Gunny2862

My understanding of the "poop tube" is that it is especially for use at altitude where the required microbial action isn't available to break down the organic waste in a suitable period of time - especially in areas that see frequent usage. And in that context I buy in to the idea. It's not for every single camp out everywhere. I do agree that it seems like some of the LNT ideas are presented from an extremist point of view. But, we have a local nature trail that is just for "follow the trail" nature walks where some folks won't go into the woods with out a defined path. Some of the trails which were originally a single foot track, lets call it 18 inches wide(or less) have grown to over 5 feet wide in just a very few years because some people (who won't go into the woods w/o a trail)won't stay on the trail. We still use it because it has an amazing variety of flora and fauna available in an extremely compact area.

Don't get me wrong, but it is the attitude I am getting locally, not online, when I ask ask about what training is available and what sequence I should try to go to it.

I would first, do the research to find out if it IS a national rule. If it is then I would take it if I wanted to do WB staff. If not, then determine if there have been significant changes to the course since you took it or if the changes are such that you would pick up on them during your exposure to the course material during your train up period prior too delivering any course material. If the changes are extensive I would seriously consider doing it again. As far as the Owl issue I don't have any idea. I've not been able to attend WB the first time yet.

Mine have a little pilling but considering what they are made of and the use they are put to I was waiting for it to happen.

I'm still new here so forgive me if I am far afield on this but, here it seems to me that the Scouters around here think of Wood Badge as some kind of capstone course of training that only the oldest and wisest should attend. Only after you are fully trained for your position, for any position you previously held, only after you have served on the Committee, only when you are ready to quit being with the boys and start as a Commissioner should you attend Wood Badge. It's as though it is a recognition of service rather than a preparation for service.

I don't remember the fire and severe weather drill but they may have happened the during the 10 hours I had to leave during the week (my basement flooded - sump pump froze up). But we did have a "Lost Camper" drill when someone (turned out to be a staff member) was reported walking down the highway in their Scout shirt. That drill went amazingly well. Everyone on the site was at the dining hall and accounted for in less than 15 minutes from the time the call went out.

I certainly can shop for myself. So can each of the boys. But if the boys want to shop as patrols, if they have put together a method that works, even if that method asks an adult leader to come along to facilitate payment from unit funds, then why by your own logic would we step in and change it because we see how it could be done differently/better? Isn't letting them do it the way they want to part of the fail and fix it yourself concept here?

Thanks Flyingfish, It's good to be aboard. I worked at JCSE with a couple of Bubbleheads, they were forever trying to park the HF systems on the side of a hill to recall their angle and dangle days. Imagine though, a Bubblehead who knows MRE cooking skills.... Thanks for checking in!

Welcome, Pour a cup and sit down. Did you bring any smores?

I know that most of what I'm used to are now considered initiations or hazing and not pranks. But, (underline) properly managed (end underline), they are things that one waits for - understanding that when one is finally pranked, or "initiated" that one has really arrived and is seen by the group as part of the group. Yes, these things do go awry, especially when performed with a person who doesn't get the above dynamic - this is one way the prank or initiation often crosses the line into hazing. That said, there are a couple of problems with just calling off the prank - it weakens the already fragile relationships that the boys are just building. It makes the prankee feel angry, alone and rejected(see OGE's earlier posts, especially 2/19/2007), and it makes the prankers wonder if the prankee wants to be a part of the group or isn't a fun guy that they want around anyway. It turns out that some degree of appropriateness is needed, and in fact there are and should be some degree of safety concern for the prankee. There are traditions that go out the door under too much concern, but these are usually due to some prankster who doesn't get that they have crossed the line. (((Be aware that all past this point may belong in another thread but people have been commenting on appropriateness so I'm going to continue)) When I was young in the Corps and I got promoted did I look forward to having my new stripes tattooed(one punch on each arm by anyone who saw me and outranked me and knew I'd been promoted within the last 24 hours)on. Of course I did, because the folks who got promoted and no one cared enough to tattoo them knew that they weren't liked or accepted. Did I enjoy getting my Blood Stripes (same scenario for Corporal but with a knee delivered to my quadriceps), not nearly as much because boy did that hurt. Now to me, part of the issue considering where the line is drawn is - How many punches or kicks can you take with out breaking the arm or the leg? Don't laugh, it has happened. So another NCO needed to kind of watch out and see if some overzealous jerk would line you up against a wall to concentrate the force, or other techniques that went beyond initiation and crossed straight over the line into hazing. Which is now outlawed, as well as initiations of any kind. A good prank however...can still deliver a sense of belonging - but again I have to subscribe to prairies' post for ROE Rules of Engagement)for Scouting at least - start post prairie RE: Camp Pranks Posted: Wednesday, 2/21/2007: 3:54:29 PM MY personal rules on pranks. Know your target. Watch the prank unfold, if it goes wrong end(edit G2862, I would say fix not necessarily end) it right then. Never pull a prank you won't fess up to, including the SM, the camp director and your pastor. Be ready to undo what ever the prank was, even if it takes all night. Which means I think up a bunch of them, and most are never even talked about let alone done." end post By the time I was close to retiring, if some Marine entered into the NCO ranks I could legally "only" shake his hand - and believe me most of the new Corporals knew they were missing the sense of belonging that was delivered in the old traditional methods. On the other hand, any initiation that requires a day off to recover, or a trip to the hospital or physical therapy has clearly gone to far. So for me safety does play a part in pranking.

