LPC_Thumper

What I do, is that once they are seated, once we've introduced the BoR to them, and had their scoutmaster talk about them, I tell them that I have some hard questions for them. I ask them if they want them at the beginning or ending of the discussion. Almost always I hear something along the lines of, "Let's get them over with now." So I ask them to repeat the Scout Oath. Almost always (just one time in 2 years has this been different) they look shocked, and stand up make the Scout sign and recite the Scout Oath. I then mention to them that they said something about a Scout Law, and ask them w

A copy of the Advancement Guideline manual would be GREAT, Scoutmaster Handbook would help too. Do you happen to know your Unit Commissioner? Might, and I stress might be worth asking for clarification from them as well. Don't tattle, instead ask for ways they have seen these questions handled. You might even point them here. Just don't make the mistake that many have. We try hard to give correct info, but just because it's on the web, doesn't make it right... Know what I mean?

I've stumbled across this in the past... The first thing I try to get to is "If we're Boy Scouts, shouldn't we run the program?" I also play the "I'm new here, I don't understand. Please explain why I read this in the manuals, and I don't see a great troop like ours do..." This approach works, because I'm NOT say "Hey you bunch of duck lovers! Why are you so messed up??" If I play dumb, and ask why things are this way, while national/council/district say to do it differently? It works for me. The key is however, you need to find some sources. Don't use the "well I saw it from LPC_Thumper and h

In case I've left anyone with the idea that the young man's project was to raise money, that wasn't the point. He designed 30 portable flag poles that were given to his city's park department to be used as they saw fit. He handled the permit process for this project. He found donors for the 30 flags, he organized fund raising efforts to pay for the supplies for these flag poles, he then went to the best welder he knew (actually a very reputable man in the County) and got him to agree to the work. He then organized his troop into a painting day. They then organized a city-wide celebration for t

When I was a Scout some of the best campouts we went on were Patrol Campouts. Now when I started reading this thread, I thought "That's too bad that we can't do this anymore..." Then FScouter actually quoted the manual (what a novel idea by the way). Can the Council say you can't go? Only if the DON'T read their manuals. Good luck with this, they are FUN, just get a copy of the manual and ask your SM about it...

I've been cooking in DO for about 20 years. Can I throw a bit in here? (If not, just ignore me ) DOs come in two heights... "standard" & "deep". This past weekend I feed 32 people a meal called "sore belly breakfast" (it consists of eggs, meat, potatoes, onions, bell peppers) I used 2 12" deep DOs and feed them for 2 meals on that (good thing we had refrigeration). All loved it, but all were full both days. I can cook 2 fryer chickens in one 12" deep DO. My troop provides a 12" deep in each of our patrol boxes. I find that 14" are too big for the patrol box, but 12" deep fit ver

I am a CC for my troop. From time to time our advancement chair asks me to sit on BoR. We have had younger scouts that needed some direction, so we point it out to them, with the warning that now that they are advanced Boy Scouts, they need to develop what ever skill/behavior we have become aware of that they need. (Now how do we learn that they need help in areas? Why the SM tells us silly! It works for us. We know who is coming, we know where they need to be built, we know where they are strong. We praise them for their strengths and help them see how they can make life better if they posses

Proud Eagle, To refer back to my previous stand... you can't say things like that, let me tell you why. 1- When a camp is inspected, all that happens is that it is determined if it meets the standard. It is not rated as better than this or that camp, just the standard. 2- If they are suggesting a top three camp, then my question is this... Which of the three National Camps is it better than? What about the big California Camps, or Montana Camps, or Wyoming, or ... I could make a list of camps that would be impossible to pick from (and that list is more than 3 camps) I under

Shall we put the packs on and move the fire??? Come on folks, we can do this! This may have changed, but it isn't broken, let's just keep on posting!!

National has a No Nickname rule??? Sorry guys I need chapter and verse for that one. I can understand not being negative with names, but... As for my name, I got it in High School. Ever seen the movie "Bambi"? (I was the guy that always had the new girlfriend... any way one night my friends were giving me greif about being twiterpated... and Thumper came up) Later in life I developed a limp, and I actually thump when I walk. When I did Woodbadge the staff wanted to use nicknames for us, and a High School friend started using the name. The staff were really careful to ask before using

Ok I must be confused. How can a CO regulate what shoes I wear to scouts, or which backpack I use? Can it also decide my hair style, or color? What about which pocket knife, or hiking staff? How about making a certain brand of tent "legal" and others not supported? I could go on, but I think you get my drift... How then can they say whether I have tats or piercings? If asked I would think we could all share our opinions about this topic with the youth we work with, but as for enforcement of those opinions, I really do believe we can't, so why try? Besides we've all seen youth make good ch

Well Mr Frog (as in Kermie, not as a slam to FOG) I can tell you that many came looking for answers, and found that they too could contribute. I started reading when I discovered it looking for resources for District Training. I had more on the subject but then remembered that stirring the pot, and name calling just aren't right. I hope that we can find a way to be more tolerant of others.

Is it bad to admit I can't tell you the last time, before today, that I was on the National Site? It does look better than I recall it looking, by the way...

