-treehouse Both boys in uniform, one a Cub and the other a Boy Scout. My question is, is it appropriate to wear the uniform in this situation?

Why bother? Well at our Boy Scout Roundtable the other day our commissioner invited all the Web DLs from Cub Scout RT over to talk about transitioning to Boy Scouts. He held up the JTE form and said that when Webs and parent go to visit troops that this (JTE) should be their guide to choosing a unit.

Fox News this morning interviewed the dad and two boys who built a tree house in their back yard in Fairfax, VA. Both boys were interviewed in their Scout uniforms. I wonder why dad decided to put the boys in uniform?

For Civil Disobedience is it required to join the Wall Street protesters or the Tea Party? Is Thoreau's book required reading? I can see requirement #1, Show that you know first aid for and how to prevent injuries or illnesses that could occur during protesting activities including injuries from handcuffs, pepper spray and rubber bullets.

Sounds like you have a future Eagle.

Could be that the camp is trying to meet requirement 3 . "3. Under the supervision of a currently qualified certified aquatics instructor, BSA or equivalent, participate in four hours of training and preparation for distance swimming (one hour a day maximum)."

Seattle, I did the Mile Swim as a youth and my son has done the Mile Swim 4 times in the last 5 years. My Scouts do it every year at the same camp, the same camp I did i as a youth. The Lifeguards explain the requirements every year the same way. "Don't touch the bottom, sides, rope, don't get out etc. After reading your comment I actually read the requirements actual for the first time. 1. Explain how regular exercise contributes to good health and why swimming is one of the best forms of exercise. 2. Tell what precautions and procedures a swimmer and escort must follow for distance swimming over open water. 3. Under the supervision of a currently qualified certified aquatics instructor, BSA or equivalent, participate in four hours of training and preparation for distance swimming (one hour a day maximum). 4. Swim 1 mile over a measured course that has been approved by the trained instructor who will supervise the swim. I have never seen requirements 1,2, and 3 done. The camp does a 1/4 mile qualifier prior to the mile swim, that's it. Requirement 4 doesn't say you can't stop or take a break. Interesting.

3 of 16 of my Scouts did the Mile Swim. Last year there was lots of "bending" of the rules. Touching the bottom, getting out and then getting back in and continuing, etc. I complained to the pool director and was pretty much brushed off. This year the rules were back in effect.

I use a Granite Gear Nimbus Ozone with a 3800 cu. in. capacity and it carries everything I need and weighs just at 3 lbs. It has a full frame sheet and is very comfortable. It's starting to show some wear but it has almost 3,000 miles on it now. Osprey was by far the most popular brand pack on the AT this year followed by Gregory. I would suggest reviewing all your gear and trying to find lightweight and compact options that will allow you to use a smaller pack. Suggested reading: "Philmont Scout Ranch: How Light Can You Go" on backpackinglight.com http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/philmont.html Also there are many other articles on that website that are free to access (those without a red M next to them. Lots of great info on that sight. I subscribed for a while and it was worth the small fee.

I carried everything I needed for 5 months in one. ULA Catylist, 47 oz., 4600 cu. in. is one example. Choosing a pack is a very personal decision, what works for one person doesn't work for the next. I'm just offering that there are lighter options than a 6 pound pack.

Both packs weigh in the 6 pound range, twice the weight of a good pack that will fit your needs. Try finding a pack that fits you (torso length) and fits all your gear. You can find one weighing around 3 pounds easy. I just came off thruhiking the Appalachian Trail and the most popular pack out there was the Osprey Aether 70 which I consider too heavy at over 4 pounds. The lighter packs were the ULA brand and they held up well to 4 or 5 months use.

Lots of other factors could have caused dehydration in just this one participant. Age, weight, conditioning to hot weather etc. Wonder how many participants had several cups of coffee before the event? That being said I don't think soft drinks have a place during camping trips.

Do you have a REI near by? Their house brand packs are very good, they have some great sales, and they have knowledgable sales associates who can properly measure you for a pack. I bought my son a REI youth pack 4 years ago, he still uses it.

Maybe an over bearing SM taking over the project and an obedient Scout doing what he's told? I had the same problem with a father that pushed and pushed his son on his project to the point where it became obvious that it was dad who earned the medal, the son was only along for the ride!

Interesting how Wisconsin is now demanding under penalty of law that teachers, fire and police live up to the no strike clauses in their contracts while the state prepares to break the collective bargaining portion of the contracts. I find myself in the uncomfortable position of agreeing with Jesse Jackson and Michael Moore. The end is near!

Beavah, state run pension funds are having problems but my county run pension fund is 105% funded according to the last figures I saw. Two reasons for that, 1. the fund is overseen by an elected board of county appointees and elected employees who all have vested interest in making sure the fund stays solvent, and 2. because we raised holy hell when they tried to tap the fund to make up a fiscal shortfall in '92! We've been able to keep the politician's hands out of the till, although they did manage to vote themselves into the fund without ever having to actually pay into it. So if there is a problem with pensions it's not the employees who by law must pay into the fund but the politicians who either raided the funds or failed to live up to their contractual obligations and didn't pay their share into the fund.

Seems like everyone needs to sit down and set the ground rules on how this project is going to be completed. Your signature is required for completion so you have the hammer, wield it fairly, stick to the letter of the contract and be flexible. After all you both benefit from the project. My Scouts go into a project understanding the expectations, I make sure of that. I also have a discussion with a first time benefiting org. on theirs and the scouts responsibilities. Communications is the key.

jrush, does your line of thinking apply to laws passed 20 or 40 years ago? Or just legal contracts? I've been under anything from a 1 year to a 4 year contract, but they were all agreed to by both parties, and both parties are expected to uphold the contract. Don't know about unions rushing to get contracts signed now, I would think most are in the process of negotiating for the 2011 - 12 fiscal year contract.