mk9750

Bob and All, I am sorry that my effort at being concise caused me to mislead. The Troop made the decision, did the fundraising, and, with the advice of our Scoutmaster (the MB councelor), chose which rifles to buy. They are in the name, and the possession of, the Scoutmaster. The COR was on the Troop committe and was at the meeting that approved the purchase. they are stored in a secured rifle closet in the SM's home, and each of our boys are subject to a complete NRA safety class before being permitted to handle them. I am not the Scoutmaster, nor do I have much more than a rudiment

The campmaster was adamant about this point for both activities. We just had a campout where we worked on both. Our boys decided they wanted Troop rifles, so they raised enough money to purchase 5 Marlin .22 bolt action rifles. When made to revert to loading one round at a time, we encountered more misfires than we ever had loading a clip. And by the way, to be humorous and not argumentative, the MB councilor for these MBs is an attorney, with all of the required certifications. This aside, I agree that today's Scouting would not look the same as it did years ago if developed more recently.

Another revelation for me! I NEVER EVER expected to see that a Scout activity could take place without adult supervision. We do a pretty good job of staying out of the way when our boys plan and carry out events. But to think that the rules and regulations would allow us to stay away from the actual event shocks me. National has gone so far as to say (at least what one campmaster told us) that Scouts earning Rifle or Shotgun MB can only load 1 round at a time. I tried to verify this in the Scoutmaster handbook, but couldn't find my book (maybe this points to a problem in itself, eh?).

Our Troop tends to have difficulty with new Scouts too. Particularly if the Cub den they came from was more "Artsy - Craftsy" than actively working on the Webelos program which starts the transistion into Boy Scouts. When this happens, particularly if the Den (Webelos) leader stays active after crossing, the boys seem to expect immediate gratification. They also seem to miss the concept that their level of fun is self determined. This is aided by the old den leader, who always seems to do for his old den, "because these guys just couldn't do something like this on their own!". When this has

We too find no problem recruiting active formal leadership. Where we often struggle is finding people to handle the "odd jobs", like Pocorn Kernel, etc. Our Scoutmaster and Committe Chair both fall victim to a lot of blank stares when they broadcast an invitation to assist. I have found that these open invitations rarely work. People seem to respond better if asked directly to handle a task, and the task is explained to them. Even if someone says no, it helps to know that a specific person couldn't (or wouldn't in some cases) take on a task. I've learned that lesson over the years, and it is

Our adult patrol is called the Geezer Patrol. We have a flag, and particularly we use a Patrol Cheer. When we are asked something that should be asked of a junior leader, all of the adults in the vacinity turn their backs and shout in unison "I don't know! Ask your Patro Leader!" We don't get too many questions anymore. One thing that I thought was really neat. We had a Patrol contest that included making and outfitting patrol cook boxes, working as a team at Klondike, and a number of other criteria. We offered the winning patrol a number of really cool prizes, but the most coveted was tha

The SM whose boy most likely defaced the car agreed that it was probably his Scout. He said this same boy was almost sent home for slashing wall tents (Why ALMOST sent home, I still can't figure out!!). He said that because his Troop is an LDS Troop, many of the boys really didn't want to be there. He said their policy for dealing with a serious problem like this was to arrange for a meeting between the boy's parents, himself, and their Bishop (I think he said Bishop). He took my phone #, gave me his, and I awaited his call. 6 weeks after camp, I still had no phone call. so I gave him a ca

At my 1st summer camp, I was asked to fill in for the Scoutmaster. I drove his Suburban with our Troop Trailer attached. Thursday at breakfast, one of the other SMs advised me to check out the Suburban. One of the scouts in camp scratched F$(#* YOU into the door on the passenger side. I never expected that of any Scout. Was very dissapointed. Was especially disappointed in the reaction of the SM whose boy apparently did the handiwork (long story how we found out).Was beside myself with how to tell the SM. And all in the vehicle were somewhat amused with the looks we got driving down the r

Koreascouter, what a terrific Scoutmaster minute!!! Not only for Sept. 11th, but anytime you need something to motivate. With your permission, I'd like to use your thoughts at my son's Eagle Court of Honor. Thanks for taking the time to post it. Mark

Boy! I guess I stepped in it! Having only been following this board for a month or less, I didn't realize the original message about Bob was a slam (it was, wasn't it? I guess right now I'm not sure). I also didn't even know that there was a place to create a profile (pretty observant, ain't I?). But that aside, I stick with my original comment. Bob's oppinions are valuable and usually right. Now that I've looked at his profile, and know that he is responsible for training, his strict interpretation of regulations is understandable. It makes sense to teach the absolute knowin

Add me to the list of supporters. I admit to believing that there is more "wiggle room" in the regualtions than Bob sees, but I can certainly say that I have taken much of what he says back to both our PLC and our adult leaders and have tried to steer us back on track. As good intentioned as it might be, we have fallen into the habit of saying and advertising we are boy run, but we sure pick up the ball and run with it for the boys when they don't live up to their responsiblity. It's easy to do: "It would be ashame for the guys not to get the full benefit and / or enjoyment from this

Just to clarify my position: It absolutely is the BOR who made this error. If someone must "learn from their mistake", it is the BOR and the advancement chairman (if he / she were still there). Does the boy have a responsiblity to have all requirements done before he requests a Scoutmaster conference and BOR? YES. But let's assume for a second he honestly thought he was finished (the conversation about the changing requirements is interesting: We have three boys who could have been tripped up at Eagle for MBs earned for Star that would not count as required for Eagle had I not been on top of

I feel bad for anyone in this situation, but from a discussion standpoint, this is a compelling issue. Evmori posed the theory that if the Scout has not met the requirements for Life, he technically is not Life. I disagree. If a Board of Review, in good faith (not trying to circumvent the rules) determines that a scout has met the requirements for a rank, he is that rank. Therefore, he has the right to begin, work on, and complete his Eagle requirements. From that point on, as long as he meets the requirements for Eagle (21 MBs, including all required, Project, Leadership, etc.), he shoul

If I might be permitted to add a comment about one of the sub topics here, namely whether to create a new patrol for new memebers, or to absorb them into existing patrols: We have done it both ways, and both ways have met with varying levels of success. When a large enough group of new cross overs also have interested, committed parent(s) to assume an Assistant Scoutmaster role with the new patrol, AND if a quality young man, both mature enough to handle the responsiblity but young enough to relate to the new guys, can be identified, a new patrol is a terrific way to go. If, on the other h