orennoah

In addition to all the problems noted above (including not Boy Led, waste of meeting time, food handling problems, etc.), it's my understanding that the BSA cannot raise funds for other organizations, no matter how worthy. For example, our Council could not raise funds for the Red Cross in the wake of this year's hurricanes. Donations had to be in the form of gift cards from such places as Home Depot, Best Buy, etc.

I did a presentation on using GPS on Scout outings at our district Round Table as one of my Wood Badge tickets. (If anyone wants a copy of my written presentation, please PM me.) I started off by telling a true story. I was an ASM and backpacking with my troop for the first time. I had a compass, a USGS topo and I knew (from my Scouting days) how to use them. I also had the brand new GPS receiver my wife had given me. I thought I was a land navigation god. I was wrong. We started hiking and the sun dropped, leaving a moonless night. Compass and map weren't all that useful at t

Makes my blood boil!! If you can, it would be great for you to determine the Chartered Organization and the Council of this so-called "troop." This is definately something that should be reported, punished and prevented from every happening again. These "Scouts" did far more than violate a few park rules (or even a few Calif. Penal Code provisions). They stole some my and your good name.

Never make an important decision while in the throws of a bad cold. Also, by the weekend, you should be feeling much better. I take it from your post that you're not an experienced backpacker. If that's the case, you should speak up and ask for some advise from your local SMs or ASMs. They should know what you'll need at the training location, which is usually the local council's camp. Hang in there and have a blast. As our founder said, "Any silly ass can be a Scout in fine weather."

Acco40: The solution is obvious. Don't use fiberglass poles in freezing temps. Go with aluminum. Stronger! Lighter! Alas, more expensive.

Actually, the ones I normally wear are khaki, just like our Scout shirts. The ones I wear for rainy days are black.

Two words: "Snow Load" A three season tent and a four season tent will both weather wind and rain about the same. The four season tent will handle a bunch of snow to top, but a three season tent won't. The other differences are all details and money. If you're not going to have to handle any appreciable snow loads, the four season tent will be more tent (and more money) than you need. - Oren

Great ideas! I'm going to come up with a plan to implement in my Troop. I've got a new bunch of great Scouts and I want to get their parents involved (and in a uniform!).

I won't question a synthetic shoe. Certainly not while I'm wearing the Crocs that I've become addicted to. Unless I'm wearing my hiking boots, I'm in Crocs. (They're a foam shoe that looks ugly, but feels and works great. Doesn't weigh anything, either. www.crocs.com)

As a SM who has had to deal with a non-disclosed special needs Scout on a winter backcountry trip, I say that you should pay no attention to the opinions of "leaders" or parents who are not willing to go into the backcountry and take actual responsibility (and liability) for the health and safety of the Scouts. In my case, we narrowly avoided hypothermia claiming the special needs Scout. We should have been told that there was a specific medical problem (Aspergers) and that the Scout wasn't being difficult, but that he could not take care of himself in a snowfield at altitude without nea

If I were a Scout in your troop, I'd probably become rather invisisble rather soon. In my humble opinion, patrols should be as permanent as possible. I don't even like using New Scout Patrols, preferring instead directly to integrate new Scouts into existing patrols and having the patrol leaders be primarily responsible for teaching basic Scout skills. But that's another thread. Members of other patrols should have absolutely no say in who is the patrol leader. As for the invisible Scouts, I would have the patrol leaders call them every couple of weeks and inform them of upcom

In my troop we strongly discourage a parent from being a merit badge counselor for his/her son, UNLESS there is at least another Scout involved in working on the merit badge. This includes voluntarily restricting myself and my wife from working directly with our son. The upside, is that when my son is interested in a merit badge that I or my wife does, e.g. cycling and religious award, he recruits other Scouts and puts together an informal class. After I explained to him that I didn't want anyone to be able to question anything that he had earned, he had no objections to this policy.

I'm afraid that you have a religious problem and not a Scouting one. Around here, even some Scouting debates have gotten rather heated. But, that's nothing compared to the potential for headaches that a religious debate can cause, anywhere from yelling and screaming to centuries of armed warfare. Beware.

