Stosh

This has become an interesting thread. Yet when it all boils down to the basic core of the discussion as to whether or not a sheath knife is too big, if a locking buck is too small, whether the axe should be worn on the belt, etc. etc. it is all irrelevant. If a boy is taught to respect a big/small/light/heavy knife and to use it correctly, what's the problem? If a boy is taught to respect a hand/three quarter/full axe and to use it correctly, what's the problem? What the tool is is a mere extension of what works for the person. How they use it determines it's importance. If I wi

On occasion I have been "chastised" for wearing a sheath knife and a belt axe, both of which are quite useful for fire-building, emergencies where a small knife won't do, and camp cooking. I can amass kindling about 3-5 times faster than anyone with a jackknife and using a folding knife for food prep only encourages bacterial transfer. With that being said, the discussion is usually over in a matter of seconds once people realize that both the sheath knife and belt axe are BSA issued/stamped/approved. It's not the knife/axe that is the problem, it's the person using them. Are they trai

Whatever it takes to keep interest I use. Signalling? At our last campout we had boys fighting over the telegraph keys, whining about their flashlights not having the signal button on them, and trying to jerry-rig their triangular neckerchiefs on a stick to work something out. I killed off a whole afternoon of no-snow winter camping with that ad hoc idea. And by the way, the boys can signal from one side of study hall to the other without having to leave the evidence of a passed note. American Sign Language is actually something they can use when they wish to discuss something while a mee

Without equipment and training, winter camping really sucks. However, there are nice BS Camps out there that have a winter survival program that our boys have attended for the past 15 years. They have the equipment and expertise to make the outing very challenging and exciting for the boys. One year the temperature went down to 43 degrees below zero (not counting the wind-chill) and staff went out to help the boys if they wished to return to the main lodge. ALL TROOPS declined the suggestion saying they were warm and snug for the night and didn't want to get up and run around in the co

A driver's license number is not an issue of identity theft. The DL # is a public identification number that is maintained by the individual state along with, but not exclusively with one's permission to drive. An identification card/DL proves with a picture who you are. All states which used to use SS# have switched over to a different number for identity theft reasons. Anyone who refuses to give a DL number should not be allowed to drive anyone other than their own child to a scout event and thus do not need to be included in the Tour Permit application. If a "Dad" refuses to

Our honor patrol has adopted the Myer's signal flag as their neckerchief. It is white background with red square in the middle. The signal flag was supposed to be 24" square and as you said the regular neckerchief was supposed to be 32" square. I compromised at 29". It gives a full, nice looking neckerchief, but will not take the traditional sized woggle. We do not roll the neckerchief, it is gathered instead. It lays in folds rather than a neat roll. Look at the pictures of neckerchiefs painted by Rockwell. You will notice most are gathered, not rolled and are of the larger/fuller siz

We have a venture patrol. It is not, nor ever will be anything like a venturing crew. It is not a separate entity. It is also referred to as the Honors Patrol. Their official name is the Raven Patrol named after Pee Wee Harris' patrol. The patrol is by invite only. Minimum requirements - Star Rank, noticable dedication to scouting. On-going requirements - Hold a perpetual POR. And continue on the Trail to Eagle. It is the goal of this patrol to eventually have 8 eagles as its membership at the same time. There are only 8 openings. If you are asked to leave the patrol

Tom Slade: AT TEMPLE CAMP, by Percy Reese Fitzhugh, explicitly states that that early camp had a mess hall where the food was prepared, but the boys ate at patrols around the area. For those of you who have not read the book, some of the people involved in the book were characters like Tom Slade, Roy Blakeley, Westy Martin, and PeeWee Harris. This early literature was intended to promote the scout program in the early years of scouting in America. If the patrol method was adhered to it wasn't all that strict when it came to the mess hall.

What's the point in giving the boy the certificate if he can't wear the patch. I say reverse it. If he's earned the rank, give him the patch and present him with recognition (certificate) at the COH. Technically, the boy has earned the rank when he is done with his BOR and the signatures are finalized. At that point a patch could be presented for the rank he has earned. Everything beyond that is fluff. If that doesn't fly because you haven't gone through council as of yet, then there should be any recognition until the council says it's ok. (Which by the way I find nowhere in any scout l

Obviously the wording of the Webelos book has changed since I did my WB ticket. The only thing that holds true now is whether or not he has AOL. If he does he does not need to be 10 years old nor need to complete the 5th grade. If the boy receives is AOL at a Jan/Feb Blue Gold Banquet, he does not need to wait until June to join a troop. The discressionary option for SM to forego Scout and Tfoot ranks is no longer worded in the book as it had been in the past. With the exception of waiting for a month to practice the physical fitness test, an AOL scout could knock out all those requir

One must also temper the excitement of troop run summer camps with the fact that there are troops out there who do not have the expertise to pull it off. I know of one troop that tried and everyone began packing up by Wednesday and the remaining survivors abandoned the camp on Thursday. That was a whole years worth of planning/programming down the drain. Our adult leaders picked the BSA camp this year and the attendance at camp has gone up over last year when the kids picked. Sometimes an adult's suggestion can carry new opportunities for those scouts who don't know the questions,

Hmm, it sounds as if factory scouting is a negative thing. Isn't the end product of valid citizen leaders the whole purpose of scouting? I have worked in manufacturing/factory over the years and if one wishes to produce a consistant program there must be a consistent process. To open it up for major variations will produce major variations in the quality of the end product. I think merit badge factory summer camps, supplemented with a valid troop experience for the week produces the best program. A troop can't do it all, nor can a summer camp be expected to provide everything for the

I guess it all just boils down to personal opinion and how it relates to the directives of the program. However, I may feel about whether or not a scout is rushed through his requirements or not, the policy of the BSA organization should still be the standard by which opinions are tempered. If a SM doesn't want the boy to be Tfoot after crossing over, fine. The policy allows for that. If a SM does want the boy to be Tfoot after crossing over, fine. The policy allows for that as well. However you wish to view the situation, be sure to inform the listener/inquirerer whether it's your perso

I also forgot to add. A print program, iron on transfer paper and a color printer will do a major job of reducing the cost of silk screening. For a couple of dollars each, neckerchiefs can be quickly made for all occasions.

