Eamonn

I'm with NIscouter, the real work in Scouting happens in the patrol. The more people that you pull out of the Patrol the weaker the patrols become. If you are using the NSP, you might want or need a Guide there but two guides per Patrol is overkill. We never had more than one ASPL, we never seen the need. At its peak we had 90 Scouts. When the Troop becomes that large one big problem is communication, the more people you have in "Middle Management" the more fuzzy and distorted the message can become. Not to change the subject but very often when I sit on Eagle Rank BOR and talk to a Lad who lists ASPL as his POR it sends up a red flag. We have troops that have four and five ASPL's!! I have to wonder if they are just there on paper and what they really do? Eamonn.

I do think that there is a time when older Scouts out grow the every day troop activities. While I'm sure that there are Troops that do manage to keep the 17 and 18 year old Scouts busy and active with the everyday troop activities. Most of the troops in this area, bump these Lads up to being Junior Assistant Scoutmasters. These Lads then become "Troop Visitors". They tend not to be part of anything and just visit the Troop when they have time, attend Troop Camp-outs if they get the information and feel like attending. I have lost count of the number of times that I have heard that if it wasn't for the OA they would be gone. Maybe we need to look at what the OA is doing right to see if we can make it work in a Troop setting? Back home most of the PL'S and the SPL,were Lads who were 14 and 15 (They were done with the Troop at 16 and moved on to the Venture Unit.) I am guilty of taking a PL to one side and mentioning to him that a member of his Patrol needed to complete something for Rank Advancement. While the Troop program kinda sorta followed a theme, mostly based on the next big activity or District event. There was very rarely a time set a side for Skills Instruction, this was covered at the Patrol Meeting. The Patrol meeting was where the Patrols found out what was happening next. We had at the PLC meeting gone over and if needed taught new skills or done a refresher course of old ones. Competition between the Patrols was very strong. Being a Patrol Leader was a great honor. I can't seem to get that Gary Glitter song out of my head: D'you wanna be in my gang, my gang, my gang, D'you wanna be in my gang, Oh yeah! D'you wanna be in my gang, my gang, my gang, D'you wanna be in my gang? I'm the leader, I'm the leader, I'm the leader of the gang I am! I'm the leader, I'm the leader, well there's no one like the man I am. The older Scouts wanted the little fellows to do well because they were part of their gang. People talk about Patrol Spirit. We went one step further and had Patrol Honor. Eamonn

Wagion vigil on Merit Badge. net has posted a long and what looks like a very comprehensive list for people attending as Staffers. Scouts need about the same stuff as they take to summer camp. Only you need to remember that they will be in one uniform or another for the entire time they are there. Two full Field Uniforms, with all the Jamboree patches on is enough. But the Activity Uniform (Shorts, belt, socks and T-shirt) You will need lots of!! There are still some cheap Jamboree Shorts in the catalog. I just bought 3 pair for my 16 year old - He is bigger than me so I will inherit his old ones. I paid $38.00 for the shorts he took to NOAC. These ones are only $16.00 for youth and $17.00 for Adult. Lots of socks are a good idea. Last time we had washing machines (5 gal bucket and a toilet plunger) they worked fine. There are Laundromats on site, but the waiting time is about ten days!! Good comfortable walking shoe or boots are a must. As is good rain gear. I inherited my foot locker from my Father-in-law. But some of our Lads used a big plastic box, I think it was made by Rubber Maid, it had wheels that are no good and there is a hole for a padlock. Someone told my Son not to take a foot locker, as there is very little room in the staff tents!! They said to take a big duffel type bag. If you have someone show your little fellow the joys of hand washing and how a clothes peg works, he really doesn't need that much stuff. Do be sure to put names on everything - When everyone is wearing the same uniform things can get mixed up. We are providing our Scouts with fanny packs that hold two water bottles. When it's not raining it's hot. You both might want to think about some sort of water carrier. I'm sure that Hops has his camelpak?? ready to go. Eamonn.

