epalmer

As best I can tell the Totin' Chip and Firem'n Chit patches are for non-uniform wear, just like the High Adventure and Paul Bunyan patches. Our Scout Shop has these in stock and I took a look at them a while back. They are simply not the right shape for the pocket flap- too narrow and too tall. They are the right shape to wear at the bottom of the pocket. I have no clue as to why these are designed like this. Wearing them on the uniform is not useful. In a camping situation where the Scout is building a fire or using a knife, he isn't wearing the official uniform.

"indicating members of the unit who died in the service of their country" My question is on the definition of member. We had a youth who was in our troop for less than a year at age 11. Last year he died in Iraq. Does he count as a member in this context? I suspect the gold star came in during WWI or WWII when a number of adult leaders were called up. The definition would have been much clearer then. Perhaps this is a question to pose to Scouting magazine? Ed

You might ask the folks at http://www.scoutingbooks.com if they can come up with a version of the Trained Emblem. Or, just stop watching Follow Me Boys! :-) Ed

In my old troop in the 70s, Scoutmasters wore the dark green necktie. I got mine when I became an assistant Scoutmaster in 1976. Some time after the new uniform was introduced in 1980, the tie was changed to brown. It seems to have been quietly dropped from BSA Supply in the last few years. I still have both ties- I wear the brown one on Scout Sunday. You can usually find either on eBay. Ed