John-in-KC

In my Troop, we paid all our fees and costs ourselves. That said, volunteer mileage can be tax deductible. Talk with a local accountant for details. (Disclaimer: I am not a CPA. My Dad was, but he now has a "retired" license (which basically means an honorary license).

E92, Agreed. That does not make it best practice, though. In my District, I work for the Advancement Chair as his new MB counselor trainer. I actively discourage new MB Counselors from being "Troop Only." When SMs pass through my training, I encourage them to know folks around the District, to give themselves a broader pool of counselors.

"A Scoutmaster has to approve a MB before it's awarded." That, Sir, is utterly FALSE. He approves the start: See Requirements, #33215 (year), or the National website (which is Requirments in webpage format): http://www.scouting.org/scoutsource/BoyScouts/AdvancementandAwards/MeritBadges.aspx "Pick a Subject. Talk to your Scoutmaster about your interests. Read the requirements of the merit badges you think might interest you. Pick one to earn. Your Scoutmaster will give you the name of a person from a list of counselors. (emphasis added) These counselors have special knowledge in their merit badge subjects and are interested in helping you. Get the Badge. When the counselor is satisfied that you have met each requirement, he or she will sign your application. Give the signed application to your Scoutmaster so that your merit badge emblem can be secured for you. There is not one word saying the Scoutmaster approves the merit badge on receipt. Indeed, ACP&P #33088 explicitly says: "A merit badge cannot be taken away once it has been earned, provided the counselor is a registered counselor for the badge.(This message has been edited by John-in-KC)

I'm on the phone with my BSA National Supply Corporation Scout Shop manager. Council operated Scout shops are experiencing shortages. They didn't order enough, they didn't want excess unreturnable inventory. Council operated shops should contact their Supply Corporation professionals. Supply Corporation shops are in OK shape right now, but they will be cross-levelling to keep themselves and Council shops supplied as advancement reports roll in.

I'm old skewl. Every one of MY merit badges came from outside the Troop. There was no such thing as in-Troop counselors in 1968. IMNSHO, every Scout should earn his MBs from adults outside his own Troop!

What both Gunny and Tokala said.

National appears to have pulled ACP&P again from online resources. Moose, National explicitly permits parents to counsel. The Scoutmaster is the gatekeeper. If the Scoutmaster does not have good controls on who he lets counsel kids, Mom and Dad can (and at least once in my experience have) sent Junior in with a stack of completed blue cards. I did the educational work for my son when he took Citizenship in the Nation, but another counselor tested him. This was back when I didn't know better, and we did an Eagle Required MB as part of the Troops' program. A good Scoutmaster doesn't have to have a policy. He just does what he is supposed to, and points the youth towards Mr X instead of Mom.

The hills of Osceola are calling me today, Come back along the Scouting Trail, their voices seem to say. I dream of woodland valleys, and pathways that I know, And answer, O-sce-o-la dear, I'm coming back to you. H Roe Bartle Scout Reservation, Osceola, MO www.hoac-bsa.org No other camp need be considered.

Moose, Being a MB Counselor is explicitly permitted by ACP&P #33088, though I teach it's a best practice for SMs to hand assign someone other than Mom/Dad when the boy approaches for his card. Remember: Step one of the MB process is for the Scout to approach the SM with his interest and desire. The SM has the ability, nay, the duty to select the right MB Counselor for the youth. SMs who do not take advantage of the discretion given them in ACP&P get what they deserve in the Advancement Method.

Something I say elsewhere on the interwebs... 218+51+1. Every bill, every time.

So much for the voluntary participation in Good Turn for America...

A Scout is Courteous. That's all I will say on that. As to uniform: I'm starting to believe how many adults want to be Mexican Generals. I have seen some uniforms so bloody cluttered it is not funny. I'm almost ready, for adults, to dump everything off the shirt, period. One hang tag ... Name, position & unit, council. That's it. No OA, no Jambo, no Silver Beavers as though they were the Congressional Medal of Honor, no WB beads and necker... It's about serving the youth. If your smile and your handshake are not sufficient to tell others about the man or woman you are, then something isn't right. The cynic in me says this will never fly; Supply Corporation needs the bucks.

Yeah, you're describing something of a mess. We talk about "servant leadership" here. Allow me to use a different term: We're there to support our brothers. Leadership takes on scut work to do the planning, to do the preparing, to do the record-keeping, so the activities for the rest can be FUN. The SPL and you can be agents of change, but your SM and his assistants, as well as the Committee Chair and the Chartered Partner, have to be on board. You're going to have to eat this buffalo one bite at a time. Use your access in the Chapter and Lodge. Ask to talk to your District Commissioner. See if you can arrange a visit by him and your Unit Commissioner to a couple meetings and a campout. If the troop functions like you write, it'll show, and there will be opportunities to talk. In the meantime, be the SPL's firm ally. Be his sounding board, away from the meetings. Help him in any way you can. If, after he completes his term, you see a desire to change, be there again for the next guy. (That's creating support for the top guy). If you see heels digging in and no desire for change, then look at other Troops, or Venturing Crews. Good hunting.

