orennoah

Let's not be so hasty in passing, or trying to pass, this embarassment off as the bad acts of a mere BSA "employee." He wasn't the janitor. He was a major policy maker! Like many Scoutmasters, I tell my Scouts that when they put on their uniform, they represent Scouting to everyone who sees them. They screw up, Scouting screws up. I also tell them that they represent Scouting when they take their uniform off, at least to everyone who knows they are a Scout. How can we now say that this doesn't apply to a National Council big-wig? Mr. Smith robbed each of us. He proved to be neither Trustworthy nor Loyal.

This was one of my Wood Badge ticket items. I chose it because it would be a personal challenge for me and because I'd been frustrated with not getting any answers to my questions at the Council office. Long story short, there aren't any answers at National, at least none that my District Exec. could find with multiple phone calls and emails. So, my counselor and I just winged it. I suggest that you do the same. - Oren

Cutter- The easy answer is that you save, for when you're asked to serve on WB staff! - Oren

Not to mention that whole idea behind trading patches is to promote brotherhood and as a memento of a meeting of fellow Scouts or Scouters. It's not supposed to be a "buy low, sell high" business opportunity. I'm afraid that we've gotten away from the teaching of brotherhood and are, instead, training the next generation of ticket scalpers. (OA pun NOT intended.) The truly sad part is that both Scouts and Scouters are promoting this mercenary approach to patch trading. - Oren

This is truly a sad affair, on so many levels. As to the boy who may or may not have been elected, I reminded of a Mark Twain quote in "The Scout Law - Quotes for Life" (p 76, "Brave") "It is better to deserve honors and not have them, than to have them and not deserve them." - Oren

Nice traditions. I may start them in our troop. Thanks. - Oren

These are the sorts of issues that I encountered when my son and his Webelos class crossed over and formed a new Scout patrol. The troop was new and really didn't have a good handle on how to do this. Not that they did wrong, just that things didn't work out as well as they had hoped. Now that I'm the SM, we just had ten new Webelos cross over, doubling our troop. We decided to integrate the new Scouts into the two existing patrols. So far, it's been GREAT. The older scouts have been wonderful, taking great pride in teaching the new Scouts the Oath, Law and knots. The new Scouts are swelling with pride at their new-found skills and their new-found friends, MANY OF WHOM ARE IN HIGH SCHOOL. It's so easy for us "grown ups" to forget how awesome a high school student appears to a 6th grader. And to earn the respect of one, is tremendous. All that said, I know that some troops have great success with the new Scout patrol method and some troops have dissasters with putting new Scouts into existing patrols.(This message has been edited by orennoah)

Scoutmasters are expected to attend Troop Committee Challenge? That's news to me. - Oren

Are you going to be baking the cornbread in camp? The WE3-41-03 BEARS baked a batch of cornbread in an Outback Oven over a backpack stove. What better to go with chili? (Other than the beer we couldn't have, of course!) - Oren P.S. Dessert that night was a gingerbread cake, also baked in the Outback Oven with a toasted marshmallow topping. Us Bears eat very well.

Best: Getting to know the people in my patrol and working through the whole team building process. I truly marvel at the way the course has multiple levels of teaching the same thing. Learning theory of team buiding, while team building is a great method. Game of Life: I enjoyed it. I discussed this with a guy from National. He explained that it's the most controversial part of the syllabus, but that he thinks the reactions are mostly tied to the skill of the person running the game and on the post-game discussion. In my case, the patrols were broken up and we were teamed with people from throughout the course. This led to a breakdown of the team spirit and to a more mercenary approach. From my college econ. game theory background, I quickly saw the aim of the game, resolved to "do the right thing," even though I knew the probable outcome, and watched the reactions of others. One of my patrol members was outraged at the game, largely because of the behaviors he witnessed. One of my ASMs "won," but at a price he immediately realized was too high. (I still give him a rough time, "true colors" and all that. :-) ) Worst aspect: Losing two of my patrol members during the ticket process. No. They didn't die. One had a change of military assignment that prevented him from having any time to work his ticket and one simply stopped communicating to us. She won't return phone calls or emails. Very, very strange. Best gain for me: The ticket items really stretched my capabilities and have given me a lot of confidence. But equally important are the relationships with high quality people from throughout our two Council cluster that I gained. There are some truly remarkable people around here. I'm very honored to have them consider me a friend. - Oren "I used to be a Bear . . . ." WE3-41-03 I'll be the QM WE3-41-05

Congratulations. It's a like a whole new world opened up, isn't it? I was SO relieved when I finished that last ticket item. - Oren "I used to be a Bear . . . ." WE3-41-03 I'll be the QM for WE3-41-05

Asides from the 20 questions: - Get plenty of sleep before you go. You'll be busy. - Bring earplugs. Lots of snoring Scouters after a busy day. - Bring Tabasco. Well, I always bring Tabasco(in a camo holster, of course), because you can never be assured that the QM will properly spice your food. (One exception. WE3-41-05. But then I'll be the QM.) - Be ready to have a great time, meet awesome people and learn more than you dreamed you would. - If it's a weekend course, be prepared to set up an email list server or Yahoo Group for your patrol to keep in touch between sessions, as well as to give each other support and encouragement while working your tickets. - Oren "I used to be a Bear . . . ." WE3-41-03

I'm grateful you're not a Bear. A Bear would want fresh pancakes, not some tired, precooked Frisbee wannabes. The Bear patrol on WE3-41-03 dined on sourdough pancakes, real maple syrup, eggs to order and sausages. All done on backpack stoves. (I kept the sourdough starter in a small Nalgene.) DON'T PRECOOK! We'd never allow the boys to do that, so we shouldn't.

