JMBadger

I bet the red strips go away just like the red shoulder loops have. You may still be able to find the red loops at a small "Mom & Pop" scout shop, but you can't order them from Scoutstuff and my local council scout store can't get them either.

I don't have time for an alter ego. No, I glossed over the name and thought you were talking about me, but then wondered how someone could make that type of error, so I had to go find the JMHawkins and reread his post. So seriously, oops my bad.

Just got back beautiful weather, good hiking, even got in a quick prayer service at the little chapel they have. Beavah Why would I tell them to bring a compass? At what point did I say that they were all tenderfoot or above? You chide me for them being reminded at all, then suggest it is the patrol leader's job to remind them. I do appreciate that you all believe you are being helpful, and I accept your criticism in that spirit. But our troop isn't an eagle mill or badge mill. The youngest Eagle we've had for years will almost be 17 before he gets it next spring, and he's the Scou

You never frightened me away at all. And while you chose to see my comments as "wiggling my antennae and attacking," I should interpret your responses as "all in good humor"? I am not helping my son do the work. He does the work, he gets the credit. Saying I shouldn't remind him the work needs doing is like saying a student cheated on his essay because his parents reminded him it was coming due. I went to USScouts.org and got the worksheets for Family Life. On the page with the chore chart it says: "Clarification from National: These 90 days do not have to be in a row but c

No, I am still here. Had to go up North to sit in a hospital waiting room for a while, no internet access. Interesting comments directed at me since then by some, accusations that I've attacked someone, assumptions made by others just because I haven't responded with bile or vitriol. I joined these forums to learn. I guess I have.

I just reread the requirements and it doesn't say he must complete the recording without being reminded. We're not allowed to add to or subtract from the requirements. And the 90 days do not have to be consecutive, so if you made your son start over you were adding requirements that aren't there.

A friend of mine is am ASM and he told me his troop actually holds the Star and Life scouts back until they feel the boys are "emotionally mature enough." I don't know what he meant by that, but was so shocked I didn't know what to say. I've worked almost exclusively with Cubs, but I believe in immediate recognition when a boy earns something. Now my 11-year-old is working on Family Life, 90 days of chores and keeping track of them. He has to be reminded almost every day to do the chores and to record them. Does it mean he hasn't earned the badge because I practically dragged him alo

I love these forums. Twice now, this is the first place I've been made aware of a rule. The most recent here about laser tag, and a while back with regards to home-made alcohol stoves. I recently attended IOLS and as part of the cooking segment they brought up how wonderful the "can-style" alcohol stove was. Because of this forum I was able to inform them that those stoves are forbidden. At first they didn't believe me, but someone got on the internet and checked it out. I made a lot of people unhappy that day, but they agreed it was better to be made aware of the rule than continue v

Gotta admit, I like yours better. Hard to trust a color that can't make up its mind what hue it really is. And "taupe" always sounded hoidy-toidy to me. 'Dove Gray" sounds humble and unassuming. I'll concede this issue.

According to Wikipedia (that irrefutable source of internet knowledge): "The neckerchief, called a "necker" in British and some Commonwealth Scouting associations, is a standard triangular scarf made of cotton or wool twill with a taupe face and red back...." And if you look up taupe (pronounced 'toʊp') you'll find nine different colors ranging from gray to purple. Personally, I liked the "critter beads" except when getting a hug from an Eagle staffer and the little beaks jammed into my sternum.

I was told it is proper to wear the plaid participant neckerchief during the ticket phase "while actively pursuing your ticket." Since one of my items was to hold the COR position for one year, I wore the necker whenever I was in uniform. Others wore it strictly while engaged in a ticket activity, i.e. day camp leader, merit badge seminar staff, etc. "Wearing the participant neckerchief would give the impression one hadn't completed WB." emb021 I agree completely. I put out a lot of effort to finish my ticket. I don't want anyone else coming to me asking, "So how's your ticket c

Tokala, emb021; thanks for the replies. What you two have described is how I imagined it went, but my friend said something about the whole package having to be reviewed at the main office in Texas (?) and the whole process taking up to 3 months. Was his TC pulling his leg, or is there a lot more going on behind the scenes?

