hops_scout

I have worn many hats and many varieties of such. From my red and green Scout hat with the mesh back, to the organge and white Tiger Cub hat; to the tan and OD knit hat I wear in the winter to the OD boonie I wear whenever in the outdoors. To my Camo Patrol cap with a "Scout" scroll sewn on. I have many baseball caps. In fact, I have nearly 40! I have St Louis Cardinal hats, Fighting Illini hats, Dallas Cowboys hats, and many Waterloo Bulldogs hats. My baseball hat I wear with pride. I am a very dirty type on the between the lines, and I wear a hat showing just that. My cap has not been washed in 3 years. It will never be washed! Started being black with an orange "W" it is now nearly more brown than black. A true baseball cap is dirty, discolored, and ratty. Mine looks like that:) That is why it is my favorite hat to wear. While it doesnt fit all ocassions, it fits many and I always like wearing it:)

So far, I have gotten a pair of Jambo Scout shorts, the Jambo neckerchief, a Scout neckerchief slide, a bandana map, and a Jambo nameplate. I hope to get a Jambo shirt, a couple stickers (one I'd like to have for my helmet) and the wicking shirt. I plan to be wearing the UA stuff under my t-shirts anyway. I have also purchased a pair of Scout pants specifically because of the possibility of going to Jambo. I've got quite a bit to do still. Need to get going on that I guess;)

I voted for Toby Keith a couple of times;)

Personally, I would prefer trained adult leaders. If they are openly gay, I would have to wonder, but I could get over it. There is the Youth Protection policies for a reason.

E, if Bob White's secret is what he's doing, I already know, but I'm NOT sharing!! BUT, he shall be well-known by the end;) I'm gonna have to make sure and meet as many as possible. If anybody gets a chance, stop by the Rappel Tower in Action Center D (NER) I'll probably be hanging out. If not, I may be able to make a few trips to different camps during my free time.

And if these threads keep going offtopic and becoming problems, they will be locked.

So far, it seems to be assumed, but that could be understandable considering the BSA appears to have turned over his computer. Which does make sense, IMO.

I dont do the patch trading. I will, however, take a few to Jambo to give out and such. The CC of my troop has become quite a good friend of mine since I got into the Jamboree stuff this year. He just bought a patch that is a camporee patch I believe from our district long before our council existed. (Our troop is nearly twice as old as our council). I wanna say he gave something like $240 for it!

This really isnt a Boy Scout problem. I have read the articles that have been posted. As of right now, none of US can prove he is guilty. That aint our job. None of us can even prove is was actually on the computer that had the files. Again, speculation, but this could even be a public computer for crying out loud! You dont know that. Chances are we never will know all the details. That's the way it should be. Also, somebody mentioned the BSA failed here and I dont understand that. What are they going to do? Go in and search through his personal computer? Even his work computer is somewhat private and personally I dont feel people should be going through it. His personal computer though the BSA can't touch! Otherwise, they WOULD have a lawsuit on their hands.

I guess it would have to depend on the requirements for the merit badge. I am one who is not in favor of all the different video games we have. I feel Americans play waaaaaay too many. I have never owned a game system. My brother owns 4 of his own Gameboys. I cant stand them. I'd say the last time I've played a video game was probably 6 months ago at least. Why would it be so bad? Like I stated above, I feel Americans play them way too much. I really dont see how they can play into economics or business management. To each his own.

We could go with the summer weight;)

I dont know what all I have that isnt in the handbook. Basically, I've based most of my purchases from the handbook, but not everything. As soon as I get my stuff all typed up, I'll post it here. I tend to be more prepared than most.

Most, if not all states, would issue them. Otherwise, how could they do passports? BSA is saying, probably being told by Homeland Security people, that ALL people on the buses must have photo id. Military base guidelines I would think.

I have made up my own packing list over the years. In fact, I need to type it up so that I have it and it's easier to make changes than while it's just written.

I dont like the idea of the Video Games merit badges. I do, however, like the networking, webmastering, etc I remember one specific person wanting to see a sewing merit badge. I cant say I'd be against it. A more Advanced First Aid merit badge would be useful. More ideas may come later

I take mine with me to every meeting and campout as well as my Boy Scout Fieldbook. Unless, of course, weight factors in. Then, they stay behind because they are HEAVY!

