Aquila calva

ASM59, You are asking some of the best questions these days. And thanks to Eamonn for inspiring the good questions, and asking a few himself. After Eamonn's response in the other thread, I had the same question so I am glad ASM59 started this thread. There seems to be some difference in opinion and resulting advice. Here is one real-life situation. Our troop had two crews go to Sea Base this past summer (the Out Island program). We had a great time! There were nine scouts and four adult leaders. I went along as an adult leader to help fill the BSA requirement for two adult leaders per

You are a very generous fellow. Your troop is lucky to have you as part of the leadership. $350 (or a lot more) is probably too much for one family to contribute to the troop's operation on an ongoing basis. Talk with your committee chair and treasurer and let them know what the actual expenses are associated with getting the trailer to the camps. They need to understand the issue and deal with it. Let someone else pull the trailer next time. Maybe the Scoutmaster is willing to do it. Troops handle the travel expenses in different ways. In our troop of 35 scouts many parents are

Where in the Scouting liturature does it say anything about troop committees handing out suspensions and probations to scouts? Can anyone point to these directives? Maybe I missed it! It sounds like the troop committee is getting Boy Scouting mixed up with the local school system's discipline/behavior policies. This is Boy Scouting! Let's do what we can to follow the program as described in the Scouting publications. Again, maybe I missed it.

First the committee dies and then the troop dies. Where is the Committee Chair in this situation? (as Eamonn referenced in his post) There is in-fighting on the committee, the CC needs to deal with it. The Scoutmaster calls to say he cant come to a meeting at the last minute. He calls the CC and the CC deals with it. The Scoutmaster doesnt take the lead on helping with campout preparations and staffing, the CC deals with it. Not enough drivers for a campout, the CC deals with it with the aid of the Outdoor/Activities Coordinator (or some troops have a Transportation C

I have a dream... http://www.usconstitution.net/dream.html

A troop committee is not a "Board of Inquisition." Scoutmaster and Committee Chair need to get their act together and then talk with this parent together. Tell him the story they have heard. Tell him he needs to protect himself and all the scouts by taking the online Youth Protection Training. And what about the scout who tried to pull down the pants of another scout? Sounds like the whole troop needs to take the Youth Protection training during a scout meeting (with all parents invited) so that every scout and parent knows it is totally inappropriate to pull down the pants of anyo

I just killed a big spider in my tent, with my scout knife. It was really big and it took two stabs to make sure it was dead. What holes in the tent? Oh, oh!

Dear mjengels, It may be most helpful for your troop's leadership team to talk about this subject directly with your district executive. Your original post makes no mention of your troop's participation in a Friends of Scouting campaign. This may be the best way for your troop to support your Council. Of course, most of us here want to be as supportive as we can be to our Councils. We also want to provide opportunities for our scouts to be able to afford camping trips and all the other expenses associated with Scouting.

Can anyone reading this thread tell us about a case where a Scouting official on the district, council or national level actually solicited money from a Scouting units bank account? This could be for Friends of Scouting or any other purpose. I hope not. Perhaps this thread is just another example of units making up their own Scouting program, as altruistic as it may be. The popcorn sales program, unit fundraising activities (including money earning projects), and Friends of Scouting are all different and distinct activities in the Scouting program. They all involve money, but they should

This is getting things mixed up WAY too much. Scouting units are not expected to give donations to a council. Money-earning projects are carried out on the unit level to support the unit (Pack, Troop, Crew, etc.). Any money earned from these efforts belongs to the unit and by extension it belongs to the chartering organization. Most of these chartering organizations are themselves not-for-profit organizations. Nowhere does any scouting literature say that a unit (or a chartering organization) should (or is expected to) give money to a scout council. Does it???? This would be trans

Isaiah 40:31 "But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk and not faint." With wings as eagles!

"We have all sorts of kids. We have popular kids, uncontrollable kids. We have some not-so-popular kids. It's all over." Very insightful. "Uncontrollable kids," indeed. Onward. Thanks.