In the "Real World" I am a victim of advertising. I feel sure that Heinz is the better ketchup, Kellogg's makes the corn flakes and the list goes on. I rode up to the last Area meeting with the Area President. I parked my Ford Explorer in his drive way and we took his Honda Accord.It is a nice car, he has all the extras, well a lot of them!! He used to drive a Jeep Grand Cherokee. I was no sooner in the car, when he started telling me what a wonderful car it was.( I remember him saying the same thing about the Jeep) Then almost as an apology he added how it was made in the USA. I'm not sure but I think most of my Ford comes from Mexico and Canada? I own a pair of Lee jeans that were assembled in Scotland. I can't help thinking that the people who assembled my jeans were once kilt makers. Wal-Mart has been getting a lot of bad press because of the amount of stuff they are importing from China. Still sales for the last quarter were up by 4%. I sure as heck don't want to buy a Boy Scout uniform and then find out that it was assembled by seven year olds working in a sweat shop. I seen the effect of a mill closure in Slane county Meath, Ireland. The Mill closed in 1994. At that time it was the only surviving factory in Ireland which manufactured from raw cotton to finished sheeting. A uncle of mine had worked there since the day he left school at 14. I think that I would feel bad knowing that a community, maybe not that far away was suffering because the BSA had taken their business to Bangladesh. Still the way things are now very few of the Scouts I see are wearing the full uniform, most are wearing blue jeans. I hope to heck that the good people of Scotland don't all take up assembling blue jeans and forget how to make a good single malt!! Uniforms from Bangladesh might be OK - But they don't know very much about mastering the malt!! Eamonn

I am all for sports, in my hay day I played Soccer, Rugby, Cricket. I'm still a fairly good dart play. #1 Son, is captain of his High School Soccer Team, is involved with track and has played Volley Ball on the Girls Volley Ball team. At NOAC last year he was part of the team that made it to the final four. Nicky Plummer who went on to play professional Soccer for Chelsea and Leeds was a Scout from our troop. Back home in the UK, we were very fortunate in having our own Scout Headquarters, which was known as the Hall. As well as offering a very active outdoor program the troop had a games night on Wednesday, Swimming on Thursday and the Troop meeting on Friday. The PLC became aware that if we allowed the Soccer Balls to come out on the night of the Troop meeting trying to get back to doing Scouting type activities was really tough. For as long as I can remember our Scout District held an indoor five-a-side soccer competition, a swimming gala, a cross country competition, an orienteering competition and a sports day held at the Hurlington Club. Cub Scouts had a weekly inter-pack soccer match. Which was great, many of the little fellows who might not have made on to the school soccer team got to play. Many a time I paid to watch Fulham Soccer Club play at Craven Cottage and they were so bad that I turned around to watch the little guys playing at Bishop's Park. That was when Fulham was a third division team and before Mohammed al Fayed bought the team and Jean Tigana a Frenchman became manager. Brian McBride, forward for Fulham (also with the US Mens National team)comes from the Cobra Soccer Club out of Cleveland, where I have been told he was a Boy Scout. I in no way am suggesting that sports like Basket Ball and Soccer be eliminated, I am saying that there is a time and a place for everything. I coached soccer in our small town community league (Kids from age 6 -12) I used the time to work on soccer skills, many of the little Lads were also Cub Scouts, other than working on the odd belt loop and my knowing that they were in Scouting I seen what I was doing there as completely different than what I was doing with them in Scouting. When I visit troops today, I know when I see the Scouts outside the meeting hall playing basket ball, that something is wrong with the program these Lads are being offered or in most cases there is no program. I suppose that having a group of Lads together doing something is better than not having them together doing nothing. Still I think we can do a lot better and we are not keeping all the promises that are made to our Scouts on page one of the Boy Scout Handbook. Eamonn.