Locked before this gets any worse.

The "Safeguarded OA" area is for OA members only. You have to know something dealing with OA in order to gain access. That is the password they are looking for there.

I'm going into my 6th year of Boy Scouts. I take my book EVERYWHERE. It says it right there in the first few pages that the book is supposed to be torn, etc. I'm now missing probably 10-15 pages off the front or back. That's the way it is supposed to look like.

Personally, I'd like to see a multiplatformed uniform. Outdoor uniform OD BDU pants Thorlo BSA socks red or green t-shirt with troop logo red or green (correspond with above) UA or similar shirt. (long sleeve when needed, short sleeve during summer) OD BDU shirt OD Rescue rappel belt Combat boots or hiking boots OD boonie or patrol hat Outdoor ceremonies (not too formal) OD BDU pants Black boots BSA socks OD belt with gold, BSA buckle Tan Scout shirt red undershirt (UA is best) Formal Ceremonies (Court of Honor, Veterans' Day, etc) Polished black boots BSA socks OD belt with BSA buckle Either BDU pants or BSA pants Tan uniform shirt red undershirt Troop or patrol neckerchief Merit badge sash (OA sash where appropriate) Red beret for under Star rank Green beret for Higher ranks Color guard Formal uniform plus white ceremony gloves Troop meetings Depends on the nature of the meeting. Choose any of the above. Using the method above, you can get as formal or imformal as you would like with little changes. The items are normally useable in more than one type of uniform. They can also be useful for things other than uniform. "UA" refers to the Under Armour material providing ventilation. Rescue rappel belt could be used to bear some weight, but BSA (and I) would not reccommend it alone.

The excuse that they are too busy is just that----an EXCUSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! A 16 year old has to make his own choices. If Scouting isnt one of them, too bad for them. They dont deserve to be able to just come back at a moment's notice and expect the Eagle badge. I am currently 16. I play 3 sports at the high school level. I understand the fact that those those activities can pull you away at times, but not ALWAYS. Also, I'm on a subcommittee planning the "Mock" at prom time. There's a meeting a week. Next, I'm an honors student ranked in the top 25% in my class. That includes 3 math/science classes, English, and spanish. Next year I will have a schedule including physics, trigonomotry, english, college US history, and spanish III as well as an additional social studies class. My next priority goes to the Bulldog Technology Production Club. I am the secretary of the club. I spend quite a bit of time either photographing or editing pictures as well as uploading them to the internet. In fact, I may possibly be making trips to two games tomorrow to shoot pics. And as many as 3 games on Saturday. Right now, I am serving as the Senior Patrol Leader of Troop 323. I am also nearly in charge of the constructing High Adventure patrol. This summer, I will be attending the National Jamboree. This will require me to miss our team football camp as well as additional weight lifting and running. Finally, I have a job as well. It isnt much, but it is still a job. Priorities are where it all starts. They need to turn the video games off, avoid the parties, etc (Sorry for what may seem like a rant or whatever you may see it as)

I posted this in disbelief. I couldnt believe it when I found it. I may have only lived 16 years so I may know very little about war, but I think I know a lot more than you would expect. Anybody that knows me knows that I support the troops 100%. I may fall into what seems to be a minority, but I support Operation Iraqi Freedom as well. We used to have the yellow ribbons on the car. (I think it either fell off or was stolen) Most of my family wears a yellow bracelet "Until They all come Home" and I also have one from the Army National Guard that says "Honoring a Hero serving in the Army National Guard" I intend to serve time as soon as possibly next year. We'll see. "Until they All Come Home"

People say the pants are not made for the outdoors. People say the pants are not comfortable. Personally, I believe both of those statements are wrong. This weekend I wore my Scout pants and Scout shirt 90% of the time. When did I not wear it? Well, I took the shirt off when I went to bed and didnt put it back on. The pants stayed on all weekend. Granted, I didnt do a whole lot this weekend, but I did work in the fire, set up tents, and cook dinner all while in uniform. I dont have a problem with the uniform. Do I wish we would go to OD BDUs? Of course, but National suggests we wear these pants so that's what I'm going to wear normally. When backpacking or canoeing or climbing, though, they will sit out while I don the more versatile BDUs of my choice:)