Congratulations! You must be walking on air. I'm looking forward to my beading. It'll be a (at least) double beading ceremony at my Troop's next Court of Honor. Just last night we doubled the size of the Troop by getting 10 Webelos, so I'm hoping for a packed house of Scouts, parents and Scouters from throughout our Wood Badge Cluster. The other Wood Badge recipient and I both wanted the Troop to share in the ceremony, so the Scouts see that their adult leaders are just as committed to advancement and skill building as they are. Again, congratulations! - Oren "I used to be a Bear . . . ." WE3-41-03 (And I will be the) Quartermaster WE3-41-05

I advocate using a home dehydrator as much as possible. A cheapie from your local Target will work just fine. Some applications: Brown 5 lbs of ground beef until no pink is left. Put into a large mesh strainer and run plenty of hot water through it. Place in roughly equal amounts on 5 dryer screens. (If your holes are too large, make finer screens out of fiberglass window screen material.) Dry. You'll end up with nasty looking dried bits, looking a lot like old coffee grounds. Place the contents of each screen into a resealable baggie and mark as "1 lb. ground beef." Keep in the freezer darned near forever and will keep at room temp for months. To use, simply add to warm water and wait. For more flavor, add the dried sauce mix to the water at the same time. (Dried mushrooms work well at this stage, too.) You'll be very surprised at the moist, rich tasting results. This way, you can convert Hamburger Helper into backpacking food. Another idea: Dry spinach, bell pepper slices etc. Along with store-bought dried mushrooms, onions and tomatoes, as well as a cheese stick or two, you have the ingredients for awesome omelettes. Simply bring some water to a boil. Put a bit of each of the "fixings" that you like into a freezer quality baggie. Add a couple of spoons of hot water and wait ten minutes or so. Add a couple of eggs (or egg powder and hot water). Mix and place the whole baggie in the boiling water. When the eggs are almost done, add the string cheese and return to the water. Viola. Gourmet omelette in a bag and, best of all, very little KP. - Oren

I'm really glad to hear that you and your son had a positive, productive experience. - Oren

Our troop number (14) doesn't stand for anything. That is, other than US! Even though we're a young troop, we've grown accustomed to it and darned proud of it. In fact, we have a page of links to Troop 14s from around the world on our website. http://www.scouttroop14.org/T14others.html If anyone knows of any other Troop 14s with websites, please let me know via PM. - Oren

He practices putting up his tent, in the dark, alone, before even going on his first campout? I want your son (and you) in MY troop! Want to move to Northern California? - Oren

You'll have a great time, learn a lot, grow and make new friends. But do yourself a favor and tone down your curiosity about what happens at Wood Badge. Think of it as a movie with a great plot. You wouldn't want your friends to tell you all about before you saw it, would you? Too much advance knowledge will take the enjoyment and value from the course. Be assured that there aren't any strange rituals or secret handshakes and no one is going to make fun of you. It's really just excellent information packaged in a way that you'll get a whole lot out of it. It's great to get excited about the course and to be filled with anticipation. "Just don't ask too many questions." And remember, to a Bear, all the other patrols are simply food. - Oren WE3-41-03 Bear WE3-41-05 Quartermaster

I've used Dutch Ovens on stove tops many, many times. Not a problem. Also, I recommend using a wok ring as a lid stand. You can use it as a place to put the lid when you are cooking, so the inside of the lid doesn't get dirty. You can also invert the lid onto the wok stand, either for cooking over coals or live fire, or for displaying your beautiful cake, pie or bread or whatever. It makes a very nice presentation.

Yeah. What they said. I can't really add too much to this discussion other than to point that (a) no one has come running this SM's defense and (b) one the best and most successful SM's in my District is a woman. - Oren

BadenP wrote "Maybe Shakespere (sic) was right when he wrote, 'Kill all the lawyers.'" I share your frustrations with the absolutist stance that the ACLU has taken and its wholly negative attitude about Scouting. I am a Scoutmaster of a troop in an area where we are not allowed to have any of our promotional literature passed out at the local schools or any mentions included in the parent bulletins. This has prevented us from serving many, many boys. However, your comment is not at all helpful. Rather, it is insulting, if not threatening. It surely does not reflect well on the values of Scouting. As a Scoutmaster AND a lawyer, I resent it. - Oren

One of our patrols adopted the Owl patch and decided be named the "Hooters." SM at the time quickly said "no." (Then he walked outside and laughed his *** off. You should have heard their proposed patrol yell!) Now, they're the Puerto Rican Fire Goats. (Don't ask.)

Speaking of footlockers (and jambo people always seem to be), what sorts of footlockers are people taking? How big? Where purchased? How much? All that stuff. My son and I are going for the first time. He's with the Council contingent and I'll be on housing staff. Thanks. - Oren

http://www.scouttroop14.org This was one of my Wood Badge ticket items. (I used to be Bear . . . in WE3-41-03.) It was quite the challenge, but I feel SO GOOD when I get a contact out of the blue by some parent who found the website and wants more information. I'd LOVE to hear comments, both good and "constructive." Thanks. - Oren