KISMIF is truly a wonderful idea. Fun is the fuel of Scouting. Fun will keep Scouts of all ages coming back for more. I feel sure that just about everyone will agree on that. Over the years I have heard people change the wording to suit the point that they are trying to get across. Keep it simple make it fun, has become: Keep it secret make it fail!! I would add to the list; Keep it simple make it fresh.Knot relays are fun, but they tend to get over used. I found that keeping a record of each and every meeting and rating each activity helped me a lot. I kept a written log book which was a very important part of my Scoutmaster equipment. I had it with me at every PLC meeting and every troop meeting. I also found that having each Patrol have their own Patrol Box made life a lot easier. The box had an assortment of stuff in it: Tennis Balls at least one per Scout. Ping Pong Balls. Good quality rope in about eight foot lengths with the ends melted or whipped. String. Pens, Paper and colored pencils (Markers dried out and the lids got lost.) Newspaper. An extra copy of the Boy Scout Handbook. Triangular Bandages and old neckerchiefs. Duct Tape. Scissors. Empty Dish-washing bottles about six per Patrol depending on the size of the Patrol. A Silva Compass. As time passed more stuff was added. As part of the inter-patrol competition the boxes were inspected. When we first started with this the stuff was at times a real pain, bored Scouts would use the stuff when they were to be doing something else. The Troop also had inside the meeting place a lot of what we called Games Equipment, balls, Scout stave's more rope. This tended to grow and take on a life of its own. In some Troops the Quartermaster tends to only have anything to do when the troop goes camping. Looking after the Games Equipment made sure that he was a busy Lad. I know that you asked for ideas about making the mundane tasks more fun. I think that games are a very important part of what being a Scout is all about. While on the surface things might seem to be just fun activities and there is no harm in just doing something for fun!! If you try hard enough you can find some educational value in just about anything. We had an agreement with the PLC that we would not play sports type games at Troop meetings. The Troop met on Friday night and we had a games night on Wednesday. This was in England, over on this side of the pond Basket Ball seems to be the game that most Lads will play if you leave them alone, back home it was Soccer. Our Lads would play indoor five-a-side soccer till the cows came home or I kicked them out of the hall. When ever possible we would try out any new games with the PLC, we met on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon. The Internet is a great place to find games. Troop Program Resources for Scout Troops and Varsity Teams(Supply No. 33588) has a good section on games. I use a lot of the ideas that John Sweet outlines in Scout Pioneering, it isn't published in the USA but is available from Scouts Canada for about $7.00 Canadian. Almost any of the books by John Thurman who was the Gilwell Camp Chief in the 1950's can be used to liven up troop meetings if you scale them down a bit. These books do come up every now and then on E-bay and are available from Honor Publishing but they do tend to be a little bit pricey. While I don't think that I have a vast knowledge about Lads of Scout age I have over the years found that some of the things that add to ordinary activities are. Water.Darkness and knowing that behind them angelic little smiles each and every Scout has a dark and dare I say an evil twin!! If we use this knowledge even the most humdrum activity can take on a new life. The Knot relay done in the dark (Scouts blindfolded? or just turn out the lights. Knot relay done outside not in uniform, Scouts bring swimming gear and when they reach the place where the knot is to be tied (A tarp) Member of another Patrol squirts water till knot is tied correctly. Knot relay where the knots are used to tie up ASM'S!! Blindfolds add a lot to even the easiest tasks. Tent pitching where the Patrol is blindfolded and have to follow instructions from a Patrol leader who isn't allowed to move. We need to allow our imagination run a little wild but not too wild safety is always number one. Sometimes the best activities are the ones that go wrong. I have some very painful memories and I still get teased by the Scouts who were around for the worlds worst Knot Relay, one I didn't try out on the PLC. I was looking for a new slant and came up with the idea of not using rope. I decided that Pasta would replace the rope, after some research I found that Fetuchini, worked better than Spaghetti. When the time came I handed each Patrol a pound box of Fetuchini, a pot, and a small camping gaz stove. They were to cook the pasta and tie it into one long pasta rope using as many different Scout knots as they could. The winner was the first one with the longest "Rope" with extra points for each different knot used. All went well until we were just about done - Thats when the evil twin took over, one Lad thought it would be fun to put cold wet and by now dirty pasta down the back of another Lads shirt. The Lad who had been pasta ed returned the complement in a flash we had pasta all over the floor. It took what seemed for ever to clean up the mess and just to complete my misery about then our Group Scout Leader decided to look in. It was a good idea - It just didn't work as well as I hoped. Eamonn.

