emb021

While I don't have a full idea of what is going on, it seems clear to me that one thing that needs to be done is replace the SM. Missing an occasional meeting is one thing (which is why a SM needs reliable ASMs for), but it sounds like a lot of missed meetings, cancelled meetings, etc. The COH should have been planned out weeks in advance, AND all the awards already obtained. In fact, the awards should have ALREADY been handed out, and the COH should have served as a time to publicly recognized advancement, hand out cards and parents pins, etc. The Troop Committee needs to get its act

Sounds like a contrivied uniform. I've been studying BSA insignia and uniforms for years and nothing you mention matches up. The tan shirt (instead of olive or so called 'khaki') came in use when De Larente redesigned the uniform and added the epaulets around 1980 or so. The pocket flap items are unknown to me and sound made up.

"Stupid question time. Are these pants just for the Boy Scout Uniform. Can you wear them with the Cub Scout and Venturing uniforms." They are only available in olive, so they would be inappropriate for wearing with Cub Scout or Venturing uniforms. And as far as Venturing goes, so what? Venturers have never been required to obtain the official pants/shorts from National. We have always been able to obtain charcoal gray pants/shorts from other sources and still be in official uniform. So if there exist zipoff charcoal gray pants, that will work in Venturing.

As others have pointed out, the Eagle Board has no say in Eagle COH. Now, there may be some local traditions in play (troop, district, council), but overall this sounds strange.

"In Venturing we were discussing the Corps of Discovery a Proposed Venturing Honor Society which also has designed a flap patch, it is proposed for the left flap on the spruce green Venturing shirt and this is both for young men and women." I am familar with the CoD idea, but have never heard their flap patch as being "proposed for the left flap". All the CoD patches I've seen worn have been on the right flap. Many Venturers and Venturing leaders refuse to wear the OA flap because the female Venturers can't join (that's fine, that's their choice). Of course, there are many who do were

I'd love to see a National Venturing event. I am also not holding my breath for one. One thing is, the number of Venturers is not at the same level as Explorers were at the time they were doing the National Exploring Conferences. We need to really grow the numbers. We need more Venturers and crews at the council level to even hold council-level Venturing events. At present, its pretty hard to do in many councils. I'd love to see Area events, but in my Region they don't seem to want to allow them. My thinking is pick an already existing major council event and make the area e

Some councils may have a local policy to limit a person in specific positions to a specific number of years. There is good and bad reasons to do this.

Unit Commissioner OA Chapter Advisor (or event Lodge Advisor) Venturing Advisor District Committee Chair or other District Volunteer lot of options, really, if you don't want to go back to being just an ASM.

If kids (and adults) want to have a good meal on campouts, there are a lot of good resources out there ("Roughing it Easy" springs to mind). We did a lot of creative (and tasty) meals when I was a scout. On my first camporee, my patrol had spaghetti, made our own sauce, had a salad and garlic bread. It was great. This was all planned and carried out by the kids in my patrol. (another patrol tried to do the same, but they overcooked the pasta until it was paste, and their sauce was ragu. Ugh.) Have done pizza on campouts, egg & bacon in a paper sack, etc.

"Blame the management fads we've been through in the past 30 years. " Correct. Most organizations now have both a Vision Statement and a Mission Statement, including most non-profits.

SR540Beaver- there is a difference between: "We as staff decided that we like the stripped shirts and agreed to do it for this course." and: "I'm a troop guide for the course this fall and our WB Committee and course director are adamant that the entire staff dress identically in the Boy Scout uniform down to the belt buckle and sock length. All shirts are to be striped of insignia except for CSP, flag and world crest." In the first case, if this is what the staff wants to do as a whole, that's fine. But in the second, your WB Committee and Course Director are in violation

"Odd, I'm a troop guide for the course this fall and our WB Committee and course director are adamant that the entire staff dress identically in the Boy Scout uniform down to the belt buckle and sock length. All shirts are to be striped of insignia except for CSP, flag and world crest. The only thing we will change is the shoulder tabs for the short time we are cubs abd venturers. That is the way our council has done it at least since the WB for 21st Century came along. " My uniform was stripped. At the time, stripped uniforms was the norm. HOWEVER, you wore the uniform of your program.

"Can a Boy Scout troop set its own uniform policy?" It depends on what you mean by 'uniform policy'. The BSA has defined the basic scout uniform and the insignia and its placement. What troops can do is: *determine what, if anything, will be the troop neckerchief. *determine what, if anything, will be the troop headgear. *create a troop t-shirt for use as their activity (aka 'class B') uniform. they can not decide to replace parts of the scout uniform as their full uniform (ie either the shirt or pants), nor come up with new placements for the insignia, or (i

With NOAC 2006 behind us, we now know better what is ahead of us, at least for the next few years: 2007- NC&LS @ Indiana U. Another National Leadership Summit, but also a training event for the crew leaders at Arrowcorps5. Obviously, this will be an event for only a small number in each lodge (key 3, plus whoever is involved as leadership for AC5). Be ware this conflicts time-wise with WJ07. 2008- Arrowcorps5. 5 National Forests, 5 weeks, 5 thousand arrowmen. 2009- NOAC @ Indiana U. 2010- National Jamboree. OA will probably again have Service Corps, TOAP, and a theme show e

Actually, I worn pretty much the same outfit when I was on Wood Badge staff as a troop guide. I only have green venturing uniforms as I am only involved in Venturing and the OA. All staffers wear the participant neckerchief during the course. They wanted ALL the Troop Guides to wear red loops (and thus the red slide. I was planning on wearing silver loops and slide as I'm at the council level). I didn't like it, but that's what I was told to do. During the course the Troop Guides get moved to a Venturing crew and we switch our loops to green. All the other guides are in tan.