One has to remember that a traditional neckerchief is just that traditional. We have a traditional troop neckerchief AND the boys have also opted for patrol neckerchiefs (partly in protest of the tradition). They opted for a larger neckerchief, square and useful. It is a Myer's flag square, red on white, very useful for signalling and for first aid, and with handmade woggles sets them apart. Any seamstress/tailor can make them, and if anyone can work a sewing machine and do a rolled edge, it's a piece of cake. I'm not a tailor, but I can run a straight-stitch hem with no problem.

I did my woodbadge ticket on this transition. In 1993 the policy was that at the SM discretion, if the AOL requirements were sincerely done right, then they could be accepted as advancement for Tenderfoot. I carried two Webelos groups through the transition and both groups were under age 11, just finishing up 8th grade in Feb. (AOL at Blue/Gold Banquet in the middle of 2nd year Webelos). Crossed over into Scouts with basis in AOL fulfillment AND were received into the Troop as Tenderfoot. It was all legitimate with the scouting policy at that time, allowed for cooperation with SM,

As far as age is concerned, the only time we have run into problem with age and high adventure is when we use scout supported activities such as Sea Base, Northern Tier and Philmont and other smaller activities that have a minimum age requirement. This is yet another reason why we develop, plan and execute our own programs of high adventure. We can set the standards. For example, if one does not have first aid, swimming, canoeing, and a partial on camping they are not qualified for BWCA, regardless of age or rank. Canoeing merit badge is worked on while we are on a whitewater canoe out

One of the things about high adventure is not the actual trip but the energy expended getting there. If one is going to go to BWCA and have someone else do the planning, organizing, and such and that all the scouts do is show up and have fun, you have defeated 95% of what a trip like that can provide programatically for the boys. Planning out 9 days of meals for X amount of people, shopping it, and packaging it down to portagable proportions/weight takes planning. Organizing camp equipment down to functionable amounts with weight in mind takes planning. Preplanning the permit/entry coo

I would tend to agree with Eagle. High Adventure is the key to older boy retention and success. If you only offer the same summer camp for the fifth year in a row for a boy, I would not blame him if he would take a pass and try something else. Summer Camp in Utah is the same cost as summer camp in Virginia. The only variable is the gas money and in the scope of the whole project, relatively quite low. The variety and novelty is definitely worth the cost. BWCA for 9 days cost us less than 5 days in summer camp. One doesn't have to break the bank to get to high adventure. Uni

GWD! Are you nuts? You haven't figured out you've got the best situation in the world? For many years we were "one" patrol being a very small troop. Ok, we also had 3 wood-badge trained leaders. We decided on going right to the top! Summer camp every year, and 2-3 other high-adventure. Philmont every other year and Sea Base on the other years. When we couldn't get in, Boundary-Waters or a self-created trip of some sort. Winter survival every year, and a summer camp in a different state every summer. You can only take a small group to BWCA or Philmont anyway, why lament not ha

1) As ASPL or even SPL, you are not responsible for running the troop. SPL and ASPL run the leadership corps of POR people. If you do not train them to lead, your mass gatherings will be chaos, which is what you are now finding out. 2) Train your PL and APL to lead their patrols. Make them responsible for programing for their patrols. If they are POR Instructor or Troop Guide, they step out of their patrol and work with the new boy patrol who is under the guidance of their own PL and APL. 3) If there are patrols who lack leadership and wish to disrupt the other patrols, find th

It was cabin camping.... They wore their sweatshirts under their uniforms and when they went outside for outside activities they put a coat on. With boys this age, however, it would seem that mittens and caps were optional. It was in the 30's and the boys didn't seem to have issues with being cold which we as leaders watch for on activities such as these. The point being, the uniforms were not immediately stripped off after eating and thrown under their bunks so they could put their class B's on as quick as they possibly can.

While at our winter campout we retired a flag. A grandfather of one of the boys had given us the flag to "dispose of properly". We were in a cabin that had a fireplace and the fire was buring. Everything was cleared from the center of the cabin to allow for two ranks of facing scouts. The SPL mounted the flag on his 6' walking staff and stood on the end of the line until the SM said "For it's last time, present the colors." The SPL came forward to the fireplace, and called out three names and those scouts came forward, removed the flag, folded it properly and handed it to the SPL. They t

Excellent post for a first one. But I'd like to also add.... We do everything "wrong" and are successful. As a general outdoor post, the prescribed format you have suggested from BSA is excellent and would recommend it for anyone wanting to start a crew. However, one must also realize that in order to be successful in certain other situations, one must toss out some or all of the rules. As a US history crew with current emphasis on Civil War reenacting, everyone's a private except for the advisor and one of the assistant advisors. They happen to be a Lt. Col. and Capt. by earned

I have just returned from a winter camp outing. I am ASM and advisor of the honor patrol I wear a class A uniform all the time at all activities. It is permissible to wear a "class B" when not traveling or eating in our troop. On Friday night my patrol all showed up in full uniform and one of the boys took his neckerchief off to put on his class B's for the evening's activities and his patrol leader walked by and quietly reminded him that we lead by example. He put his neckerchief back on and that patrol stayed in class A's all weekend long. By Saturday noon, there were a