No yellow ribbons here By Thomas Naughton, Collegian columnist February 23, 2005 Guilt can only weigh on a person's mind for so long before they crave the act of purgation; to get the weighty feelings of shame and responsibility out of the mind - or at least the guilty parties attempt to find some kind of peace if they cannot rid themselves of a screaming conscience that implicates and indicts its possessor. That said, perhaps some readers will understand why my friends and I rip yellow ribbon "support the troops" magnets off of cars or wherever people have affixed them. By ripping off these ribbons, we find a way to deal with our guilt, as though with each ribbon swiped we take back a life that was taken by this senseless war started by our senseless president and those who support him. I will never say, "support the troops." I don't believe in the validity of that statement. People say, "I don't support the war, I support the troops" as though you can actually separate the two. You cannot; the troops are a part of the war, they have become the war and there is no valid dissection of the two. Other people shout with glaring eyes that we should give up our politics, give up our political affiliations in favor of "just supporting the troops." I wish everything were that easy. What they really mean is that we should just give up our will, give up our identities, give up our voices to those in power. Perhaps that's just the way people aligned with the right wing choose to get rid of their guilt: blindness and ignorance. I listen to talk radio very often. It's important to know who your enemies are. The pundits on the radio are the pinnacles of guiltless, shameless wonders, and I am jealous. It must feel good to believe without question, to benefit from the blind belief of young men and women who chose to join the armed forces, to sit in a radio studio in New York and admonish the public to give in like the troops, to just follow orders, to live as just a number that will soon be etched into a gravestone that no one will ever see. I look into the cars of people with "support the troops" ribbons as I speed past, trying to find some trace of recognition on their face, recognition of their guilt and the fact that they have given up. I usually see nothing; just a mouth moving robotically, singing the pop hits of today or the contemporary country wine of fake cowboys who share a lot with George Bush: no shame. We say, "support the troops" so that we won't feel guilty about saying "no" to war. We reason that if we say that we support the troops, somehow we aren't monsters for not saying a word when the death tolls of U.S. soldiers climbed above 1,000. Those ribbons are yellow for a reason, they are not the mark of armed forces support, they are the mark of cowards. Pundits on the radio advise their cowardly listeners to approach men and women in army uniforms and say "thank you." I cannot do that. Every time I pass a person in uniform I look long and hard at them and all I can think inside to say is "I'm so sorry." I want to apologize to them, to their families and to their friends. I feel sorry that we, the people, couldn't control our own government at the outset of this conflict when most of us knew deep inside that it was a mistake. Where are we now? Are we in a better place? Is the world safer for democracy? No, it is not safer and we are not in a better place. In this war that we are fighting to somehow avenge the deaths of the Sept. 11 tragedy, we have amassed a field of body bags, the number of which almost matches the number killed in the terrorist attacks four years ago. Now, we stare at yet another request for barrels of money for this war by President Bush, while people in our own country search fruitlessly for jobs to feed their starving families, while every public school gets left behind, while our elderly are ensured an uncertain future of unpaid medical bills. I guess we shouldn't think about those things though, right? We should just buy a yellow magnet and slap it on the butt of our car so we can sleep at night and just let our government do whatever they want. That's supporting the troops, right? Two years ago my friend Eric called me out of the blue after almost five years of silence between us. We were in a band together when we were teenagers and he had joined the army around the time I was graduating from high school. He had to join the army; he had a son to provide for in the grand tradition of many young members of the armed forces. He called me to tell me that he was going back to Iraq, against his will. He was so sad and angry and scared. He didn't say it, but I know he was calling to tell me that he might die. I didn't say it to him then, but I felt such overwhelming guilt that I couldn't do anything to keep him from going back. I haven't heard from him since. I don't know if he's dead, and my guilt is alive and well. I hope that all of our family members in harm's way return alive. Until then, I can really honor their sacrifice by demanding that it finally comes to an end. http://www.dailycollegian.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2005/02/23/421beb6d96af4#feedback

We have three or four nylon (I think) ones for camping during the year, but for summer camp we use very old, canvas ones. I'm guessing possibly military surplus things. They are HEAVY. Right now all of those are in our trailer. Soon, however, the canvas ones are going out due to the fact that they are seldom used. They'll be placed in our newly renovated shed at the CO's place.