I would hope that we never ever use terms like "Dismiss" Or "Get rid of". This is the Boy Scouts Of America not the cosa nostra.. The removal of a volunteer is no small matter and needs to be handled carefully after a lot of thought, careful communication and I would hope only after every other avenue has been explored. It is also worth remembering that many of of volunteers do have children in Scouting and whatever action is taken does impact them. There are certain circumstances where the Scout Executive can revoke a persons membership in the BSA. Normally the SE will suspend the person while he investigates and makes sure that he has got all the facts straight and will then take the appropriate action.While this action is taken very seriously, it is done very much on a need to know basis. At the unit level the easiest way to remove a volunteer is to not have them on the Unit Charter. All of us serve in the position that hold for the period of the charter. In most cases this is 12 months. While many of us look at rechartering as being a real pain in the neck, it does offer us the opportunity to take a long hard look at the unit and the performance of the leadership. This is the ideal time to make changes. Unfortunately we do not do a very good job of telling or reminding people that their appointment runs from year to year. The reasons for removing a volunteer are not the same in every case or in every unit. So how or why the decision is reached will not be the same in every case. I however must disagree with SemperParatus.If a unit volunteer is to be removed the only people that need to be involved are: The Unit Committee Chairman, The Chartered Organization Head or the Chartered Organization Representative and The Unit Commissioner. ( If there is no Unit Commissioner, work your way up the line: Assistant District Commissioner, District Commissioner or the Scout Executive.) There is no need to involve the Unit Leader or the Unit Committee. Unit Leaders are in charge of delivering the program to the youth members.While unit leaders can state the case to the chartering organization, as to why the volunteer should be removed. There is no need to have the entire committee involved with the removal. They were not the people who selected the volunteer. The Unit Commissioner is only there in an advisory role. The District can not remove a volunteer. A unit leader could if asked by the CO accompany the Unit Committee Chairman and the Unit Commissioner, when they visit the volunteer having first made an appointment. At this meeting which if at all possible should be at the home of the volunteer the COR or the CC should ask for all unit property to be returned.Hopefully it will be turned over then and there, if not arrangements should be made to ensure that everything will be turned over in a timely manner. Depending on the reason for removing the volunteer, he or she might be able to join another unit. He or she has only been removed from the unit not from the BSA. Keeping the procedure to as few people as possible avoids embarrassment to the person who is being removed. It avoids people from saying things that they might later regret. It also helps prevent "The story" from becoming larger and larger as more people retell it. We in the District that I serve have just replaced our District Commissioner. The decision to remove him came from the Nominating Committee. When people asked me why? I replied that he is a very nice person (He is!!)But he just wasn't the right person for the job. Understandably when I told him that he was not coming back as the District Commissioner, he was hurt and upset. I using all the tact that I could come up with answered all of his questions as truthfully as I could. I did not report to him who said what at the meeting of the Nominating Committee. At the District Committee meeting that followed my telling him, I informed the District Committee and thanked him for all the wonderful and good things that he had done for the District and for me. I didn't want there to be any fallout which would harm the District or the Council. Eamonn PS The Removal of a volunteer is covered in the Commissioner Fieldbook for Unit Service, No.33621

Torveaux While sites like Merit Badge.com , Merit Badge.net along with all the other non-BSA sites can be a useful tool, they are not BSA sites. The source you have given is the opinion of the person who wrote it. The source they quote is Advancement Committee Policies and Procedures, #33088B, revised 1999. Which is a BSA publication, however I have looked through it and I have failed to see any mention of: "The Scout should be neat in appearance and his uniform should be as correct as possible, with the badges worn properly. It should be the desire of the board to encourage the Scout to talk so that the review can be a learning experience for the candidate and the members of the board". I have at times been asked by Scouts or by Scout parents what they should do to prepare for a BOR? (Mainly Eagle Scout rank BOR's as I do not serve in a Troop.) I tell them to look at the BOR as if it was a interview for a job. I think that having our Scouts go through these boards as well as offering the opportunity to review where the Scout has been and maybe look at where he might be heading.The process also offers them the opportunity to go through an interview, something they will have to do when they apply for a college or apply for a job. I think a lot of people would agree with me. Still at the end of the day this is just my opinion. The National policy makes no mention of preparing for a job interview. At times we invite non Scouter's who may be members of the District Committee (Yes they are members of the BSA, but may have never served in a unit.) Or people from the community to sit in on a BOR. When this happens I will if I know the Lad present the board with a two minute talk about what I know about the Lad. If I don't know him I will ask the Troop Committee person who has accompanied him to say a few words about the Lad. This helps the board get past things that they might see and not understand. We have had Scouts who are hyperactive and just can't sit still. Many years back a Lad from our troop was pictured with the Queen on the cover of the UK Scouting magazine. Colin was an outstanding kid. He lived almost directly opposite our Scout HQ. I swear that he could hear the key turning in the lock, as it seemed he was always there seconds after I was. The photo was real nice, Colin was smiling so was Her Majesty. He was in full uniform and was presenting a bunch of flowers. Unfortunately the World Friendship Patch was sewn on the wrong pocket. The next month the letters to the Editor page was full of how terrible this was. Colin's Dad was an alcoholic, he was from some part of India where sparing the rod was unheard of. His Mother was completely blind. The reason why he almost lived in the Scout Hall was that he wanted to get out of the house, away from his Dad. I know that I was at fault, I should have checked his uniform. I was so very upset that all these people who knew nothing about this Lad would judge him and send letters to the Editor. We know nothing about this little fellow and his ear ring. Maybe there is nothing to know? Maybe he just likes ear rings? But maybe this ear ring is something special to this Lad. It might have been given to him by a special person? If he doesn't want to share this with any of the adults or the Board, that is fine it isn't any of our business. Our business is serving the Scouts and helping the BSA fore fill the vision and mission of the BSA. We do this best when we use the materials that the BSA puts out. Sure there are some areas that we do at times have to interpret, which can lead to our opinion being the "Law". Still I value the opinions of the wise and wonderful people who post here more than I value some opinion on a web site that gives the impression of being official. Eamonn.

