Gold Winger

Do you think that there are thousands of widely varying reasons?(This message has been edited by Gold Winger)

"The green wool jac-shirt (not "jack") was worn by scouts in the 60's. Red was for adults and Explorers." Hmmmm . . . in 1966, I was given a red wool Boy Scout jacket by a friend of my mother's whose son had dropped out of Scouting. It was waaay too big for me so I got to wear it for nearly five years. Of course, after I outgrew it, it was passed on to someone else. I wish that I still had it :-(

Since the old QM emblem was probably derived from the Army's QM emblem and is way too symbolic for today's world. " - is the reason units are using bold/bright colors for troop shirts to pick their members out of a crowd? Or is it just because they look "cool"?" I can't speak for every troop but my son's troop has orange shirts so they can be spotted. I know other Scouters who have told me that they picked bright yellow for the same reason.

I agree with BW. DO NOT have your Scouts bring their friends to a meeting because meetings are boring, especially for outsiders. Invite the friends for campouts, rafting trips, hikes and such. A boy lead troop will be more appealing than an adult run one. Everything in a teen's like is run by adults. School, sports, and nowadays even the school play. If they come and they see that boys their own age or a little older are running things, this might appeal to them.

You are very lucky in that respect. The town where I used to live has a couple of what were termed "treacherous turns" on the road into town. They are only treacherous if you were going too fast or don't know how to drive well but the two usually go together. A few years back a car load of teens, driven by a teen, went off the road on the inside of one of these turns, hit a phone pole and all were killed. The high school brought in grief counselors. For weeks afterwards you'd see groups of teens standing in the rain by the side of the road, crying their eyes out. A little more than a month later, history repeated itself at the other turn. Some kids just don't learn. (This message has been edited by Gold Winger)

I've been moderated!(This message has been edited by Gold Winger)

The rank badges have changed a couple times. At one time they were borderless, embroidered on fabric similar to the shirts. Then there were the oval bordered patches with the colored backgrounds. Finally we have what we have now. To make things "cleaner" and more "toned down" rank patches should go back to the way they were, no borders. Same for position patches along with getting rid of the text on the position patches.

"Your perception and assumption are incorrect" Sorry but they aren't. Look at the official flyer. The patch doesn't fit.

Color matching has never been one of BSA's strong points. I have four shirts and no two match.

"Over all it is a very nice looking uiform." Of course it is. I was just looking at the official flyer again and I noticed that the sleeve pocket is too small by a hair for the position patch. Is that good design or what?

(This message has been edited by Gold Winger)

The sash will probably change to match the trousers (that's an opinion). The border of the elective patches might change to match the sash.

Not me. As long as he's not hanging around causing trouble, I don't care. This isn't school so if he doesn't want the merit badges and just wants to fish, that's fine.

Back in the day (according to my 1942 Handbook for Boys), the SPL wore two long bars with a short one overlaid with the 1st class emblem. The JASM wore three long bars with the 1st class emblem. It shows no insignia for ASPL.

Bob, where did I say that? The local community college should have an EAFL class for you.

Saying that something makes sense is stating an opinion. There may be a basic English class at your community college, perhaps you should take it.(This message has been edited by Gold Winger)

Many states have BSA affinity plates. However, in my experience you're stuck with a number. MO must be a progressive state. Five letters? SCOUT. BSA01.(This message has been edited by Gold Winger)

It occurs to me that it is ironic that BSA is trying to "tone down" the uniform when so many units pick bold and bright colors for their troop t-shirts so their Scouts are easy to spot.

I won't hold my breath because, as you would say, until it comes from Texas, it is only your opinion and the opinion of one Scouter is meaningless. (This message has been edited by Gold Winger)

"My vote is also with the pharmacy. Get the glucose tablets in sealed foil and forget the worry." There's a reason that they're called "chalk pills." Yech! After two decades, I'm still a firm believer in Life Savers. Inexpensive, widely available, almost indestructable, and yummy.

"Since the uniform is now predominantly green and tan it would be logical that the jackets would change to one of those colors as well." Why? The red jack-shirt was introduced when the entire uniform was green. As for poly-razmataz jackets, my red fleece jacket was made out of recycled coke bottles. That might be better than having sheep produce methane.

The reason that you don't see them that high is that most people don't bother to read the uniform rules. FWIW, I don't wear one.

"Have a kid get hurt shooting, sailing, fishing or even bit by a dog earning the vet merit badge and you'll find out MB activities are BSA activities as far as the insurance man is concerned." Only at camp. If your son is playing basketball on in a rec league so that he can finish the Sports mb and gets hurt, will you hold BSA liable? Sorry, it won't fly.

" it must be SUPERVISED by a NRA/BSA certified instructor and when on a range, SUPERVISED by a NRA/BSA certified range officer" Is either of those necessary since a merit badge activity is not a BSA activty?

I believe that NRA certification is required. One option would be for you to contact NRA and see if there is an Instructor Counselor that would be willing to come and put on a class for a group of you.