Eamonn

SR540Beaver, 17 Life Scouts!! Wow! That is truly wonderful. While not wanting to blow my own trumpet. Back when I had about 90 Scouts in the Troop, I like to think I knew them all. When they first joined I went to visit them at their home and got to know their parents. As time passed, I kinda knew who was going to do what and what sort of trouble they might get into!! Along with their strengths and weaknesses. I'm guessing that these 17 Life Scouts have been around for a while? While as we all know kids do have a way of surprising us. That is to say the really nice Lad who never did anything wrong, was always a nice kid turns out to be a real little toad and the little toad becomes a real Angel. Still for the most part I'll bet that if I were to have a chat with the Scoutmaster, he could tell me how many of these Scouts are going to go ahead and make Eagle Scout Rank, with little or no problem. He could also go to the other end and tell me how many are just not interested and more than lightly will just not even make the effort. These two groups would account for about half of the 17. The information that Scouts need to know about what is required to make Eagle Scout Rank, is not rocket science!! If a Lad can read he more than lightly can work out what he has to do. Add to this that it is supposed to have a lot to do with Leadership. So do the future leaders of this great nation need to be taken by the hand and led? I would hope not!! It just isn't supposed to work that way. Sure there is a need for good records and the ability to provide information when it is asked for. I kinda think that the Advancement Chairman would have all this on his or her trusty little laptop. (I have all that information about each of the Sea Scouts in the Ship and I'm just the COR) I would think that the SM could just ask a Scout "How is your Eagle coming along?" (He of course already knows the answer!!) He should of course be ready and willing to answer any questions and ready to work with any and every Lad who has questions and might need something cleared up. At the end of the day it is the SM who has to sign the Eagle Scout Leadership Project Book and his signature that goes on the Eagle Scout application.. I'm just not sold on the Eagle Scout Adviser thingy!! I'd far sooner rely on my knowing and my relationships with the Scouts I'm serving. Eamonn.

Have to own up to until very recently, never having heard of an "Eagle Adviser". To be very honest I really don't think of having any use for one! I see Scouts and Scouting being all about relationships. The big one being the relationship between the boy and his Scoutmaster. While I'm just too lazy to look up what is in the newest and latest Eagle Scout work-book. I don't ever remember seeing any place for an Eagle Adviser to do anything. The Troop OJ (My kid.) belonged to had a guy who seemed to have taken on the role of "Eagle Scout Rank Pusher". He pushed OJ so much that he ended up turning OJ off and he nearly didn't bother completing his project. I do think that had his Scoutmaster not left this to someone else and taken OJ under his wing. OJ wouldn't hold the world record for being the longest living Life Scout. While I have heard that these Eagle Advisor's do mostly the paper work, ensuring that everything is in order. I wonder if having the Scout having to deal with yet another person gets in the way and ends up being a barrier to effective and real communication? Eamonn.

I really like the movie "Cool Hand Luke" One of the best lines in the movies (In fact I seem to remember it was used twice?) Is: "What we have here is a failure to communicate" I have an older brother. He is four years older than I am. Just because we are brothers does not mean we talk too each other. Back when I was in my early teens he spend most of his time finding ways to avoid me. Could it be that so many people thought that just because the Brother had been there, done that and made Eagle that this younger brother just didn't need the help and the advise that would be given to other Scouts? Clearly it seems that something, somewhere wasn't explained very clearly. Eamonn.

