Jay K

I did this with my Son: We transfereed him to the Troop via paperwork in December, and attended the B&G in February where he "formally" crossed over.

Yes, it's there. It's partly becuase the general progression is: Cub leader, Boy Scout adult, then District person. By the time a District person gets to that "level," they (we) forget what it was like to be new at it. I tell every Cubmaster that it is hard work, and being Scoutmaster isn't as hard. I tell every WEBELOS den leader that they have a lot to contribute, and should become an ASM , or a Unit Commssioner, or something. One of the biggest loss -of -resource in Scouting is the Webelos Den leaders we let slip away when their boys cross over.

1. Wear the cloth patch day to day. It can be made into a dangler by sewing a loop on it, or 2. Buy an Eagle medal on e-bay and wear that one most of the time, and save the original for "nice," or 3. Wear the Eagle Neckerchief or the Eagle Bolo, or 4. Make sure that there is a darn good pocket and put the Eagle Medal in the pocket when it will interfere with the backpack straps, the lifejacket or whatever.

At a recent Unit Commissioner Basic (all day) training, it was suggested that a Unit Commissioner do Uniform Inspections as a service to the Unit, certainly not as a high-handed "Here I am! Line up!" Theres a concept for Uniform Inspections, JTE, etc. It's encouragement. "Good for you! You got 17 points! That's great, and I can help you work toward getting EVEN MORE points next time!" They also told us "how to" hold a charter presentation ceremony. Jay K Trained Unit Commissioner

Joe Bob, "Adult intervention" and "Adult led," are, in my pea-brain, different things. I sometimes spend a long time speaking "Friendly, Curteous, Kind" into situations, but I don't "lead" until a real crisis erupts. Then, I go Drill Instructor. (I'm a Aquatics Director; I can bellow pretty good.) In my opinon, the Adults should have intervened. "Bleeds" is, to me, an obvious metaphor. The cute little phrase is a nice mnemonic, but no, I wouldn't wait literally for the blood to flow.

Actually, "Until it bleeds, no adult leads," sounds pretty good to me.

Crossover season. 16, now.

IT'S NEVER ENOUGH never enough never enough. Our January event was BOWLING...

I get regular e-mails from ScoutStuff. I got one last week that said that Jac-Shirts were 30% off. I went to a Scout Shop mentioned the e-mail, and asked if the 30% applied there. They said it did. There was no mention of discontinuation, but I didn't ask.

Thanks Mark, and thanks for being there for me.

Down with cabin camping.

Leviticus 19:28

I had watched every Shuttle Launch. I missed that one. Then, I got to see it 100 times. A sad day.

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1. When I go to National Camping School (NCS) for my next recert in 2014, they'll probably tell me something else again. I talked to other peaople who went to Aquatics Instructor class at different 2010 and 2011 NCS, and they were told the same thing. 2. It took a long time to get Merit Badge requirements updated to reflect that Second Class requirement 7 no longer has anything to do with Aquatics. 3. I, personally, don't care what they're called, just wear them.

At BSA National Camp School they told me to take precautionary steps if Water + Air temp was below 100, for boating activity. BSA standard time in 70 degree water is 20 minutes.

One other minor thing: At National Camping School, Cole Canoe Base, June 2010, Aquatics Instructor class. We were told: "PFD is OUT! They are, again, "LIFEJACKETS!" This was reportedly done to reduce confusion at family events, and when using non-BSA outfitters. It's been changed in Safe Swim Defense and Safety Afloat, they said.

At our Wood Badge Course, C-06-07. "Let's Play," on the second weekend, we camped as patrols, and each patrol had it's own campsite. The staff left camp for a while. A bonny good tme it was, I'll tell ye, aye. I dream of having a troop with enough Scouts to have two patrols I can make camp away from each other.

BOBWHITES! Covey up! I used to be a Bobwhite, and a good....old and feeble...don't know...

Type III are nice to wear. They are not intended to hold an unconcious person face up. Type II slowly saw through the neck of the wearer while paddling. They're excruciating on sunburn THEY MAY hold an unconcious person face up. They are the least expensive. Type I are expensive, hot, and are INTENDED to hold an unconcious person face up. Bent shaft paddles are great on flat water like lakes. I don't reccomend them for rivers, and I advise against them for any kind of rapids. The inexpensive aluminun shaft plastic bladed paddles are nice because the T handle is good for rescue.

1. I'm sad to see the home made pop can stoves be banned. 2. You can buy one that was made by a company, and is the exact same thing! 3. Alcohol IS dangerous: it is very hard to see the flame in conditions of direct sunlight. I've always felt that that fact is balanced by how easy it is to extinguish an alcohol fire with water. 4. I do choose to obey the Guide to Safe Scouting.(This message has been edited by Jay K)

We actually use a slide show (MS PowerPoint) that I found on this web site to train BoR sittees. I put "Skip this slide" in the notes on slides that don't pertain to a basic rank, local BoR. I also put "Skip this slide" in the notes on the slides that explain "how the scout gets to a BoR." I figure, if the Scout is appearing for a BoR, he's done the stuff that's covered in those slides. My CC, who has done scads of BoR, uses it to train adults just before a round of BoR. It takes about 10 minutes. "Skip this slide" has been inserted in about 2/3 of the slides; the presentation as a whole

Staff gotta eat, too.

Buy him some uniform pants. My CC won't get Uniform pants either...

LeCastor: Have the best time. Enjoy your patrol, make contacts, and persue your ticket goals with the enthusiasm that is evident here. I wish you all the best in this endevour. You can look at my "Wood Badge Horror Story," and yet, I count it as a valuable experience, and still value and interact with the friends I made.