Train Them, Trust Them. Let Them Lead. First you do need to let the Lads that you have know that this is their Troop. They need to take ownership of it. Being as everyone is new why not treat the Troop like a new Scout Patrol. Work with them on reaching First Class, but allow each of them to be the Patrol Leader and SPL for six weeks.Allow the PL to choose his APL.Hold PLC meetings with just these 3 Scouts. Cover everything and do everything that a PLC would do in a bigger Troop. Be there to support these youth leaders, but let them run the show. You and your other adult leaders will need to work with them on the skills that they need both Scoutcraft skills and leadership skills, but over time be ready to keep stepping back and away, allowing them to do more and more for themselves. Recruiting older boys will be hard and I hate to have to admit that more than lightly it isn't going to happen. Holding the interest of the Scouts you have and not allowing petty little fall outs that younger Scouts seem prone to will be hard work. The Scouts you have now are the best recruiting tool that you have. Let them be your salesmen but make sure the product they are selling is the best. Eamonn

I have looked through the eleventh edition of the Boy Scout Handbook and I missed reading "The instructions for the BOR are the the Scout should be neat in appearance" I looked at the fact sheet on the Boy Scout Oath, Law, Motto, and Slogan. When I looked at clean I read: CLEAN A Scout keeps his body and mind fit and clean. He goes around with those who believe in living by these same ideals. He helps keep his home and community clean. Depending on when the BOR was held it might be that the Scout might not be neat in appearance. A Lad who has come straight from some other activity might not look very neat. Should we deny him a board of review? Sure if I as the parent of my son know that he is going for his BOR I will insist that he is wearing his Sunday best uniform. I insist that he has his Sunday best uniform on or at least with him for all Scout functions that require a uniform. We have held Eagle Scout BOR, during a District Camporee, it was the only time that the Advancement Chairman was free. The Lads were camping some were cleaner than others!! One of the things I really love about Her Who Must Be Obeyed is her insistence on the fact that Boys are washable. The advancement program of the BSA is what is laid out in the publications of the BSA, when we tell a Lad that he has to do something that is not in these publications we are in fact adding requirements. There is no requirement that a Scout has to wear a uniform to a BOR. If we insist that he does we are adding a requirement. If we were to insist that he had to wear an ear ring that would be adding a requirement - So why is insisting that he takes his ear ring out any different? Eamonn.

