epalmer84

Requirements are in the 8th edition of the Scout Handbook; I have both covers. I also have the First Aid skill award workbook, this is just a few pages with troop meeting outlines built around the skill award. Ed P.

As I understand it, the standard OA ceremonies are vetted by tribal elders and variations of the script are not allowed. Perhaps the same should be done for the AOL ceremony. Ed P.

I manage two websites, the district: http://www.valley.bsa-sjac.org/index.htm and the troop and crew: http://draftscouts.org/ I use Google Calendar and Google Docs. You can give access to the Google stuff to a group of folks and they can edit it themselves. My DE was going crazy sending me updates to the units and leaders list, so I went to Docs. It works just like Excel and she can update it whenever there is a minor change; she no longer keeps a separate spreadsheet. The calendar is also easy to update, and if you look at the unit site, you will see we have the district

Perc it until it smells like coffee from a yard away. Ed P. Who spent six years in Germany and is good friends with coffee.

As I understand it, the Scout executive can approve local emblems; if so, then someone at council should have the information on these. Do they have strips for the new Hazardous Weather and Generational Diversity training? Ed P.

Ah, the ping of aluminum bouncing on the floor as we tried to put those loops on our belts after closing. I still have my full set of skill awards with the red cross First Aid and my late brother's set with the green cross. I also have a First Aid Skill Book, the pamphlet used to teach the skill award. Skill awards were part of the instant recognition program that came in with the Improved Scouting Program in 1972 (and I still have the ISP guide). Skill awards were discontinued in 1989, but being thrifty, the BSA never throws out an idea. Belt loops returned in 1992 with the Cub S

And don't use corrugated cardboard as a backstop. If you hit it with a BB at even a bit of an angle, it will bounce instead of being absorbed. We had to shut down the range at twilight camp a few years ago on the first night. Ed

I recently did a short article on the Boy Rangers of America, a precursor to Cubbing: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boy_Rangers_of_America Ed

The movie being quoted here is Airplane!, released in Australis as Flying High.. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airplane%21 Ed

The Wikipedia article looks like a pretty good start: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mustang_%28horse%29 It has a lot of references that seem to be quite relevant. Ed

The ID came along with ScoutNet. Unit leaders should be able to get a roster from council with all the IDs. The registered unit leader gets membership cards with the charter. My guess is that someone has a bunch of envelopes stuffed away. You also need your ID to create a MyScouting account so you can take the online classes. Ed

Beavah is rightthe council is supposed to develop policies for district and unit websites. A policy should be written and not pulled out of a handy orifice. I doubt that National is going to help on this and it is a direct issue between district and council. As a district webmaster, I asked for my council's policy. They snail-mailed me a printed copy of the National policy that I had discussed with our SE. I gave up and developed my own policy. Ed

>Trustworthy Tommy was a Scout The original version is: Trusty Tommy is a Ranger Loyal true to every test, Helpful to the needy stranger Friendly, giving of his best. Courteous to the girls he knows Kind, a good turn every day Obedient to his parents, too, Cheerful, both in work and play Thrifty, saving for a need Brave, and not a faker Clean in thought, in speech and deed Reverent to his Maker. These were the Great Laws of the Boy Rangers of America, a Scouting program in the United States for boys ages 8 through 12. It was organized by members of the B

I was just notified of an update: Changes to Scouting.org On February 4, 2008, changes will be made to the Scouting.org Web site that will require your Webmaster to update links on your council Web site. The URLs that point to pages on Scouting.org will be changing; as a result, any Web sites that point to these pages must be updated. Ed

Perhaps this is the process the Girl Scouts went through when they decided to to restructure the 312 councils into 109 councils? Ed

As you are probably aware, there is no "official" ceremony. Whatever the cermon, keep it simple, dignified and short. If you have folks on their feet for more than 10 minutes, you have lost them. One of the best I have seen was done at Wood badge a few years ago by one of the patrols. They called for all of the audience who had served in the Army to come forward, lined them up and placed a flag on the fire. They then repeated this for each of the other services and we sang the first verse of "America" as we left. Ed

I've read some of Zeiger's work, and I'm not comfortable with it; he is way too right wing for my taste. Ed

By Boy Scout age, a boy should be able to handle his own meds; at most, a reminder would be needed. The Scoutmaster must know the health status of each Scout and Scouter. Summer camp meds are a mess. I can only guess that this system is dictated by the mysterious Camp School manual. Ed

The BSA Rules and Regulations have been quoted in the course of this discussion: b). Imitation of United States Army, Navy, Marine Corps or Air Force uniforms is prohibited, in accordance with the provisions of Act of Congress, approved June 3, 1916. That particular act is part of the U.S. Code: 10 U.S.C. ch.772. This chapter covers the wear of uniforms by those who are not members of the armed forces. However, reading to the end of the chapter: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode10/usc_sec_10_00000772----000-.html (j) A person in any of the following categ

> Is there a box to check on the form for dual embership? No- check with your council commissioner or the Scout executive. I have three hats- crew, troop and district webmaster. The crew and troop registrations are taken care of via recharter; the district committee registration is a local form I fill out every year. Ed

Now that I'm home... Male and Female Scouter Uniform Inspection Sheet (1978) "Right Sleeve: No other insignia may be worn except U.S. flag, if desired, and it is worn as shown" Scout Uniform Inspection Sheet (1978) "Right Sleeve: The optional U.S. flag may be worn, as shown. . . " Ed Ed

Statistics like these without the raw data to look at are meaningless. With those numbers, the article seems to make a bunch of baseless implications. I would say that during my military career I am aware of perhaps two dozen deaths due to accident or illness, two to homicide and only three from combat. Ed

>From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uniform_and_insignia_of_the_Boy_Scouts_of_America "Official uniforms come with the US flag sewn to the top of the sleeve. Wear of the flag is optional Scouts whose religion, tradition, or personal beliefs prevent them from displaying the flag are not required to do so." I wrote that, and it looks like I need to take another look at it. I suspect I had an older version of the Insignia Guide in hand that day and did not consider that it would have changed. Ed

Michael is correct- our Scout Shop had Assistant Scoutmaster - Varsity patches until recently. There is a nice chart of various Scouting organizations and their age groups at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Age_Groups_in_Scouting_and_Guiding The BSA is the only one listed that has overlapping age sections like Boy Scouting and Venturing. Ed

> Where is the Webmaster's page that's referred to? I haven't seen anything anywhere saying the site is changing. Resources for Council Webmasters: http://www.scouting.org/webmasters/ Ed