I didn't read all of the 27 page response. I do have to admit that I at times have a hard time asking volunteers and parents of Scouts who are maybe having hard times too donate their hard earned cash to pay the salary of someone who is earning a lot more than maybe they are? Maybe I'm wrong? But all this talk about attracting and retaining quality people seems a little gobbledygookish. Being as most, if not all SE's are promoted from within the ranks of the BSA. (To date I have never heard of someone hired from outside of the pro "Circuit" being hired) It kinda seems to me that the qualifications that these "Qualified People" need and require are set by the BSA. Who also sets the salary scales. As for the qualifications? To be hired as a professional all that is needed is a degree. Any four year degree will do.(In fact in the last long term strategic plan it was mentioned that this requirement can be waived.) After that it seems that no other education is needed. All that is needed is a willingness to be able to move to an area where a vacancy (promotion) is available. Sure there are expected lengths of service required before seeking promotion. But even these seem to at times fall by the way-side. We had a not so wonderful DE, who knew he was not so wonderful. He moved from Council, where he was a DE to another Council as a Senior DE with only two years service. While many DE's do have some great management and people skills. They are not trained and not ready to take on the task of managing budgets that run into the millions. We have had a couple of SE's who really have seemed out of their comfort zone dealing with people like company CEO's and people with money. While more and more non-profit organizations seem to be hiring people skilled in grant writing and bringing in large amounts of money. We as an organization seem happy to raise money from the volunteers who for the most part are middle class family types. I'm 101% for Scouts and Scouting being part of the local community. I have no problem with asking and allowing local businesses to help support Scouting. But having been a local business owner, I know how hard it is to keep everyone who is asking for money happy. At times the easy way out for a local business owner is to just choose one or two organizations that are either a good fit or will somehow bring in more business. Sadly most Councils forget about the small businesses that support them when it comes time for the Council to spend some money. I'd really like to see SE's salary tied to the amount of money they bring in. Money from foundations and grants. If the cash were to come from places like this. I'm all for ensuring that the SE gets top dollar. Some years back our Council Executive Board were very unhappy with the performance of our SE. So very unhappy that they fired him. He found a job at the National Office (Collecting bad debts??) The Council was given a Provisional Charter and a list of people that were eligible for the position! So much for selection of qualified people!! When our last SE seen the writing on the wall, he got out quick. First going to a large Metro Council as a Field Director, where he didn't do such a wonderful job. In fact in less than a year he was gone from there. I'll bet you can guess where he got his next job?? Yes he landed in the National Office, where he now works for the LFL program, supposedly working with Homeland Security. I'm glad that National Office has so much room for these well qualified people and manages to retain them. I'm happy that the list of eligible applicants to replace these guys didn't have anyone who was willing to work for less than the going rate! I'd hate to think we might get a bargain basement SE!! Eamonn

I was led to believe that rope was rope until it was put to use? Once put to use it then became line. Ea.

Have posted this before.... Many years back a Scout from the Troop I served in the UK had his photo on the cover of the UK Scouting Magazine. The photo was with the Queen. The Lad had his World Friendship Badge on the wrong pocket. Needless to say, all sorts of letter to the editor and a lot of fuss. We didn't know that the photo was being taken or going to be taken. We did know that this little Lad came from a single parent home and his mother was blind. The Lad did see the magazine (At that time there was only one magazine for Scouting. I seen all the fuss as being very unkind and very un-scout like. It's gotta be hard to be a judge and jury when you don't have all the evidence? Eamonn.

I agree that the Masons do a nice job. In fact they were there at the Funeral Home on Sunday night. While not ever wishing to put any group down. I think the big difference between the Masons being there and the VFW was that he had belonged to the Masons and was a member of the same lodge, some of the guys who were at the ceremony knew him, unlike the Vets who didn't and were doing a service, because it was the right thing to do. Eamonn.

The Father of one of y best friends past away. The funeral was yesterday. I went. Not sure if there is such a thing as a "High Class Funeral"? But if there is? This was one. The guys all wore very nice suits, with nice looking top-coats. (It was cold so I wore a sheep's-skin coat.) The Ladies all had designer dresses on and handbags that cost a small fortune. The parking lot was full of very expensive cars. The guy who was dead was 91. He had been in a nursing home for a few years, at times he knew what was going on but of late he was out of it a good deal of the time. He had come from very humble beginnings, but had made good, making several million dollars along the way. Seems that the longer you are around the less people there are at your funeral. This wasn't a very big gathering. The preacher who was in charge of what preachers take charge of at a funeral didn't know the family or the dead guy. So while the prayers and the readings were nice, I kinda missed the personal touch. As I say it was cold 21 degrees without the wind chill. Mid way through the ceremony the local VFW came to do what they do for a fallen comrade. The graveside service was being held a fair distance from the funeral home. One member of the VFW came and recited from memory a really nice prayer. Then the Funeral Director opened the doors. The cold air rushed in. Outside stood 8 or ten very elderly veterans. I'd say that not one was under 75. One guy had very thick dark glasses on. I'm guessing his sight isn't what it once was. One African American fellow in a kinda shabby old coat had to place his portable oxygen container on the ground when the parade was called to order. They did what they came to do and left. After the service they weren't around. I wasn't able to thank them or say "Good job!" I can't remember when I was so impressed. These men I feel sure didn't know the fellow who had died. But they left their nice warm homes to come out on a very cold day to pay tribute and pass on the thanks of a "Grateful Nation". I'm kinda at a loss for words. All I can say is God bless each and every one of this fine gentlemen. They did their bit for their country and are still doing it. Eamonn.

