KoreaScouter

ASM1; Take your whole family out of Scouting? Because BSA wants to screen out criminals? Ever heard the expression "cutting off your nose to spite your face"? Besides, you may already be gettting your background checked. Look at the current adult application form...you consent to it when you fill it out. And, the GTSS says right in section 1: "The adult application requests background information that should be checked by the unit committee or the chartered organization before accepting an applicant for unit leadership." The new BSA policy only formalizes it. I don't understand why anyone would object to something that will screen out creeps and protect our kids. KS

As most of you know, Disney hasn't released this classic film on home video in years. If you'd like to see it released on DVD, Disney has a way for us to let them know. Go to this link: http://disneyvideos.disney.go.com/moviefinder/products/0019403.html You'll be asked if you'd like to see it released on VHS or DVD, and given an opportunity to comment...then, it goes to Disney as an e-mail. Let's try to get this released on DVD. I've been checking e-bay, and used VHS copies go for as much as $50...sad. KS

We've debated this so many times, it's become like the old "less filling, tastes great" commercials. Unless and until BSA makes the uniform mandatory for all participants, this will continue. Right now, all you can do is "encourage" full uniforming. Let's keep our perspective. The uniform is one of only 8 methods. It's important, of course, but is it more important than the patrol method? That's one of the 8 methods, too, and some troops don't use it at all... KS

Direction finding at night without a compass: Tough to use stars in Korea -- lights wash most out, especially the North star if you're looking toward Seoul for it as we are. An alternative method: You need two sticks, preferably of uneven lengths, and a clear view of either the moon or a planet. Push the sticks in the ground about three feet apart, so the tips of the sticks and the moon/planet are all lined up together when you get down behind the low stick and look past the high stick, to the moon/planet...as if you were aiming the sights of a rifle at the moon/planet. Wait about 15 minutes, then sight along the sticks again being careful not to disturb them. Where is the moon/planet? - If it's higher than the original "aim point", you're facing east. - If it's lower than the original "aim point", you're facing west. - If it's to the left of the original "aim point", you're facing north. - If it's to the right of the original "aim point", you're facing south. These are approximate, of course, and will be less accurate the closer you are to one of the poles. KS

My son and I both have those silver, bullet-shaped stainless steel insulated bottles for hot/cold drinks that are popular in Asia. I've got a .75 liter one, he has a .3 liter one. If we know it's going to be a cold night, we boil up water, fill the bottle (making sure the stoppers are tight), and it goes in the bottom of our sleeping bag, next to our feet, inside a sock. The bottle releases enough heat to help keep the bag/feet warmer, and in the morning when you wake up, it's still hot enough to make a drink with. KS

MK: Good questions. WB is like many other things that require personal effort...you get out of it what you put into it. And, what you put in is mostly intangible, and therefore, what get out is also mostly intangible. My WB course was a little different from most, in that we did the whole thing straight through in a long week, rather than break it up over two weekends (had to -- it was in Okinawa and most of us had to fly there). That made some of us homebody moms and dads missing the families and wanting to get out of there, but it certainly didn't detract from the experience. Very little program administration stuff; you should have gotten that in SM fundamentals. Ditto for outdoor skills; you're expected to know that when you show up. It's not a camping school; that's what National Camping School is for. It's all about human dynamics, and they're very clever about how you get the message. You probably won't find anyone who will knowingly lay it all out on the table for you ahead of time. It would be like someone telling you the ending of the movie you just paid 8 bucks to see. By all means, if you have a chance to go, do it. You'll have a good time up front, but your units will benefit for the rest of the time you're a Scouter...a fair return on investment. KS

John: As I mentioned in a previous post, I've been required to have potential volunteers fill out background check forms along with their Scout Leader application for years -- military requirement for anyone spending time around kids. I haven't had the experience you have with people taking offense or resenting an insinuation that they're criminals. They willingly complete the background check form, although some do lament the fact that it's necessary. Regarding your comment about Scouting's reputation among the "larger outdoor community", I need to make a couple of inferences here. First, if by LOC you mean Backpacker magazine subscribers (I am one), the LOC is predominantly experienced adults, traveling in small groups, who, with disposable income, are for the most part well equipped with the state of the art. On the other hand, Scout troops are predominantly inexperienced adolescent boys, traveling in larger groups, without the state of the art. If they're a little clumsier, noisier, not as well turned-out, or stick out more when on outings, what do you expect? Now, they should get better individually as they get more experience and maturity, but every troop will always be populated primarily by youngsters who are new at this, and that's the collective reality you'll see. Let's keep our perspective here. While the Outdoors Program is one of the eight methods, and an important one, it's only one of eight. After all, our mission is to prepare youth to make ethical choices over their lifetimes, not to create a corps of professional outfitters. Sure, we work to drill the Outdoor Code into them, but as I like to put it, this is a journey, not a destination... So, I take your point overall, but rather than compare 11-year old Boy Scouts (apples) with experienced backcountry types (oranges), how about comparing adults in the backcountry who were Scouts as youths with adults in the backcountry who were not Scouts as youths? Probably too tough to do, and more of an editorial comment on my part, but would be a better comparison I think. KS