We've been fortunate on the cash handling side, most prepay, I've yet to see fees not paid before departure. Unit funds are shuffled around in order to facilitate this payment arrangement, but it seems to be working. We average $10 per scout for a Fri(1 meal), Sat(3 meal+ dessert), Sun(1 meal) trip. On the shopping side, we go camping monthly, year around, and the scout/scouts who need for advancement to prepare a menu, budget, shop and prepare a meal do so not just once but for the entire weekend, although we do rotate KP. If no one needs it for advancement then the PL's rotate through the cook duty each month. The SM or an ASM go with the shoppers (primarily to facilitate the use of unit funds, if necessary) but if all they buy is candy, thats what the boys eat for the weekend - I'm told it has only happened once in the last ten years.

A Scout is...courteous... But I am inclined to agree with packsaddles assessment. Unless this fine fellow is someone who is chronically disrespectful then you probably need to cut him some slack. If on the other hand this guy is a real jerk then how, when and where has he been demonstrating Scout Spirit towards his Eagle?

Thank God I'm not teaching but just being around campus I hear it all the time..."It's not fair I'm going to protest my grade". It's especially annoying when it's from a student who was in a class I was taking and they weren't there 1/4 to 1/3 of the time. Or "I'll have my mom call and see if they can get my grade bumped so I can keep my scholarship." Have they just not heard of studying?

But we needed tautlines to keep our Camp property tents up this most recent camp session. We had to provide our own line and stakes to reinforce the stability of the tents and to aid in the tautness of the material during those first couple of days of rain. Otherwise our personal gear would have been soaked. We didn't take our own tentage for camp. I was really glad I wasn't the only one who knew how to tie those tautline knots.

I love the show although I concur that not leaving the area likely to be searched is the best method. His premise is that you are truly out of luck, over due and no one is looking for you - how can you survive, travel, and get back to any link to civilization. He takes his camera crew along with him. Even with the support team I don't know if I would be willing to try some of the more extreme things he does, e.g. floating along a river UNDER an ice shelf for an unknown distance. I also like Survivorman with ?Les Stroud? he doesn't do nearly as much of the extreme things to try to get out. If you get hurt while you are alone you're likely to be out of luck on getting out. Something he attempted to show on one episode until he was doing so poorly he had to go back to using his "broken" arm in order to have any real chance at getting out. Les does it w/o camera crew and occasionally loses his helicopter "real emergency support/search" team.(This message has been edited by Gunny2862)

Nessmuk, for all camping, fieldwork, I emphatically concur. Now, lets just get a field worthy uniform to wear that way.

... That the really "financially poor" seem to properly wear and take good care of whatever shred of uniform they were able to get, while the "rich" kids often don't care if they look like slobs... ...and then the most well off child in the group comes rolling in, wait for it.... in (Ugly and ill fitting)Grey sweatpants and the Short sleeve Scout shirt!(Not coming from any sporting activity!) And the poorest - lives with his Grandmother- with several other surviving siblings, you can't pry what uniforms we've been able to get him off of him. AArgh!