shortridge Thank You. Now I have to do my best to tell everyone where it is. Even if they can't find it??? Don't get me wrong. I'm 100% for no one getting hurt. But a six foot tower?? Hardly worth the effort. A little Cub Scout climbing a tree goes up higher than that. Sure these things can and have got out of hand. But at some stage common sense has to come into play. Ea.

Again not for the youth but Brake fluid and chlorine! Eamonn. (Why am I now singing Billy Joel songs?)(This message has been edited by Eamonn)

We have built many of these. Some have even managed to stay up!! If you are new to Scout Pioneering this is a little advanced. You might want to start with something along the same lines, but smaller -Maybe a floating flag pole? Eamonn. (Hate to be a kill joy but I think someplace in some BSA publication there is something about how high these things are allowed to be. I remember someone telling me this when I was coming up with the pioneering projects that we used in the old course. I of course did mention to the participants that there was a something somewhere and I was looking for it!) If you can get old of some of the old Gilcraft Books and Patrol Scout Pioneering by John Sweet you will find some great stuff. I'm not sure what is on the dump?

A day or so back in another thread I was going on about the relationship between DE's and Volunteers, saying that the DE was at time between a rock and a hard place. OJ, missed Tiger Cubs. (Mainly because I didn't agree with the program and I was too busy to get involved!) I was involved during his Cubscout career. Mainly as the Cubmaster. When our female Den Leaders were uncomfortable with the Webelos program, I got involved with his Den. I had a wonderful time! I look back on the times we (OJ and self.) spend as some of the best times. He was a Webelos scout when we went to the Conference Center at Philmont. Again we had some very memorable times. When the Ship first started he signed up (I needed the names on the charter to get the Ship off the ground. By this time he was very deeply involved in the OA and a lot of other things, so he really just didn't have the time. I think he wanted to be more involved but just couldn't. He was a little upset that he missed some of the trips we made and at times felt left out when the Quarterdeck meetings were at my home (His home!) The Troop he was in never really seemed to understand this youth led thing. So when the Sea Scouts were doing things that they wanted to do and planned to do he became a little upset with the Troop. He even said to me that this was more like the way things ought to be and like the stuff he had presented when he had staffed JLTC. He never ran for "Office" in the Ship. He did join us for a few activities. He really liked the Regatta, mainly because the Sea Scouts were treated like young adults and not School-kids as all too often happens in Boy Scouting. (I think the dance and having girls around played a big part as well!!) Many of the adult leaders I had when I was a Scout back in the UK were un-married men. My Scout Leader was a fellow in his mid thirties, he did marry a local Assistant (female) Cub Scouter when he was in his mid forties Fred my ASM was just a confirmed bachelor, he helped his brother raise his two kids when their mother died. At that time it didn't seem odd that anyone involved in Scouting wasn't married. Just about all the people I know (not all) today involved in Scouting has kids. A few may have had the misfortune of no having had boys!! But for most the love of children came along before the love and passion for Scouting. It seems to me and I could be way off the mark? That the really good guys are the ones who have stuck around long after their kids have gone. I have often said when I'm joking that Scouting would be a lot better if we didn't have to have the youth. I have really enjoyed a lot of Scouting activities when there hasn't been a youth member around. I can't imagine Wood Badge if we had to go out and try what we have learned on a group of Scouts. I'm that weird person who even has fun at District and Council Board Meetings! Eamonn.