MK: Thanks for the kind words, although I'm not sure I deserve them -- I forget more than I remember, and have burned the biscuits more than anyone else in the Troop! As far as commitment to Scouting, check with me in a month. We just took delivery of our popcorn...first time we'll sell it here! KS

Some of the projects they've done include renovating monuments in the area, reconstructing baseball field dugouts, erecting bus shelters, preparing emergency evacuation plans and diagrams for apartment complexes, and others. Some of the coordination can be more difficult with language barriers and whatnot, but on the other hand, there are some really unique opportunities out there, and there's never any shortage of help/support from the military community, too. KS

Who got the second-highest number of votes? KS

Amazing! We have almost the same situation in our Troop, with one possible exception. The Scout in question has no handbook, records, individual history report, MB blue cards, etc. here with him --either he didn't think there would be Scouting opportunities here or thought he was done for good when they moved here. We've tried contacting the former troop/district by e-mail, and finally wrote a letter to get his records. Since he's close to six months out from his 18th birthday, we decided it would be best to hedge our bets and appoint him to a leadership position to get the six months' leadership, have linked him up with MB counselors for the ones he knows he still needs, and he knows he needs to put a project on the fast track. I can understand how, from the outside looking in, a troop committee could be perceived as "reluctant" to get on board in such a situation. After all, a Life Scout doesn't earn his Eagle on his own -- it takes the active support and genuine commitment of the Troop and the Committee to help him make it happen. I think that after an extended absence, committee questions concerning the Scout's motivation and his level of commitment are appropriate. When it's crunch time, which it is if you're a 17-year old Life Scout, that motivation and commitment must be most intense from the Scout himself. Jnowinski, perhaps the Scout in your situation needs to communicate these "intangibles" more clearly to the unit leaders. At any rate, our troop and committee stands ready to support our Life Scout who has chosen to do this as a "100-yard dash" rather than a "marathon", and has told him and his family exactly what he needs to do between now and next summer. Ultimately, we're presenting the opportunities, it's up to him to take advantage of them. We, too, will not cut any corners, and incidentally, have two other Life Scouts who are both engrossed in their projects and close to finishing their requirements. They haven't complained about this, and knowing those two, they never would. The way we're dealing with it is to stick to the requirements and ensure that all candidates complete them in accordance with BSA policy...what else can you do? For what it's worth, we're not interested in why he was inactive -- doesn't matter as far as I'm concerned. He's back now, and if he meets the requirements, we're having an Eagle COH sometime this summer... KS

This can be a very sensitive issue, especially if the troop that's "upset" with you invested time and effort in their Webelos-to-Scout transition, expecting they'd bridge into their troop. From a "helpful" standpoint, no troop would willfully turn away a den that needs troop involvement for AOL, etc. Having said that, bridging Webelos Scouts are a major source of new Boy Scouts, and troop growth is a Quality Unit criteria. Did anyone promise the Troop you'd bridge over to them? Did your Webelos den participate in joint activities with the Troop? Have you had SM conferences with them? Are you traditionally considered their "feeder pack"? If any of the above are true, you may have a fence or two to mend. That said, a boy can join any Troop that can take him. Your local troop's feelings may be hurt, perhaps with good reason. But, if your Scouts join another one, they'll have to get over it, ultimately. I've been in a District where a District Troop Roster, with contact information and areas of program emphasis, was provided to each Cubmaster at the first Roundtable of the year, to help individual Webelos Scouts decide which troop they wanted to visit and eventually join. For example, a car-camping family probably wouldn't want to join a backpacking troop, and vice versa. Bottom line: a good program and a well-run/led troop will attract and keep new Scouts on its own, without this kind of drama. KS

