jmcquillan

Having a Scout as the Chaplain's Aide, without having an adult Chaplain works fine, if the Scout has an adult advisor who understand what Scouting is looking for...services that serve all, not just one religion. Our troop has never had a Chaplain, but we've always had a Chaplain's Aide. When I first became SM, our Aide was Protestant. His parents took the time to speak with their minister about the Scouts responsibilities, and the minister filled the gap by being an advisor or sorts for the Scout and his duties. Since then, we've had both Jewish and Catholic Aides, using the same process with

I would think that the trailer would be covered under the normal property insurance policy that a chartered partner would have on its own property...eg. building, furnishings, etc. You might want to check. They may even be able to attach a rider to that property policy specifically for the trailer. Liability and/or insurance for damage while being towed may very well fall under the automobile policy of the person towing it. Can't be sure though. Best thing would be to talk directly to an insurance agent. Otherwise, contact you Council office for advice.

scouterjack, I believe that many of the ills suffered by WB and the elitist appearance that WBger's have attained may be due only to the exclusionary tactics of the course outline, as participants are supposed to be "invited" to take the course. That can appear quite exclusionary to others who may have served as long in Scouting, but haven't been recognized in the Scouting public enough to be invited. I've served on a number of WB staffs, and have had my four beads for a while, and share the opinion of our Council members who work on WB, that it should be open to all Scouters trained at t

Off-topic, sorry...but... Rooster. What is that technique you use to get the double post each time you post here?:-)

Having served on a number of WB staffs, I've seen this go a couple of ways, and usually, there aren't any complaints. A couple of the courses I served on required full time wearing of the campaign hat only for the "senior" staff (SM, ASM's). All others wore the BSA baseball hat. The only exception was the final weekend ceremony, where all staff wore the campaign hat. Others I've been on required the campaign hat for all, male or female. There was never any question about whether or not the campaign hat was authorized for women. I'd find that a rather foolish dictate, if it exists. Unlike

Rooster, The boys you speak of are, unfortunately, more the rule than the exception. But that's life, and we deal with what we get. Instilling the Scouting Spirit is not always going to bear fruit with a Scout that has true Scout Spirit. But, we go on, and are glad for the opportunities we've been given to help those boys along the way. My experience has been that even those who lacked bundles of Scout Spirit gained something. I've had many of my former Scouts come back to visit, and say thanks for the experience, the time, and the interest invested in them by the adult leaders. And that

Being from the new England area myself, I can't quite imagine dealing with a WB course where the participants come from such a wide area, therefore my suggestions are limited. But... How are the other members of your patrol doing? If they haven't completed their tickets yet, or been beaded yet, any chance you could have the ceremony as a patrol? My patrol ended up doing just that at a district function here, much more by accident than design, but it worked. And having everyone get together from an area as large as you're suggesting seems to say do it once, and do it together.

Just a thought concerning electronic communication... It seems to me that some of the most rugged terrain in the world is within the Himalayan Mountains (Mt. Everest). Even some of the terrain in this country can come pretty dern' close (McKinley, etc.). And I seem to remember that, even though the folks who attempt those peaks travel using the buddy system, they also carry electronic communication. I don't see it as false security. I see it as a optional means of getting help if necessary, and checking upcoming weather conditions. Sure, you can travel without it, and many do, like Mike.

I have to agree with those that nix the idea of mandating the march for rank advancement. I've never done that, and our situation is pretty much like yours. We have a troop of about 60 boys. About a third to half show up for parade duty. About a quarter to a third are in the high school band. The rest are either busy with family or just don't want to participate. What I do tell the scouts, though, is that I do not want to see them standing on the roadside, or riding their bikes along the parade route, or doing anything that makes me wonder why they have time to goof off, but not be with u

Yep, I agree...with lots of the stuff above. We haven't used real walkie-talkies, but we've used those Motorola Talk-abouts. They've got about a two mile range on level ground. Trouble is, if you get into hilly terrain, you can lose contact easily, but they're better than nothing. We also have an adult who always brings his cell phone. It's not a regular cell phone. It operates off of satelites, so it doesn't matter what terrain your in. It's only for emergencies, it's liight weight, and it's good to know it's there. It's a little more expensive than my pocket will allow, but, then again,