I do believe that the best thing we can give our children are roots and wings. I was happy when he didn't want me to tag along to Boy Scouts with him. I wanted his Boy Scout experience to be his. When he went to Philmont I was OK staying home walking the dogs. When I was asked to be the SM for the 2001 Jamboree, I wanted to go. But I didn't feel I should go and leave him at home. For 2005 he opted to attend the Jamboree as a youth staff member away from the beady eye of his Dad the SM. I was asked to be a leader for the last world Jamboree. I would have loved to have gone. I had attend the World Jamboree back in 1975, so going again in a place I knew would have been nice. I knew that if I went I really couldn't leave him at home to walk the dogs. He really didn't care if he went or not. But if I'd gone and not taken him? Somehow that just wouldn't be right. So in the end we both remained home and I walked the dogs. Eamonn.

One of the problems I seem to have with change is all too often I tend to ask too many questions and the biggest of these questions tends to be "Why did they do that?" All too often I never get an answer. Or maybe the problem might be that I don't get an answer that I like? I have never really been sold on the Tiger Cub program. While of course it can be argued that these little fellows and their families do benefit from the good found in the purpose of Cub Scouting. I rightly or wrongly have fixed in my mind that it was just a way to show an increase in membership. Having now worked with a coed Sea Scout Ship I'm very much for us going coed, but I feel sure if (And I don't see it happening anytime soon.) We were to go coed, many would say this was just about boosting the membership numbers. I'm still hearing (But have yet to see) the Lion Program aimed at kindergarten aged boys. I don't think this is such a good idea. Much of my problem is that while I still and think I always will believe in the values of what we are trying to do, I somewhere along the line seem to have lost trust in the people at the top. I'd much sooner us look at the questions we are being asked and think about why they are being asked? That is to say examine the question, before answering with the same old answer. I'm sold on all the good stuff we do! I'm great with core values and all this talk about building character. - There really is no problem there. But... Before we start new programs for what might be younger and younger youth, we need to look at the programs we have and the kids we have and want to have and find more ways to attract and retain these youth. If this means that we have to embrace things that some of us older members can't do or are afraid to do? So be it. If it means that maybe there might be a lessened empathize on areas that we have traditionally focused on? So be it. I would love to see us more focused on participation than advancement. I think having trained kid friendly adult leaders is more important than signing up lots of busy parents who don't really want to be involved and begrudge the time and money that true involvement takes. I'd love to see all of our camps take a long hard look at making what they offer year round kid friendly, unit friendly places for groups to go. If there were a way to get all the adults to understand that no volunteer out-ranks any other volunteer that would be great. I do think it's time that we put the commissioner staff to bed and admit that this just doesn't work anymore. In their place lets develop well trained trainers who will do a great job and inspire the adults to get out there and deliver programs that kids will enjoy and want to participate in. I keep hearing that adults who take the time to attend training's come away feeling short changed. This is just not acceptable. Of course much of this lies with the local Councils and Districts. But maybe if at the next Top Hands meeting the new Scout Executive laid down some new ideas this might make a start? Everything we do depends on program. I wonder how long it will take for the guys at the top to understand this and stop playing numbers games and come up with ideas that will help the poor guy who has had a bad day at work but still has to face a group of kids after his has picked up a burger from the fast food joint. Because he didn't have time for his tea. Eamonn

Hi Basementdweller, I would never tell anyone how or where to spend their hard earned cash. Thrift and being thrifty doesn't always have the same meaning to everyone. I agree that at some point each of us looks at the costs involved in just about anything and make a choice. SR540Beaver looked at the price and wasn't ready to spend that sort of money, just as I did with the last world jamboree. I wasn't willing to spend over $10,000 to take OJ and myself to the UK.In part because it wasn't something new to us! In part because I was going to be paying for both of us (No matter how I would dress it up.) In part because I knew I would be paying for college and in part because I just wasn't willing. I was going to spend the $10,000 I'd "Saved??" on a new Land Rover, but by that time gas had gone up a lot. So I didn't. I looked at smaller cars. By then the economy had gone haywire, so I didn't. By then the stock market had gone silly and I'd lost my ten grand!! Maybe I should have gone?? Ea

Sorry Dave, I think all of us have at one time or another had to put up with things maybe not working as they should. My only advise is to keep on trying! Ea.