My ticket was completed Sept. 29 and I immediately informed my TC. He told me he needed a short review of my ticket items and what I did, and although he said he thought he had that info from me in a previous email, I went ahead and ran through everything in one concise email. So what happens now? My friend completed his ticket a few months ago and received his beads last month, and he said he was required by his TC to submit a 3-ring binder with each item individually written up with a review of his actions and steps he took to complete the item. My TC hasn't asked for this, or f

One of my fellow Owls just got his beads a couple weeks ago. A couple months ago he was talking about not bothering to complete the ticket, that the beads didn't mean anything to him, that he got the training and that was what is important. I asked him if he would accept that sort of rational from a Life Scout who was frustrated and sick of working toward Eagle. Of course he wouldn't. At the beading ceremony, he said he still didn't think receiving the beads was important. I told him it was sort of like a funeral; it may not be important to him, but it is important to his friends

J in KC: "As you compare, notice the Scout must agree to understand and live by the Outdoor Code." The Webelos Badge, required for AoL, does require this, therefore it is required for AoL. "Notice the AOL requires knowledge of the First Class Badge...the Scout must describe the Scout badge." In describing the parts of the First Class badge you describe the trefoil (which is the Scout Badge), so this requirement is also fulfilled. The YP pamphlet, yeah, I guess whatever the kid did for his Bobcat doesn't really count.

It appears that this thread has gone downhill. All I wanted was clarification as to whether earning the Arrow of Light entitled the boy to start as a Tenderfoot. The general consensus seems to be NO. Or at least nobody is telling me that "in the manual on page ### it says you can." My question then has been answered. Perhaps we should spin further discussion about "when exactly does a boy become a scout" off to another thread.

Didn't mean to cause such a commotion with my question, but a few more details: Our AoL ceremony includes having the boys recite all the Boy Scout stuff, demonstrating the sign, salute, etc. The two ceremonies I have been part of had all the boys also crossing over at the same time into the troop where they had their Scout Master interview. The parents had already submitted the application to the Scout Master and signed off on the Child Protection pamphlet, so the paperwork was already done. The fact of the boys' qualifying for the Scout Badge was never in question, only whether th

It seems pretty obvious that the Scout Badge (not rank) requirements are met by a boy who earns his AoL, and during the AoL/crossover ceremony the boys were given their Scout Badges at that time. It is just that the Scoutmaster came up to me later and said he thought he screwed up, that the boys should have been given the Tenderfoot badge right away. I told him I didn't think that was right but would certainly look into it.

I have heard that a boy who earns his Arrow of Light as a cub can start Boy Scouts as a Tenderfoot, skipping the Scout rank altogether. Can anyone verify this? And if so, can you quote a source? The AoL award does seem to cover most of the Tenderfoot requirements, but not all, most notably the physical test (with 30-day improvement test). A similar test exists in the Athlete Activity badge, but that badge isn't required for AoL.

My post simply meant that the official WB woggle is 4 bight, not to imply that any other 4-bight woggle would be infringing on the WB tradition. Note that ANY hand-made slide is acceptable, though I think you are supposed to have made it yourself. Also, any device that gathers and holds a neckerchief is a "woggle," not just a turk's head. AND, there are an amazing number of varieties of turk's head knots, and you can purchase (or make) contraptions that help you tie them.

The thumbrule I use is 4 wraps around 2 fingers for each pass, and for me 4 wraps is 18 inches, so 36" for a 2-pass woggle, 54" for a 3-pass. Yes, I always have some left over after I tighten it up, but that's better than tightening it up in order to create a few required inches! And that's for a 5-bight woggle; the official WB woggle is 4-bight. Badger

How much did you know about the two weekends before you went? I knew almost nothing! When I asked, one wood badger told me that going in cold was sort of the point, that everyone started at ground zero and built up from there. I wasn't told it was all a secret, but from her reticence I figured it simply was part of the plan that I go in clueless. It wasn't until almost the last minute that I thought of doing a web search. DUH! Even then I didn't have a clear notion of what was expected for the ticket, and knew nothing about a "diversity" item. I jotted a few ideas down, but wr

Since it appears my original question has been answered, I hope it's ok to go off-topic just a little by asking what is your preferred material when making your woggles? I like to make them out of new leather shoe laces, with the flat/smooth side facing out. Making them from solid-color braided cord is ok; para-cord is good, too. I don't like using twisted cord because it makes it more difficult to see the individual turns and passes. Same with braided cord that is multi-colored; it just looks too busy. When I was a boy scout (30+ years ago) I loved making them out of licorice laces!

LindaBob The woggles we made were of colored cord that reflected our primary affiliation: blue for Cub Scout, red for Boy Scout, green for Venturer, silver (or white) for district, etc. I don't remember hearing anything about colors being associated with critters. I wonder what color Owls would be. Badger

Our pack had 4 boys preparing to get their AOL. Two of the boys turned 11 in the spring of their 4th grade year. Had we waited until Spring of their 5th grade year to cross them over, they'd have been 12. My son was the youngest of the 4, turning 10 in April of his 4th grade year. We had to wait until at least October before he would be eligible for AOL; as it turned out, we did it in January. When I explained to the SM the ages of the older boys, he agreed they should all be crossed-over as soon as possible, and the AOL and Crossover were held at the same ceremony. My son is extre