Although we may be getting into simple semantics here, I like to think that the Supreme Court decision in favor of the Boy Scouts did not uphold our "right to discriminate"...it uphelp "right to choose"...our right to "freedom of association". I know it may just be semantics to many, but I like to think of the issue that way, not as a right to discriminate, which leaves a very bad taste with me. We do, indeed, have a right to choose who will lead our scouts, and what kind of example they will set. Lifestyle is part and parcel of that image with me. Thus, we "choose", and we choose based o

jrakes, Just a point of information, although I would suspect you know this, the SPL is supposed to be elected by the scouts in the troop, not appointed by the Scoutmaster, except in very unusual circumstances. If your troop is very new, very young, very inexperienced, then it might be a good idea for the SM to start things off by appointing the SPL, or if you've had a mass migration of older scouts due to graduation, etc. Otherwise, the scouts should elect him. It's not always possible to avoid the popularity thing, it happens. But it's something we must deal with if we're to make the pr

kdhoogland, that's an interesting idea you've posed with your reference to patrols having adult advisors. It seems to be beyond what the Scouting program suggests, but still an interesting idea. How big is your troop? How many patrols? Does each patrol have these advisors? Was recruiting adults easy? How do you refrain from making your position a Den Leader for a Boy Scout Patrol, that would seem to be something easy to fall victim to...? Where do the advisors fall in the hierarchy of the adult leadership? Troop Committee members? Are Assistant Scoutmasters used?

I agree with what sst3rd said in his first post above, and I also agree with what P_swigs said about bribing a scout to wear the uniform. That doesn't set much of an example. In fact, it sets an example we should not be using. IMHO, an exception to this all would be if your troop was located in an area where the average income might be so low that many scouts and families can't find the extra money to purchase a whole brand new uniform. In that case, I'd at least require everything from the waist up (shirt, etc.). But even here, there are uniform exchanges around that might provide what y

[Ed - jmc steps up to the mike. Doffing his cloak of conservatism and donning his cloak of invisibility, he faces the gathered multitude and presses forth to the microphone, saying...] "Whoohooo....go Jesse..." [jmc quickly exits the stage, invisible to all, gathers his pile of cloaks, and disappears into the night....]

Years ago, we had a boy in the troop who had Tourets Syndrome. He wanted to be in Scouting, but his behavior problem was such that, with none of the troop leaders being trained in any profession dealing with that kind of behavior, we opted to require at least one of his parents to be in attendance at any Scout function their son attended. We didn't, and still don't, think that this was too large a requirement. Volunteering to be a Scout leader should not also require one to become a trained behavioral specialist. In this case, that parents agreed. They felt that they would do just about anythi

I would offer my congratulations to the young man for a job well done. But now I offer my personal experience. I served as District Advancement Chair in my district for three years, some time ago. In that time, I only came across two boys at Boards of Review who were up for Eagle at this age. One was quite an extraordinary young man, and having followed his progress after attaining Eagle, just out of curiousity, he was quite capable of staying active in his troop and performing at the level an Eagle should. A remarkable young fellow. The other, unfortunately, found that the pinnacle had b

I believe you're right about boys coming to the realization by themselves in time. But my experience has been that sometimes, the boys and their parents need to be reminded (gently counselled) about the decisions they may have to make in order to give their best efforts to all that they get involved in.

I've been participating in a couple of discussion groups at other websites regarding this issue. It's a sad commentary that the PC crowd has gotten this much publicity on such s stupid issue. A fine example of the PC madness going too far, again. But I think we should remember that Mother's Day and Father's Day are both celebrated on a weekend when school is not is session, or at least most schools. If this school and it's baloney-headed leadership is not is session on the weekend, families that are opposed to the policy will likely still celebrate the day. The troubling thing here is tha

Mike, This is gonna sound silly, but for the uneducated (unejikatid), all I remember from chemistry class and working on cars (catalytic converters) was the rotten egg smell associated with sulphur. Is there any smell associated with the stuff you're talking about? Would one be likely to not only keep the bugs away, but our own species, too? Or, when in the woods, doesn't that metter?:-)

All the other members of my family work in the tree and landscape business, outdoors all the time. And they suggest to me, as is their policy in the business, that the only effective stuff is that which has DEET in it. But even then, clothing should be appropriate to the location, the color should be light so that the ticks show up, cuffs should be tucked into socks, and a whole body check should be done once or twice a day.

And thus, I am enlightened with regard to the GSUSA and its program. Thanks, Kevin. BTW, I don't have a daughter, so I never had the opportunity (or reason?).

A little research regarding the effort I've seen on Cape Cod reveals the following: 1. It's not being done as an individual Scout project, it's being performed as a Troop project in conjuntion with another local organization (Lions or something like that, but that's unclear), and members of the local National Guard (who provide the tent and some personnel). 2. It's kept off to one end of the rest area, out of everyone's way, but readily available for anyone who might simply like a cup of coffee, for free. I'm told they also provide cold water and conversation for all who just want to

eisely, The CC signature is required on both the Eagle Project Proposal form and the Eagle Application.

jrakes, If only life were as simple as you would like it to be. I fear that, although I admire your commitment, you're likely setting yourself up for disappointment as Scouting is not, and probably never will be, on the same level playing field as school sports. And it's simply not as important as family, school itself, and church, so those activites win every time. School sports, on the other hand, is a big draw on the attentions and dreams of most young men, and Scouting can not compete with that, no matter what we may try to do to make it so. Scouting can be a very important part