It does seem that the new team in National is open to new ideas and is looking at what we do and how we go about getting it done. I at times do think and sometimes worry that as an organization we allow people who have been around for a long time and doing this for a long time to crowd out new people and new ideas. We now do spend some time looking at change in the new WB course and send newer and young leaders back to units where they are faced with the "We don't do it that way" Or the "We've always done it this way!" attitude. Innovation can be and is a wonderful thing, but many of us are a little afraid and maybe even scared of change and the unknown. I was a staff member of what I have been given to believe was the second to last Cub Scout WB in the country. (I don't know how true that might be?) We had a number of Boy Scout leaders attending, mainly from around the Washington DC area. Some new things were in the course and we were informed that these were being tested for the new course. During the waiting time for the new course, I can't ever remember hearing so many rumors and misinformation. I have no idea where they were coming from. I do know a lot of people who just love to think that they are the first people to be in "The Know!" When I did get my hands on the new course syllabus. It became clear as I went over it that different people had taken charge of different areas of the course and different presentations. How much they had been influenced by the input/feedback from others? I have no idea. It's maybe a little too easy to just think that Wood Badge and the uniform have been the only changes over the past few years. Many of the other training's have undergone changes and the books the Cub Scouts use have all had a re-write. A friend of mine was involved in the update to the Bear Book. I have no idea what-so-ever what the cost of running an organization the size of the BSA is? I do feel sure that the drop in membership has put a financial hurt on the organization. Looking at my email In-box,it does seem that National Supply (Scout Stuff) are trying hard to go after a lot more sales than they have in the past.I have yet to hear if this has in any way hurt the sales that small Council Shops make? While I have no evidence and have not heard even a rumor!! I do feel that when the present strategic plan runs out in 2010 (Which if you ask me has not been an overwhelming success!) The new plan will offer a lot more changes. I kinda think (Again I have nothing to back this up.) That we might want to look at the changes that have taken place in other Scout Organizations around the world. I of course am looking at the UK and the changes made there. I don't think the BSA will follow everything (I don't know if we are ready for coed Scouting?)But a lot of the changes there did help rebuild the sagging membership that had been taking place. While I'm sure we have a lot of members who will say "If it's not broken, don't fix it". Many will dig their heels in and some will make a fuss, sadly some will just call it a day. But change is coming and I for one like the idea that we as an organization are not standing still waiting for the sky to fall. I might not like some of the new innovative ideas and changes that come down the pike. I'm sure that some of them are not going to work. I however think we do need to remain open to new ideas and most of all keep in mind that the youth and their parents are the youth and parents who live in the world of today. I have no problem looking back and learning from the past and the great people who led and formed our movement. I wish it were possible to hear from people like BP and others what they would do today? This of course is not and never will be possible. I do feel that these guys were such great leaders that they would be open to change and would be willing to go back on things they have said and wrote in the past; saying that maybe what was right for then is not a good fit for today. We live in a time of great innovation and change, lets not allow it to pass us by, my hope is that we embrace it and make it work so we can serve the youth in the communities where we live, passing on the core values of scouting to the people who are going to look after us in our old age and advancing years. Eamonn.

I have at times been asked "Why don't you go and work for the Boy Scouts?" My answer has changed over the years. I used to say that "They just don't pay well enough!" The truth was back then I needed more than what was being paid. So I couldn't afford to work for the Boy Scouts. DE's in our area do fairly well, a new DE starts out earning about $7,000 more than a new teacher, in most of our local school districts. The cost of living in my area isn't that high when compared to other areas. (I don't know how anyone could make it on the starting wage if they lived in a big city.) Over the past few years my answer has been that they couldn't pay me enough in order to take away my being able to tell someone who was being a pain to go take a hike. In the Council I serve we have or seem to have had more than our fair share of wacky Field Directors (One is still in the big house!) and wacky SE's ((Two now are based in Texas, not because they did such a good job, but because no one else would hire them!) As a knowledgeable volunteer I was able too in a very nice, very polite way (The accent helps!!) Tell them to go and pound salt. Eamonn.