I am big on the Methods of Scouting. I can put my hand on my heart and say that I used them and the reason that I used them was because they work. Boy Scouting is based on the Patrol. It is the all important unit in Boy Scouting. However there are different schools of thought. At this time in the USA, little fellows are recruited and are in Dens, when they become Webelos Scout, they are still a Den but we allow them to pick a Patrol name. Some time in February or March these guys move into a troop. Here they become the New Scout Patrol. They spend the next 12 - 18 months working on becoming First Class Scouts. They remain in the same Patrol with the same Lads for their entire Boy Scouting career. Just as the adults who attend Wood Badge are proud to belong to a Wood Badge Patrol and they belong to it forever, the same should hold true in a troop. If we look back at how it was in England in BP's time and when I was a Scoutmaster over there. Cub Scouts meet weekly as a pack, the pack is divided into Sixes. A six is a team of six Cub Scouts of different ages. They are led by a Sixer who has in second command a Seconder. When a Lad reached 11 years old he would move from the pack to the troop (The pack, troop and all other Scouting units were all part of one Scout Group) In the 1970's a Link Badge came along which the Cub Scout worked on with at least one other Cub Scout. It was activities that linked the troop and the pack. All this meant that there was never a time when a troop would see a huge number of new Lads entering the troop all at once, or it would be a very rare thing if you did. What used to happen was that the PLC would know who was coming into the troop and would decide which Patrol they would go into. Mixed age Patrols were the only Patrols I really ever worked with in England. While the idea that you were in a Patrol for life was there, it never really worked as when the Troop grew and new Patrols were added there were reshuffles. Still everything was done to keep the Patrol as the main unit. We rarely if ever had Patrols camp with or join up with another Patrol. If the membership of a Patrol went down, we knew that they would get the next new Lad. Both systems have their pros and cons. The New Scout Patrol does have a lot of advantages if you have the right leaders. Scouts when I was a leader moved on up to the Venture Scout Unit at age 16. One of the big complaints that I hear from older Scouts here is that they don't want to do stuff with the "Little Kids!!" A Venture Patrol is a wonderful idea, again you need good quality trained leaders to help make it work. The mixed age Patrol does allow the older Scout more time to work with the younger Scout and because the little fellow is part of the same team /Patrol, he is one of their own. Patrol spirit kicks in and everyone wants everyone to be better than the other guys. I like the NSP. If these guys have the correct leadership and don't have too many distractions, they should or at least most of them should be First Class Scouts in about a year. It isn't a race and if it takes 18 months there is no shame. Some Troops keep the NSP as a Patrol other Troops allow the NSP to break up and move into the Patrols of their choice. Or the Scoutmaster tells them what Patrol they are joining. (Then when the quit he has no idea what went wrong!!) Patrol Camping was a very big part of our program. I was a lot happier seeing a mixed age Patrol go off, than I would have been a same age Patrol, the older Lads kept an eye on the younger Lads and the younger Lads by just being there stopped the older Lads from trying some of the stuff that they might have got into had they all been the same age. It does seem that mixed age Patrols are now looked upon as not being the way to go. I would say find the system that works best for the troop. While the make up of the Patrols is fairly important, what you allow them to do is vital. Eamonn.

They say that the Lord moves in mysterious ways. I have just been asked if I could go and take care of the Scouts Own Service at the District Klondike Derby. I was looking through my stuff and found this. I do hope you don't mind if I share it with a bunch of Scouts who no doubt will be dirty, tired and yet proud that they made it through yet another Klondike event. Thank You. Eamonn

I'm about as "Old School" and as "Old Fashioned" As you are going to meet. Asking the Lad to remove his ear ring was adding a requirement and that is wrong. We have seen fads, fashions and trends come and go. Shorts were too short. Shorts are now baggy. Hair was too long. At one time in London Scouter's were complaining that Scouts looked like Skin-Heads, when their hair was too short!! Hopefully we don't judge a Scout by his hair. OJ, is my kid. While at times I shake my head at some of the things that he wears. Last summer it was chokers that looked like plant hangers?? Her That Must Be Obeyed spent many happy hours telling him to "Pull up your pants." He would love to get his ear pierced. I have said that he can - When he doesn't live in my house. I however agree with johndaigler. This thread ought not be about the Scout. It ought to be about the guy who is adding requirements and not playing this game as it should be played. If a Lad is doing something and his eyebrow ring is going to injure him or another Scout, I don't have a problem asking him to take it out. If the Lad is my Lad he isn't going to have one. If a Lad comes up for an Eagle Scout BOR and I'm on the board, I am not interested in his eyebrows - I can see past them. I'm looking at the Lad who is a Scout with or without his piercings or body graffiti. Eamonn.

While I personally do not agree with the decision of the Troop Committee. They are well within their rights to make it. They are the disciplining and ruling body of the Troop. The District Commissioner may have, might have, could have made suggestions as to what actions the committee might want to take. He or she might well support the decision of the committee. In fact if the decision has been made, he or she would be wrong and would be really "Sticking his or her nose in where it's not needed" if he were to voice an opinion that went against the committees decision. I do feel that there is something missing in the information that we have been given. Is the District Commissioner also a member of the Troop committee? Did something else happen on this late night unauthorized hike? A District Commissioner in our Council does not have the authority to prevent a Scout from attending summer camp. It just isn't up to him. Most Troop Committees do not get involved without the Scoutmaster asking for them to get involved. Could it be that these late night hikers were told not to go off hiking in the middle of the night, but went any way? I think if I was the SM, I would give them both a harsh reminder that they were in violation of the Scout Law. But maybe the SM is worried that this pair will take off during summer camp and he has told anyone that will listen that he is unwilling to be responsible for these Lads at a summer camp? I know that if I were the District Commissioner I would state that this is a unit problem and ought to be dealt with "In house." If the CC asked me if the Committee were within their rights to not allow a boy to attend Summer camp? I would have to say that they were within their rights. However on a personal note, me being me I would try and do what I could to talk the CC into finding or looking at some other corrective measure. Having Scouts take off in the middle of the night without permission, when no one has any idea of where they are going or what they are up to is not a good thing. I wonder what we would be posting if one of these Lads had got into serious trouble? Or had been injured? I know I would be asking" Where was the leadership?" Eamonn.