I've never seen a rule against it. (Note to Uniform Police: Such a rule MAY exist and, if so, I'm sure you'll enlighten us all. But I haven't seen it.) However, I'd want the undergarment to "match" the uniform in some way. Otherwise, it would look way funky.

I have NO IDEA how many bears and bear images I own. You see, asides from being a Good Ole Bear from WE3-41-03, I'm also a Bear by virtue of my graduation from the University of California. So, I've been "collecting" bears and bear-like things for many years now. - Oren

Hang in there and support your husband. He's on the right track and will need all the help he can get. I second the idea of bringing the Unit Commissioner into it. My UC (I, too, am a Scoutmaster) sat down with me after I became SM and we discussed what I needed or wanted from him and what he could do for me. Please encourage your husband to take his UC out for a meal, or even just a beverage, and discuss how they can best work together. - Oren

Backpacking? Ultralight? Car camping? Heavy rain? Need a vestibule? Strong winds? To narrow down your choices, check out the "expert advice" tab on the www.rei.com website. - Oren

Buy or borrow a decent sleeping bag, one that is truly rated for the temperatures you'll be expecting. Beware of the phoney/wishful temperature ratings of the cheap brands. Ask some experienced Boy Scout leaders and they should be able to steer you in the right direction. Also, be sure that you have a decent sleeping pad. They are not just for comfort, but provide needed insulation under your body that is lost when your body weight crushes the sleeping bag insulation. In addition, direct contact with cold surfaces robs you of body heat much more efficiently than cold air. Hav

I've heard that our council/cluster used to have an Old Boys' Network in Wood Badge, but I haven't heard much in the way of complaints about them. The courses had an excellent reputation. I'm a 21st Century Wood Badger (WE3-41-03) and I just finished staffing my first course, as Quartermaster (WE3-41-05). My QM staff were all "newbie" staffers, as were quite a number of Troop Guides. The combination of 21st Cent. staffers and "old school" staffers, I think, was a benefit for all, participants and staffers included. We newbies learned a whole lot from the "old school" staffers, includi

So, Watercub, what did you decide to do for your diverstiy ticket? - Oren Bear WE3-41-03 QM and Executive Chef of the Gilwell Bistro (and Smokehouse) WE3-41-05

"If you're using two smokers you must be making roast Bob White!!!!! Tastes good, less filling!!! " No, not Bob White. Do have any idea how many it would take to fill two smokers? Instead, this weekend, we smoked (for more than 18 hours, using apple and a bit of oak) 54 pounds of pork butt. We pulled them, sauced them and served them on fresh-baked rolls, with slaw, cornbread, salad and brownies for desert. Finger (and plate) licking good. I'm SO relieved that my Quartermasterly duties are over, save for a bit of closing the budget paperwork. However, I now am feeling the t

Eamonn wrote: "I like the idea of Food Diversity!!" So do I. In fact, my diversity ticket was to create the menu plan for this year's Wood Badge course. Each QM-provided meal was from a different country and I wrote a script introducing each country and meal and explaining what that country had to teach us about Scouting's history, diversity and/or future. Two weeks ago, I and my awesome crew put that plan into action. As the "Gilwell Bistro," my crew did India (lamb curry, tandoori chicken, creamed lentils, mustard seed potatoes, mango chutney, mint chutney, raita, naan &

"We're Bears. We're hungry. Any of you got a problem with that?" - Oren WE3-41-03

Bobwhite: It looked like two tents, but I'll take your word for it. I didn't get all that close to it. I still can't beleive that any contingent would bring such a gigantic tent. - Oren

Each troop was assigned the area in which they were to set up their camp. No one could expect that a troop would bring their own massive dining tent like that. It was monstrously tall. All of the other troops were using patrol-sized dining fly arrangments, that were no more than seven feet or so tall. That troop's dining flys (there were two) were huge, rivaling the size of the national-level facilities, such as staff dining halls and the like. Regardless, anyone who could look up could have seen that there were power lines overhead. I fear that, because the troop had spent the money