I kinda think that Bob has the info he needed. I don't know why he needed it. So while maybe I should spin off. I'm not going to!! I have hear it said that a DE has become too close to the volunteers! When I first heard this, I raised my eyebrows and was a little taken back. My thinking then was that a good DE should be close to the volunteers. In fact the success of a District depends on this. As ever I was guilty of hearing what I wanted to hear. While of course the success does depend on a good working relationship between the volunteers and the professional staff. A good DE never forgets who signs his / her pay check. One big thing a District should be doing is supporting the goals of the Council. As we have seen in the forum these goals might not always seem clear to all the volunteers. For example. The Council wants as many youth as possible in as many units as possible. Some volunteers might feel that there is enough units or maybe even too many units in an area. This can place the DE between a rock and a hard place. He or she might on a personal level agree with the volunteers.But membership plays a big part of why the DE is there. Some volunteers see "The Council" as little more than a money hungry bunch of good for nothings, who are only there to sell popcorn and waste the money. (I heard this one about a week back from a new Den Leader who was telling me why her pack didn't sell popcorn) The volunteer who might say this might be a great unit leader who does a wonderful job serving the unit he is in. He might even be a good pal of the DE. Again this places the DE between a rock and a hard place. I'll admit that when I was District Chair. I was way too close to our DE. I at times went out of my way to get her out of doing stuff that the SE thought she should be doing. We worked together really well but when it came to the "Council" we had a "US" and "Them" mentality. Something along the lines of "We'll show them"!! At the time it worked well for everyone and "Them" (The Council) did well from our way of getting things done. I wonder what might have happened if someone had told her that Eamonn had to go? What would she have done? My hope is that she would have kept on keeping on. DE's do at times walk a very thin line. Eamonn.

In the past (As long as I can remember) we have sent two troops. Both troops are now full and we have got the green light to send three. At this time I don't have any plans on going. (Could this be the reason for the renewed interest?) If they get stuck for a leader I might consider going. But having "Done SM" Twice it is time to pass the torch. That and old age is taking it's toll. Ea.

Without wishing to come off sounding rude! I was a Boy Scout in the UK. (Pre-Advanced Party Report) and was a Scout and Scout Leader (SM) After the report. (1969) Much of what I think I'm reading seems like twaddle to me. We had Scout Groups. (Pack, Troop and depending on the date at the time different groups for older Scouts.) Little Lads moved from the Pack to the Troop on or very close to their eleventh birthday. Of course not all boys turn eleven at the same time! So there was no large influx of new Scouts at any one time. Patrols were always made up from a group of Boys who were in most cases all different ages. There was no such thing as any type of election. 99.9% of the time the PL was the oldest Scout, who had an APL who was the next oldest. Who would fill the P/L's spot when he aged out. The SPL didn't have very much responsibility, at least nothing like he is supposed to have here in the BSA. If and when a new Patrol was needed (The Troop had grown) The PLC would meet and give their ideas to the Scout Leader. Again the choice was made from the oldest Scouts. The Scout Leader was still tasked with the job of training the youth leaders. Sometimes the oldest Lad was the best choice, a lot of times he was just the next Lad that the Scout Leader had to work with, train and help develop. As far as possible when a eleven year old joined a Patrol, this Patrol was the Patrol he'd be in for his entire time in the Troop. He would benefit from seeing how things were done and at times what worked and what didn't. As adult leaders we really don't have a lot of say in the youth leaders we have. It makes very little difference if they are selected by age or by election. Our job remains the same. One big difference was of course that in the UK we didn't have all the changes. A Lad who was a P/L at an early age remained a P/L until he left the Troop. Eamonn.

DE's are hired and can be fired by the local Council, who pays them. They report to the SE or his appointee to look over them. Many of their benefits (Retirement, health) are laid down by the National Office.As is the pay scale. The Region does have a list of what openings are available for someone looking for promotion and a list available to Councils of DE's who have placed their names on the transfer list. Councils do send DE's to be trained by National. DE's are trained by National, the costs involved in this training is paid for by the local Council. Eamonn.