A few words of advice: - Review your Troop's program plan to ensure that once they bridge, the monthly themes give proper emphasis to FCFY. - use Troop Program Resources to plan your monthly themes, and try to follow the troop meeting plans as closely as possible. - If you don't already have one, try to draft one of the bridging Scout's parents as an events/activities chair for your troop committee. Get him/her into the handbook, and ensure there's advancement opportunities built in to the meetings and outdoor program. This isn't automatic; requires advance work and availability of materials in many cases. - TroopMaster does a pretty good job of tracking FCFY, as do other software products. Consider using the BSA FC Tracking Sheets, too, for their portability when you're outdoors. Good Luck KS

During their tenure as SPL/ASPL, they shouldn't be members of permanent patrols. In our troop, we don't erase them in TroopMaster, though, and after the next troop elections, they go back to their permanent patrols. I don't really understand the point of creating a "leadership patrol" for them. They're already at PLCs, program planning conferences, etc., by virtue of their positions. Maybe I'm a little slow on the uptake, I don't know. In only one of our three patrols is the PL the Scout with the highest BSA rank. This shouldn't matter, as the authority of the PL comes from the green bars, not the patch on his pocket. Frankly, I don't know how you avoid it, unless your highest-ranking Scouts are always going to be your SPL, ASPL, and PLs...nobody does that, do they? The Scouts almost universally understand the leadership experience requirements, and support the PLs in their position regardless of their rank. The older Scouts have all been there, done that. And, only once have I had to have a conference with a 2nd Class Scout because he thought he was entitled to give orders to any Tenderfoot. KS

Just as the Scout uniform promotes the program to all who see it, the Quality Unit patch lets all know that your UNIT qualified for the year on the patch. If you can afford the patches, I'd issue one to all on the roster. Also, the patches for the recharter you just completed will say "2003" on them...will a Scout who joined in 2002 and contributes to the program have to wait until the 2004 patches come out? If you get the Quality Unit streamer for your troop/pack flag, you don't remove it when the next new Scout joins who didn't actually contribute to the award. We issue Quality Unit patches to everyone when they join. KS

Sctmom; Actually, my personal perspective on United Way isn't based on a liberal or conservative bias -- I didn't link the two in my last post, although I guess the insinuation was there. I think you're right, that many forum members wouldn't donate to United Way until all liberal agencies were removed...I don't believe in Balkanizing our charitable giving that way. My concern is over things like United Way funding volunteer fire departments. I think that's ridiculous; a public safety service should be supported by tax dollars, at whatever level the citizens who receive that service vote to do so. If your United Way contribution is in part funding tax supported public services, you are in essence a victim of taxation without representation. That's what I was getting at, not cutting off battered women shelters and infant health screening... KS

My law enforcement experience goes back 26 years, and while criminal background checks will help on two levels (catching those with records and discouraging those with records from applying), it is definitely not a complete solution. I mentioned in another post that there are many personality and behavioral traits that would disqualify someone from being a Scout leader, that will not show up in a criminal background check. Two points are underscored here, I think. For the SM and committee, know who's walking in your door. That gets more difficult all the time as we become a more mobile society, but more important, too. Second, try to get the CO to do their job, too. They have to sign all adult applications (except MB counselors). Does your COR actually meet applicants, for example? Leaders need to lead. As an aside, there is a more or less ongoing debate about removing porn from overseas military exchanges. I don't know where the debate is right now, but the porn publishers were all saying their publications were an "outlet" that prevented assaults and incidents. If that's true, why does it seem that every pedophile arrested also has a houseful of kiddie porn? Maybe it's the other way around... KS

"If someone agrees with your opinion, there's no need to try to convince them. If they do not, there's no point in trying to convince them..." -Anonymous The easiest way to donate to charity is through annual broad-brush campaigns like United Way. It's a trade-off, though. In exchange for the research time and effort you get returned to you, you buy into the local United Way board's decisions on how to allocate and apportion the campaign's proceeds. Regardless of your position on various public policy issues, some of this allocation/apportionment is bound to be contrary to how you believe/vote. I found it was for me, and use a more involved method than a check-box to determine where my charitable contributions go. For a United Way board to remove any legitimate NFP organization from their list because it's "controversial" is a concern. In such a climate, is any NFP organization safe? Womens' suffrage, civil rights, organized labor, AIDS prevention, and environmental improvement are all examples of movements that were controversial and didn't enjoy widespread popularity at certain points. It's funny in a way, tolerance and diversity only seem to be encouraged and celebrated when the beneficiaries of tolerance and diversity are "liberal" and those expected to be tolerant are "conservative"...in other words, it's a one-way street... KS