First, recognizing that BSA doesn't recognize the following terms... then MHO would be that in utilizing those terms one would say that... All options, are to be in *underline*uniformity across the troop.*stop underline* Class A would be a full dress uniform(i.e Hat, Neckerchief or bolo, Long or short sleeve shirt as seasonally appropriate, Scout belt, Scout Trousers, Scout socks, discretionary underwear and footwear) what one would wear for their Eagle ceremony and would include their Merit badge sash or OA sash. Class B would be what seems to be called the Class A by most posters at this site. Still the Long sleeve button down shirt , no sash, with Necker or Bolo, Scout Trousers or Shorts as seasonally or activity appropriate.(The traveling uniform) I would endorse a Class C, Which would be as above but always signifies the Short sleeve shirt.(An optional traveling uniform) And a Utility uniform which would be a Scout shirt and designated Trousers or Shorts dependent on Activity and Season. And could possibly include non-Scouting Trousers or Shorts. Followed by mufti - basically anything appropriate for an activity (especially dirty or laborious ones), e.g. Hard-hat, Leather Work Gloves, Boots(prefer Steel-toe) Insulated Trousers, Wool Socks, 2-3 layers of upper body raiment for clearing trees from roads following an ice storm. Although even with this option I would like to see some kind of easily noticeable article or device that would make it easy to pick my troop members out of a crowd. Just my take on what doesn't exist in Scouting but, it seems like an awful lot of us use. (This message has been edited by Gunny2862)(This message has been edited by Gunny2862)

Eamonn, Ditto what RangerT said. Now is the time to revel in your accomplishments and realize that you can now advise even more - whether from the trail or at the roundtable or especially in Scoutmaster/ Asst. SM coffee clatches when they need a more experienced point of view than they might have gained yet.

Knot having been a Scout, I'm working on learning the skills in parallel to (or slightly ahead of)the rate my son is learning his skills. I have to say that for me the knots are a part of learning that there is detail in the knots and regardless of whether someone shows you how or if you try to figure it out from a book, the knot just isn't correct without doing what ever detail is in the knot that is the secret of how that particular knot does what it is supposed to. A valuable life lesson that sometimes things just have to be done the way they are intended to be done to get the desired result. Yes you can usually tie some gobbledygook mess into a rope and make it work, maybe... but would you really trust such a thing with your life? It is also a way of showing that when you do tie that "must be reliable" knot in an emergency or life preserving situation that you know what it is that you are doing and can be trusted to perform the rest of the procedures with the same attention to detail. IMHO.(This message has been edited by Gunny2862)

Again I agree with Most of what has already been written, but to throw in my 1.25 cents... Cooking should be a required skill, how are you self reliant if you can't feed yourself. Morse Code, we would really have had for things to have hit the fan (nuclear war and EMP (Electro-Magnetic Pulses) frying all of the non-tube based radios) for either of these to be a necessary skill set - and if they were where are you going to find a tube based radio AND power to operate it with? Good things to learn if you are into HAM radio? Sure. I'm a HF radio guy myself, love it, as a hobby and for history's sake. But as a realistic means of communication now, only for the very few, very skilled who can also afford the costs.

Also from inquiry.net in the section on Scout Staves are several projects using your hiking staff. I think this might be a good way to incorporate having another multifunctional item you carry with you. You could have them to practice with at meetings or at LNT (Leave No Trace)campsites and either use them for camp gadgets or use good deadfall for leave behind Pioneering efforts at non-LNT sites. I'm using what looks like it was intended to be a broom handle and will soon be incorporating some of the inquiry.net suggestions to make it more useful as a carry item.

I'm having a hard time arguing with your definition...

Rained first 3 days of Camp. Swimming was held unless lightning was detectable - at any distance. Watercraft - Canoes, Sailing, etc. same. All other classes except Rope/Tower work went as normal. If it ain't rainin', it ain't trainin'.

Wear 'em out John. I hate buying software for the same reasons, rarely does it do everything that was promised.