shortridge, I really do hope you don't think I was in any way trying to pick on you! Please know that was never my intention. One of the big things I was tasked with after being selected as a Wood Badge Course Director was selecting a staff. There are a few guidelines that a CD has to follow, but they are not very burdensome. The Council I serve belongs to a Wood Badge cluster so we try and select people who serve in the other Councils, depending on the Wood Badge Adviser or Council Training Chairs from them Councils for recommendations. Having served as Council Training Chair for the Council I'm in, I had a fair idea of who was who and what their strengths and weaknesses were. I knew that one District had an outstanding Cubscout R/T Commissioner who for every R/T meeting put together wonderful packets full of great ideas and activities. Having her as a Course Scribe was a no brainier. One District Chairman in real life is a real fun guy who is also Presbyterian Minister, he has served as a Chaplin at a good many Jamborees and as a Chaplin at Philmont. He has a great speaking voice, tells wonderful stories, his son is an Eagle Scout who is serving in the Air Force. The guy just oozes charisma and is the type of fellow that you would want to follow any where. I was quick to offer him the SPL spot. He did admit tome that he never mastered the fine art of splicing rope. I informed him that it wasn't needed. (I did try and teach him, but I think it's a lost cause.) The Staff ended up being 24 people. Of the 24, only five had served on previous courses. For the most part they were all good at what they did and the job I selected them for. The QM wasn't very good. He was our Area President, who had served on a lot of the old courses and he just didn't get it. I asked one guy who had been a Troop Guide to step down, he seemed to think that the course was all about him and things he'd done. (I don't think he ever read the entire syllabus) One Troop Guide from another Council was a Venturing adviser, even with lots of help from the ASM he never really understood what tickets were about! My job as a CD was never to teach these people Scouting, my job was to prepare and develop them to present the course as it was laid out in the syllabus. The course covers a lot of ground, nothing but nothing is in there by accident, even the fun stuff like the camp fire has things that the participants should be taking home with them. From the get go I knew that no matter how good I might be at something or how much I might have liked to do something (There are a few presentations that I dearly love presenting and a part of the camp fire which I really should have done!!) My role was to get them ready for the course. There is a cooking demonstration in the course. Not all the staff were great outdoor cooks. But each team of staffers knew what they were cooking before the start of the course and had practiced cooking it before the start of the course. So come the time for the presentation they seemed like old pros. They did admit to the participants that cooking wasn't their thing, but pointed out that being prepared was a lesson that we can all take home. I feel blessed that my "Scout Upbringing" was very much based on the traditional outdoor skills and I'm interested in this kind of stuff. I think I have served in just about every position that the BSA has out there (I have missed a few!) Knowing Scouting to me is not as important as knowing the people that you work with and for. I spent an entire Sunday afternoon trying to teach a young Sea Scout Time and Distance, I was getting no where. I just couldn't work out what I was doing wrong. After several hours (yes hours!!) I discovered that the Lad couldn't tell time. He could look at his cell phone and tell you what time it was, but he had no comprehension what the time would be in 20 or 30 minutes from now. I found out that he had a learning disability. Once I knew that we started over. Me teaching him how to tell time. We found ways of making sure that he got the information that he needed from his Sea Scout Manual, without causing him any embarrassments. To me working with a Lad like this is Scouting while maybe not knowing everything, knowing what you need to be able to serve the people you are serving is more important. Eamonn.