It is knocking the stuffing out of me. Still maybe it's part of the daily grind,. It's a good job that most of us are not thin skinned. I'm thinking about nominating SemperParatus for an Oscar he will get My and Her That Must Be Obeyed votes. Better stop now this is becoming a little Coney and someone wants to muscle in with a cure!! Eamonn.

Does this mean that Javer is head of the uniform police? Eamonn.

Hey Unc They could go looking for Chives!! Would that be ... Wait for it "Chive Walking"? Eamonn.

These Chats are a good idea. Of course they do run the chance of being nothing more than a time for the wheels that squeak the loudest to squeak again. We do have these chats in our Council. Our Council Commissioner and Council President are two of the nicest guys on the planet.However soon after becoming President,the company where our guy works had a lot of changes which meant that he really didn't have time to do much more than chair the board meetings. The Council Commissioner, is the one guy in all the Council that I have yet to hear anyone say a bad word about. He has donated vast amounts of money to the Council. I really enjoyed being part of the Commissioner cabinet when I was District Commissioner.Still looking back at the meetings it seems the only thing we ever talked about was getting charters in on time. These meetings do offer the Council Key 3 to get a feel about what is going on in the Council. Which might be more of a necessity in a large Council. Being that our Council is not that large, I think that they do have a feel for what is going on all the time. I can't help feeling that in many ways these meetings are little more than window dressing. What would really be a good idea would be for them to share the Council long term strategic plan with the volunteers and show what progress is being made. I really do think if the guys and girls in the units had more of an idea what was happening and what the goals were they would be more lightly to buy into them. Trevorum, I think that I feel your pain. However the District Committee is very much about numbers. A District that isn't growing is in fact dying. We need to grow, we need to do everything that we can to retain the members that we have. This is where the Program Chair and his merry band help ensure that we are supporting the unit leaders. Recruiting works best when it is done One on One, to this end our Scouts are the best resources. Financial support is another area that the District Committee has to cover. Our Council relies heavily on Popcorn Sales and the FOS Family campaign again we turn to our Scouts and their families. I really do enjoy working with our youth members and doing Scout type stuff,far more than attending endless meetings, eating chicken, sweet talking schools and other charter organizations or could-be chartered organizations. But for the last eight years I have served Scouting, the Council and the District by doing this boring stuff. I do it because it has to be done. Sure I moan, groan, complain and at times maybe go too far. I do however know that it has to be done. I do ask to be treated with openness and honesty and I do hope that we all remember that this is the Boy Scouts, every-time we mess up we hurt everyone. Be it that we don't follow the G2SS or YP, or we allow the pack treasurer to mismanage pack funds or we allow some twit to doctor the membership. Bad news big and small hurts us all. Eamonn. (This message has been edited by Eamonn)(This message has been edited by Eamonn)

Scouting is a a game with a purpose. Both the game and the purpose have to work hand in hand. If the PLC along with the adults plan to make each and every meeting the best show in town. If you can get the dull and boring stuff over in some sort of enjoyable, fun way. If the big picture (The Annual Plan) promises fun and adventure. If you are using all the methods of Scouting, and are not to ridged about them. Yes there is a time for every purpose under heaven!! If you as an adult Leader can ensure that you talk with each and every Scout and call him by name and catch him doing something right and give him a pat on the back or simply say "Well done". If you are the SM and you can not do anything but present a well thought out and from the heart Scoutmasters minute. You will have no need of requirements, the Lads will want to come, the promise of fun and adventure will make them want to advance. If you work with your PLC and Train them, Trust them and Let Them Lead. They will be back every week. It is not easy.It does work. Use the resources that the BSA has out there. Eamonn.