Follow up to my note. The original Ft. Myers-based council was the Royal Palm Council. the Sarasota-based council was the Sunnyland Council. They were formed at a time when many councils were being formed (too many, IMO). Many went under in the 1930s due to the poor economy. The new Ft. Myers-based council formed in 1967 is the Southwest Florida Council. As things were changing in Florida, the Ft. Myers area had really grown in the intervening years and could now support a council. Its grown much larger then the Sarasota area. There are still a lot of people who are upset a

Sort of. In my home area of Florida, two new councils were created in the 1925, one based in Ft Myers (Charlotte, DeSoto, Glades, Hendry, Lee, and Collier counties), the other based in Sarasota (Manatee and Sarasota). In 1937, the Ft Myers-based council went under, and was merged into the Sarasota-based council. In 1967, a new Ft Myers-based council was formed (Charlotte, Lee, Collier and part of Hendry county). Glades county had been moved to another council, and DeSoto county remained with the Sarasota-based council. So this was almost an 'unmerger'. However, in 1995, t

Who knows if they have? I had heard they were a registered Venturing Crew. Not sure if this is still so.

"On the issue of these 2 young ladies joining this crew after being asked to leave the other crew, this would send up red flags, but does this crew have a set of bylaws and is this kind of problem addressed in the crew bylaws? " The purpose of bylaws is to define how a group is organized. Its not their purpose to define how to behave. If a crew wants to define what is (and is not) acceptable behavior, that fine. But it doesn't belong in their bylaws. Create an 'acceptable behavior policy' or the like and vote it in. Its really important that youth people learn what bylaws are rea

"Does anyone know what kind of Jackets were worn I believe prior to the 1950's by Scoutmasters. They have 4 pockets on them, and are worn with a belt. I believe the only insignia is the Boy Scouts of America strip." there were also collar pins worn, which showed your position in scouting. I know these existed for both Boy Scout Leaders, as well as Senior Scout/Explorer Scout leaders. Mitch Reis has a book on dating Boy scout uniforms and insignia. Go to his page for more info: www.mitchreis.com

"hmmm... Is that correct? Our V Crew 19 & 20 yr olds are wearing the eagle knot above the pocket. " Yes. Its stated in both the Insignia Guide and the Venturer Handbook. However, if your Venturers want to wear the eagle knot (which you can get in green), let them. I've seen both done (ie knot or badge, not both) by members of the National Venturing Youth Cabinet. I prefer that Venturers not wear the Boy Scout rank awards on their green uniforms, and instead wear the AOL & Eagle Knots. Leaves the left pocket free for their Kodiak medals. The NVYC website says that

"all of our Scouts are able to recite the Outdoor Code. At almost every meeting, they begin by reciting pledge, Oath, Law and Outdoor Code. Don't really know why, but that's the way the Scouts have been opening our meetings for years. " As a scout (7 years) and scout leader (~7 years), this is how my troop did it (tho we added the outdoor code later on). To be honest, this is how I memorized the Oath and Law. I surprise members of my Fraternity by being able to recite them from memory.

"Didn't I see an old picture with Merit Badges sewn on the sleeve?" It has always been allowed to wear up to 6 merit badges (in rows of two) toward the bottom of the right sleeve on the long sleeved uniform shirt. This is illustrated in the Insignia Guide. "My son "lost" his MB sash, and I had to resew and rebuy all the patches. Now he's off to summer camp, and hopefully I'll have even more to sew on after the next COH." The high cost of losing a MB sash (and having to purchase and resew them) is one of the reasons I really don't like seeing kids take their sashes to events whe

"I nailed him on a couple of things. He seemed to have forgotten what his Eagle project was." Just a caveat. There wasn't always an Eagle Project. I don't think they came into existance until around 1965 or so. So depending on when this individual earned his Eagle, he may not have needed one. There is a great book out there on the Eagle Scout award that traces its history and has a great section on the changes in the requirements (including merit badges).

You should check the lastest edition of the "Insignia Guide". I believe that, yes, temporary insignia, can go on the back of the merit badge sash. The Paul Bunyan Award is one of several insignia that do NOT go on the uniform (and aren't temporary insignia). They are 'equipment decoration' and go on your pack &/or patch blanket. (others in this category include the 50 miler and historical trails award). I'm not sure if its proper to wear the PBA on the merit badge sash, regardless of the rule about temporary insignia. But frankly, if some kid didn't I'm not going to care...