As a boy, my dad (a second generation Eagle scout) got me going to Cubs, before I knew what happened, I was an Eagle Scout. Shortly after my son was born, his mom and I divorced. I was very concerned about him and honestly made a deal with God. If He'd take care of my son, I'd find something good to get involved with. That afternoon I ran into a guy that was the District Commissioner. He told me it would only take 3 hours a month. (Visits to Units, and a monthly meeting). A few years later, I became the founding SM for a troop. A few years after that, I was thrilled my son came to li

My wife did the spouse thing while I attended sessions at PTC. Here's what she did. She hiked around, she took tours of the camp, she read, she napped, she relaxed. They did all they could to help her have a good time. She doesn't like to camp, but I know if I went home tonight, and said "Honey we're going back to Philmont. She'd be ready whenever." You should be able to get fishing poles and supplies that can be checked in at the side of the plane. Your son is going to have a GREAT Cub Scout Day Camp experience. Your daughter will love being around other kids her age. The staff and

Hi, We handled this question not long ago, but you might not know where to look for it. What part of the country are you from? Where do you want to go? What types of programs are you looking for? How many campers, and about what ages are you shopping for? There are just about as many camps as there are troops, so I'm sure we can suggest good camps, but need to know where you are from, OK? There aren't any that should be considered anything more than our opinions.

What we do is offer the PLC a list of camps to attend, and then offer the experienced scout patrols (usually the two most expierenced patrols) the option of a High Adventure. We then allow them to tell us as a Committee where we need to put our efforts to support their interests. We don't sign up for camp without PLC input, but we rotate through our High Adventure program by which year it is. ANY scout can attend summercamp, in fact we'd love it if the experienced guys do both, but the National Bases have age requirements so the youngest don't get to go the first time they hear about the

OK, well if you're trying to find new camps, and you want to come west why don't you try... Well first from the east would be Sea Base. Many of our guys LOVED that trip. Or you could try Philmont. That's one of those super activities that you'll love every minute of. Once you get to California, now you are talking what I know. Camp Chawanakee is the target that many try to emulate. GREAT camp! Spent a week there myself, same GREAT program as always. Oljado is also a great camp in the Sierras. You could also look at Emerald Bay, or Cherry Valley. BOth of these are on Catalina Island (

Fuzzy Bear, Yes you can elect to throw your boots over a sign at basecamp. It is my understanding that they take them down on a yearly basis. But hey, if you get them branded... then they become immortal. Unuseable, but immortal all the same

The boots may be have holes but we can't throw them out THEY'VE BEEN BRANDED!!! Hey did you know that if you brand gortex, it isn't water proof anymore

We went a couple of years ago... (really summer of 2002). Here's what I wish I'd done. WALK. I blew out a knee on our first unloading. I was hurt, and walked slowly the entire trip. I wish I could have been stronger. PUSH UPS. LOTS OF PUSHUPS. My upper body HURT. It was cool in the daytime for us, and HOT at night. I brought a +20 bag that was never zipped up. In the daytime however I almost always had a sweatshirt on. A big floppy hat, my expedition hat was PERFECT. Lots of DEET. DEET is our friend. As I sat in the shower house after the trip I stopped counting at 120 bite

I need to be careful you guys will think I don't have a life outside of SCOUTING... Guess what? I don't!! I used to be a camp inspector in the Western Region. I can tell you there is no official list. That's not how it works. What does works is this. IF a camp passes the guidelines that National puts out about what a camp is, then they are "certified". You can spot a certified camp by the use of a banner with the National Camp logo on it (antlers and logo). It will also have a year on it. This all said, don't fall for anyone telling you they have anything other than someone's fa

The Exp hat is the best hat BSA has made since the little fold-able one I wore as a kid in the early 70s. I liked that hat because I had a picture of my dad with a uniform on from the mid 50's. I don't know if the picture was taken in Japan or Korea, but you get the idea. I have worn my exp hat on a trip to Philmont, on a trip to Northern Tier, to various trainings (I've been on Woodbadge staff and was able to wear it there without even batting eyes, well until they handed out the troop hat). It's been a great investment, and frankly a good friend. Now what's all this noise about "sm

Crew53 brings up an interesting point... This year at summer camp, I found a troop from my council. This camp is known throughout CA, and is not my council camp. I tried to make friends with the adults. One of their young men had hair down past his shoulders. The adults were all buzz cuts. I thought to myself "self, this would be an interesting situation." And I marvelled at how clean this young man was. (This camp has a fine black talcum powder type soil that gets EVERYTHING EXTREMELY dirty) I was just amazed that this guy could keep hair like that clean when I felt so grimy. About

I've let this out a few times before, I am one of the resources for Venturing in our Council, let me weigh in on this. Uniforms... As long as the uniform does not distract from the goals of Venturing, the crew decides what it is. For example, the retro cub scout uniform that Linda Rondstat made popular in the 80's while nice on her, wouldn't work for a crew. Just like "Mega-Death" tee-shirts might also not be quite what National had in mind. Crew decisions... National is vague on the topic of "is that each member of the crew or their leaders." It makes sense to me that if it's a crew