I do think that it is worth mentioning that reaching the rank of Eagle Scout really ought to be a goal set by the individual Scout. Sure we the adults are there to support, encourage and advise. But the Eagle Rank belongs to the Scout - Not the Troop or the District. Some Lads are like Unc. And see the goal and go full steam ahead. Some never set the goal and are happy to be part of a troop, while also being busy doing a lot of other things. Yes some Lads do have a life outside of Scouting. There are a lot of Lads who do set the goal but allow themselves to get distracted, maybe doing other things within Scouting. CookieScout,please don't rush things!! Allow the little fellows to enjoy being little fellows. The big goal for them either be the Arrow of Light or if they have crossed over into the troop being really good First Class Scouts. Eamonn.

Hi Rick, OJ is my 16 year old son, who is very heavily into the OA, at present he is serving his second term as Vice Chief - Admin. I did use http://lld.oa-bsa.org/docs/S43-ScoutReach%20Mentoring-Syllabus.pdf Making a power point presentation. The materials that are available from National are good. However they seem to deal with in the "Extreme" Places that are in no way like the area in which I serve. In your posting you say: " Just think of all the boys that could benefit from involvement with a quality Scouting program". I like most volunteers am total committed to a Quality Program. I do have to admit that at times I do have a hard time making or understanding the changes needed in order to make the program work. I can and do understand how a charter can have "John Doe" as a name in a unit that has a transient community. The thing that is bugging me is the lack of planning that goes into some of these units. This of course could be a local problem? What is being delivered is not a quality program,at times I'm unsure what it is? I do know that it is a far cry from anything that might be termed as Scouting. While the Kids are real kids, I have to wonder if we are more interested on names on the page than we are about the quality of the product? The hardest thing about starting new units, is selling the idea to the adults that have been selected to deliver the program. It seems that if we place a paid person to do this we then make no effort to help whoever the organization is, make any headway in becoming an everyday traditional unit. The end result is that we have something which may be the most wonderful of good deeds, but it sure isn't Scouting. Eamonn.

As a rule a District Commissioner would not get involved in the day to day running of a unit. However if someone were to ask a specific question he or she would give an answer. I kinda think that this is the case here. Matters of discipline at the troop level should be managed and handled by the troop committee. But it would be very unusual for a District Commissioner to decide what goes on within a troop. Eamonn.

I have heard that Tampa is being looked at. It is really sad. I was watching my favorite TV show last week when President Bartlet said: "Corruption of the best is the worst". We are all saddened when we see our good name tarnished by a few twits. Eamonn.

I have not as yet seen the NYLT syllabus. So I can't say anything about it. I did like the old week long Council JLTC. OJ has been invited to be the ASPL for the new course so I will watch what he is doing and maybe learn something. Most of us have viewed the BSA Ages and Stages video and have worked with Scouts of all ages. Is there a difference between a 12 year old and a 14 year old? Sure there is. I however do think that we need to deal with each Lad as an individual. This may not always be possible, with events that are offered outside of the Troop. Maybe asking for Scouts who have participated in certain activities would be a better way to go? Say maybe two summer camps? There was a lot of writing and sitting in the old course, I don't know if a 12 year old would be up to that? I do know that some of the older Lads who took the JLTC had a hard time with it. Not to change the subject but is the link:www.jltbsa.org a BSA page or what? Eamonn.

A very dear Pal who is a Scouting Pro has pointed out that not everything that is being done gets in the way of the volunteers. The Soccer program for Spanish speaking youth seems to be a well thought out program, which could work. To tell the truth I have only glanced at it and when I said that we might be able to make a few changes to it, so it would work in our Council I was informed that we were not allowed to change it. That came from our SE, who has a track record of not knowing very much!! Of course not every one who is a Scouting Pro. Is not a twit. Most are really nice hard working people who love Scouting every bit as much as we the volunteers do. I do not have any problem with new units. Packs, Troops and Crews should be like restaurants, with one on every corner so that Boys and Parents can choose the one that suits them best. Starting new units in any area where there isn't one is a good thing. But the goal has got to be that in time any unit will be a regular unit not dependent on Council employees to go in and run things. Sure we may have to look at ways of funding some of the activities that these Scouts may want to do. But finding money for kids is not that hard. I know that if ten Scouts from a Scoutreach Troop wanted to attend summer camp, I could pick up the phone and have the money in less than an hour. People will pay to send a Scout who needs a hand to camp. Eamonn.