When a scout displays really bad behavior, it is important to inform the parents or guardians and include them in a plan for improvement. Scout leaders should try to do what they can to help the scout find better ways of dealing with a given situation. This process of behavior intervention should not be confused with a Board of Review. When adult leaders, or older scouts like the SPL, are dealing with a behavior issue many aspects of the Scouting program can be used to help. Including some discussion about Scout Spirit is certainly appropriate. Just dont call this process a Board of Rev

In following up on an incident involving bad behavior, get the best leaders you have to help deal with it. These can be SM, ASM, or MC. Perhaps you have a Chaplain on your committee who has some training in dealing with these sorts of issues. Involve the parents of the other boy, too. Be sure they know what is going on. Create an environment where the issues can be dealt with in a fair manner relating them to the Scout Oath and Law. And make the meeting(s) fairly short. There should be no need to get into a play-by-play, or a he-said, he-said replay of the incident. Since your son was involv

Getting back to the original post for another view.. Some good advice and comments have been given on this event. I will add some comments from the point of view of a committee chair who had to deal with a similar situation several years ago. I never want to go through that again, to be sure. You handled the situation very well and your son knew immediately he had done something very wrong. It really gets extra hard to deal with when the scout doesnt realize or wont acknowledge he has done something wrong. After all, they see such behavior all the time on TV and in movies. Whats

Thanks for the update on your son's progress toward Eagle. It sounds like he is using his leadership skills in constructive ways. Once he passes his Eagle Board of Review he may have enough time (before his 18th birthday) to earn an Eagle palm or maybe two. He just needs five additional merit badges for each, and three months of service to his unit for each palm. Once he earns Eagle, it will be an accomplishment he will hold close to his heart for the rest of his life. And nobody can take it away from him. The challenges will fade, the success will remain. Keep us posted on his progr

Congratulations, Eamonn! Three cheers. Membership Success! Adult Leadership Woes. Carry on.

Knottyfox must be referring only to posters from New York City. (OK, quick! Look around.Folks from the Midwest, California and Eastern Canada are laughing out loud. Folks from outside the U.S. [and the rest of Canada] are saying huh? Folks from the rest of the U.S. cracked a smile. Folks from NYC are lunging at their keyboards.) Have fun Scouting. (Just to be sure.That WAS a JOKE ..from a Midwesterner!) Humor on the internet can be soooo difficult. Stay cool.

Is there another lawyer/CPA/tax accountant out there with a different opinion? The troop is running a scouting program for the benefit of its members and for the benefit of the chartered organization. The chartered organization (not the troop) has the tax-exempt status (in almost all cases, and yes there are a few exceptions). If a scout needs a sleeping bag or a pair of boots to go camping with the scouts, it is part of the program. If a troop buys t-shirts and camp hats for all its members, can the members keep these items or do they need to be given back to the troop when the

Check out the thread below from last February for more information on this subject. Our troop calls these accounts "Members' Activity Funds" because the troop committee has allocated the funds to be used for scouting activities, but this extends to uniforms and equipment for every good reason. If a scout needs a sleeping bag to go on a scout campout (they are included on almost every equipment list), there is every good reason to allow him to useactivity funds to purchase the equipment. If a scout is going to Philmont and needs a pair of hiking boots in order to be correctly outfitted th

Thesaurus.com is helpful. Let's start another thread called "Hot-ones" at summer camp and see what we get.

Scouts go to summer camp anticipating fun, sun, learning, advancement and general good times. This probably doesnt include the fear that when they go to sleep at night they will wake up in the morning with a black mustache painted on their faces with a Sharpie. For those troop leaders who still think this is fun, at least have everyone put away their permanent markers. Only oil-based face paint, guaranteed by the manufacturer to be non-toxic and easily removed, is allowed. New committee position: Face Paint Coordinator. Have a good nights sleep. Youre patrol has latrine duty in th

Painting the faces of scouts with a marking pen while they are asleep is hazing. This is done to cause embarrassment and humiliation. It is hazing. There is also a changed technology part to this that cant be ignored. Most marking pens available now are the permanent variety. They are made so the marks are NOT easily removed. A scout really has to work hard to get it off his face. It isnt the old oil-based face paint that used to be available and that was easily removed by a few wipes with a wet cloth. In the old days an OA candidate may have had his shirt opened (or removed)

Just out of curiosity and without being too specific, what organizations holds the troop charters for the first troop, and the second troop? For example are they churches, civic groups, schools or other? When are the scouts scheduled to go to camp? How much time do you have to get this straightend out? If there are three scouts still in the first troop, how many scouts are in the second troop?

Rain pants: Take a pair of long nylon pants that zip off to become shorts. These dry quickly after a rain and give some protection from wind. Gloves: Crews are asked to do a service project and good work gloves will be needed.