I still hold out hope for a Condoleeza Rice/Colin Powell ticket. Sigh.

Platypus, Welcome. I would offer that as Chapter Chief, you have access to great leaders across your District. You might invite one or more of them to have breakfast with you and your SPL. Lay the cards on the table, let them (and they are far more local than we) share ways to get through this. Another way is to have invite a working breakfast somewhere, with SM and SPL. Invite one of those adults you trust, one who understands youth independence in leadership, to help guide the SM's conversation... ;-) Good hunting.

E1996: Venturing Crews which have feet in two programs (CAP Youth Squadrons, JROTC classes) have a program already. To be blunt, they are interested in the resources (read CAMPS) Scouting has. Most are not going to superimpose our structure on their existing structure. Talk with the CORs, talk with the top leaders, and understand their unique needs.

From the musical 1776: One useless man is called a DISGRACE. Two are called a LAW FIRM. Three or more become a CONNNNNGRESSSS... ergo, Miller and Murkowski are useless.

We've been spammmed. (I hate when that happens, I deleted the posts OGE) (This message has been edited by a staff member.)

We folks in flyover country have the best of all worlds: - We grill our steaks. - We slow smoke our ribs and brisket. - We pan fry our chicken. - And we have the best tomatoes on Earth.

Stosh, "to start the process." That means vigilant overwatch ... not entry into their affairs, but certainly overwatch. That does mean active mentoring ... but that's the SM and the SA's job, and should be done offstage 99.98% of the time. It means youth should be able to, sooner or later (hopefully sooner) operate independently ... the old patrol hike/campout.

Every military squad (patrol) has a corporal (PL), the sergeants are in charge of a group of corporals, first sergeant runs the corps of sergeants (SPL) Lieutenant watches over the sergeants, the captains (company) watch over the lieutenants, then major (of the regiment) etc. Corporals and buck sergeants go to a month-long full-time leadership school before we entrust them with leading troops. Lieutenants have had 8 semester hours military leadership psych (plus more ordinary psych from their universities) as part of the current ROTC curriculum. The Academies have ... rather more than that. They get more leadership psych as part of their entry courses before reporting to their first permanent duty station. Captains get 6 semester hour equivalents of military leadership psych as part of their career courses. Further, they've had college + 4-6 years experience. Majors at the Command and General Staff College get still more leadership psych, plus 10+ years experience. In addition, there's PLENTY of ADULT-RUN method supervising them. A division CG has lot of discretion. Brigade commanders, less. Battalion commanders: They have some, but they brief their brigade commanders and CGs and get permission to play. Forgivness is is not better than permission. Company/battery/troop commanders have relatively little discretion. The comparison, on its face, is invalid. 11-17 year olds, working 1 night a week and 1 weekend a month, do not have, by orders of magnitude, the experience base even a corporal has.

Gern, As I stated in my earlier post, solar looks bad to Senator Boxer (D-Calif). She's a bloody NIMBY for solar farms on the California her high desert. I'm conservative as anything. I'm somewhat green believing. I don't get why she's being NIMBY. IMNSHO, she's and IDJIT. Brent: Pick one: - Nuclear radiation accident. - Hydrocarbon emissions pollution. - Dead birds.(This message has been edited by John-in-KC)

Gern, OK, so you power Denver from the Colorado steppes. I power Kansas City from the Kansas Steppes. SR540Beaver and Eagledad's Oklahoma City gets powered... Every major city (and many of the small cities/towns here in Flyover Country) you power from alternate means is one less requiring BTUs. Think local in planning alternative energy support.

"And if the rules, themselves, are just plain wrong?" That's why you have a COR: He/she votes at Council business meetings. He/she can raise issues. On the assumption your Chartered Partner is a member of a broader National body, the COR can approach the liaison person representing the body to the Boy Scouts of America National Council. We asked and answered this question elsewhere in this forum. Who is National? We are. People, volunteers, sit on the various Scouting committees at the National level. They got there by having interest in their Districts and in their Councils. Beavah is right: Much to most of the time, this is a so-what matter. A unit will know, in no uncertain terms, when it crosses a fund-raising bright line with its Council. I've seen what happens in other units, and its not pretty.

Energy: - My Lord, the stupidity over energy. 1) Solar. Every. Single. Building. South of the 40th Parallel! 2) Wind. It's a small percentage because we haven't fully figured out sharing ag land and wind farms. Let's get with the program. 3) Geothermal. There is not a reason in the world California needs to burn a single BTU or load a single nuclear fuel rod with the heat of the Pacific Rim at hand. My favorite NIMBY story: Barbara Boxer, US Senator, demanding the Bureau of Land Management not build solar farms in the California desert: http://redgreenandblue.org/2009/03/20/feinstein-argues-against-mojave-desert-solar-power-plans/ NIMBY, NIMBY, NIMBY!!! Sheesh. Entrepeneurs need some small help making the risk worth the reward, and then we need to unleash them.