I think it goes without saying that it depends on what you are cooking. A slow cooked stew made from scratch will take a lot longer than reheating one from a can. Everything comes down to planning. Do the Scouts have the skills needed to cook the food? Do they have the equipment that they need? Have they posted a list of who does what? I have found that the speed of getting most chores done can be Dependant on what the next activity is! I know a lot of people seem to be for doing nothing after a meal (Free time) We found that having a fun activity planned for right after the meal made things move a lot faster. Having the Scouts plan what the menu is and cook stuff that they like to eat or are good at cooking helps things move along. Working with the PLC look for ways to make cooking more fun and less of a chore. Include meals and the quality, time and just about anything else they can come up with as part of the inter-patrol competition. Have silly hats and aprons for the cooks. Young Scouts will make menus that might work well in a home setting, but be really hard to do at camp. Try and help them find one pot meals. Maybe a few new cook books added to the Troop Library? If the program allows have the PLC come up with a theme for the menus. One weekend might be Mexican Food, one might be food taken from the books of a famous TV chef. One might be a "Fit "N" Lean" weekend with Heart Healthy menus. Dutch Ovens can be used as a casserole, dump just about anything in them with some liquid and it cook. Having the Scouts cook things that maybe they don't cook at home can add some excitements. Chocolate to chili, Curry to chicken. Lamb marinated in yogurt. Sauted bananas with brown sugar to pancakes. Menus should be about what the plan of the weekend is. While it might be OK to have more time in the kitchen on a weekend when the Patrols are doing Pioneering, it might not be such a good idea if they doing rock climbing and repelling? Looking for ways of improving the food is on going. Simple things like a couple of metal plates that fit over the top of a pan of boiling water will keep food warm until everything is ready. Non-stick frying pans. Ensuring that the water for washing up is on while the patrol eats. Thickening sauces and stews at the last minute so they don't stick to the pan as much. Just about everyone who cooks at camp wants to do a good job. Scouts see their Dads who is king of the Bar-B-Que. Find a way to tap into this pride, make cooking fun. Be around when the Scouts are cooking (Don't look at this time as leaders time off!) Offer words of encouragement, be willing to maybe show a Lad how something is done. Remember that he might never have cooked anything at home (Or even put a dish in the dishwasher!) Make sure that Patrols eat together as a Patrol (Not grab stuff and eat it as it is cooked.) Again this might be new to some Scouts who come from families where everyone gets their food and runs off to another room. Invite people who know about food to give a talk about food and cooking to a few Troop meetings. Local chefs, Dietitians, Scouter's who have mastered "Backwoods Cooking". Be careful not to allow everything to always be the same old same old. Foil packs are great, but not every camp-out. If there really isn't time for cooking I have no problem going out and buying pizza or fast food. Or maybe taking the Troop to the local swimming pool and stopping for something on the way back to camp. I know a good number of leaders will think this is just plain wrong! Work with the PLC to find new and better ways of doing things. PLC meetings don't always have to be sit down events. Cooking in Roaster Bags submerged in water does work (The water is there for clean up) What knot is the best knot to secure he bag? Let the PLC work on it. At one jamboree I seen a guy cooking a big roast (Pork I think) in a metal garbage can. He had chicken wire in columns along the inside filled with charcoal. It had a probe attached which was reading a temp between 325 and 350. I was really impressed. I can't see me carting a big can around but maybe something smaller (5 gal ?) can might work. I don't know how many charcoal bricks it takes to hold a temp? Something a PLC might want to work on? We have mastered the art of cooking in a foil lined cardboard box. I used a box that a printer came in the scouts covered it inside and out with good quality foil. At the bottom we had a rack from a refrigerator (A small one) We placed nine charcoal briquettes in a tin foil pie pan on the rack. It works great for cooking biscuits served with creamed corned beef! (A can of corned beef chopped added to hot milk brought to a boil and thickened with cornstarch, sometimes the Scouts add sweetcorn or peas) The meal takes about 20 minute's to cook from start to finish (As long as the charcoal lights!!) We tried cooking a whole lamb in a rock lined hole in the ground (We couldn't find a small pig) it didn't work that well, but a whole salmon worked great. The Ship tried cooking pheasant. Sea Scouts don't make the best pheasant plucker's! I know I have a very big bias. But of all the skills we teach our youth I think cooking is the one that they will most defiantly use in later life. I remember that my cooking a coq au vin at camp was a big turning point for me. It was something that my Irish mother was was not a great cook, would never have cooked. I messed it up (I didn't know that a clove of garlic and a bulb of garlic weren't the same thing -So it was very garlicky) Years later when I found I wasn't happy in the career I'd chosen, that coq au vin came back to haunt me. Eamonn

Wood Badge is open to all adults who serve Scouting. Isn't having the leadership skills needed to get a job done more important than teaching skills that might only be used by a number of the participants? As I have posted in the past, I was very fortunate in having Fred Jenkins as an ASM. Fred was a King's Scout a very talented and gifted fellow. He was able to tie every knot in the Ashley Book of knots. Sad thing was he wasn't able to pass this on to the youth members. After a kid got it wrong a couple of times Fred was happy to say the kid was a complete and utter idiot who was not capable of learning and unworthy of his time. He had the knowledge to be do just about anything in the great outdoors but no skills in working with others. I loved him dearly, but I'd never ask him to serve on a Wood Badge course. Eamonn.