Still on the zippers, I agree I wouldn't want Scouts in the field spraying any aerosols around. The silicone treatment on the zippers should be, in my opinion, done by the QM and the facilties/equipment guy wherever troop equipment is stored/maintained, not by Scouts on a campout. There are a tremendous number of silicone-based lubricants/waterproofers. When I suggest using one to prevent stuck zippers, I'm referring to the type that uses air (rather than propane or some other flammable) to propel a fine silicone powder...like to keep dresser drawers from sticking. Not Camp-Dry; flammable propellant, stinks for days, and reduces flame retardant properties of tent fabric. Back to the oven, I hadn't seen the mailbox oven, but have seen plans for an ammo-can grill, same principle. I'm always leery, though, of combining castoff military anything with fire. There always seem to be paints, solvents, or other chemical residues involved, or unexpected surprises...like when one of the supposedly empty mortar round boxes one of my co-workers threw in a fire drum actually had some leftover charge bags in it. Don't know how many, and they didn't explode, but did burn ferociously for longer than any of us was comfortable with. KS

klsdr: When a chartered organization recharters a troop with BSA, both the CO and the Council sign a "charter" that outlines what both promise to do. What's pertinent here is that the CO promises to adhere to BSA policies. From what you describe (segregating the NSP, limiting their outdoor program, insisting parents attend outings, etc.), your CO may be in violation of their end of the charter agreement. I'll readily concede that 11 year old boys can't participate in everything 16 year old boys do. Your setup, though, begs the question "what are the 16-year olds doing?" If it's BSA activities, and not Venturing activities, there's no reason why the NSP can't do them, too. Whether something's a meeting, an event, or an activity, or whatever, is a matter of common sense, and reading the literature. If you're unclear on patrol meetings and BSA's intent, get a copy of the Patrol Leader's Handbook (the new one, with the rattlesnake patrol flag in the cover graphics). Chapter 4, starting on page 59. "Patrol meetings may be held at any time and any place...patrols can hold meetings during troop campouts and other outings...typical patrol meetings can vary in length from five to 20 minutes or more." While you're at it, I recommend all your green bars get either the PL or SPL handbook issued to them when they're elected/appointed to their positions; a wealth of information in both. Good luck. KS

Bob; Dan can speak for himself, but what I think he may mean by "troop camping" is that if you visit the campsite, there is no evidence that there are patrols camping there, just an amalgam of Scouts in a troop...things like patrol campsites, patrol flags, patrol cooking/eating areas, patrol duty rosters, and so on... KS

A joyous holiday season to you all! I'm thankful for a loving family, and the blessings of liberty. Regarding the latter, I'm reminded daily of the countless millions who can't begin to imagine what it's like. KS

Background checks have been a way of life for years for anyone wanting to work around youth on a military base, volunteer or paid. The Army does ours, since our District is on an Army base, and I get periodic inquiries from our family advocacy office to ensure the paperwork's being submitted. And, these are not just criminal checks, but include checks with other agencies for incidents of reported/substantiated abuse, neglect, endangerment, substance abuse, and so on. A concern: these are also undesirable traits that would disqualify a potential volunteer, but won't show up in a single-scope criminal background check. If the military wasn't turning over these stones for us, I'd be ensuring our committee/CO was doing it. KS

I've re-read the post several times, and still come to the same conclusion based on teenage boys, their self-image, and peer influence (not to mention the Patrol Method): the notion of a 17 year old Scout, at a Scout campout, willingly sharing his tent with his mom, regardless of her BSA registration status, would be one the most unusual things I'd ever see. Am I alone on this? We're a very close family; when we're Scouting, my son likes having me involved and out there with him, but mostly hangs with his patrol unless he needs me for something, or unless he or I wants to chat over a cocoa or something. Just once, I suggested that if there was an odd number of Scouts on a campout and one would have to tent alone, he and I could tent together. He assured me that no matter what, there would not be an odd number of Scouts. KS

Given a choice, either method involves tradeoffs. In a summer camp environment, where the goals of most of the Scouts are MBs, activities, and advancements, patrol cooking will take valuable time from these goals. Patrol cooking can be less expensive than dining halls, depending on the menus. We're planning our annual "medium adventure" trip to an island 60 miles off the coast. We plan patrol cooking for this week-long event to keep the costs down, with the understanding that the prep, cooking, and cleanup take away somewhat from the time we have for activities. No choice. It is neat, though, to compare their first day efforts with how smoothly they work on the last day. KS