Proud Eagle

This has nothing to do with the quality of the program. If that was the only issue then the BSA would have stood on its own merits just fine. Instead this has everything to do with politics. You see, some school systems found it politicly advantageous to exclude the Scouts. Some claimed it was because of the aethists. Others because of the homosexuals. Still others claimed that the BSA was not entitled to use the facilities since it was not a school based program. There were a great many excuses for this put forward. In other cases the schools demanded that the BSA pay outrageo

I would gladly contact the UC or DE... if we had either one of those things. We do have a District Commish, but he is busy trying to hold a couple of other units together, and of coarse run round tables and trying to find other commisioners. I am sure he will help if he can, but I doubt he will be able to do much. The Field Directer is our former DE, so perhaps he may at least have some useful ideas. Ultimately though, I think this is going to wind up being an in house operation with the parents, committee, and the church (which takes a mostly hands off approach) we are

For the second time in my tenure with the troop, we are going to be trying to replace both the Committee Chair and the Scoutmaster at the same time. The last time this happened was just after I became SPL. Now, about 5 years later, I am ASM. In fact, you could probably say that I am the Assistant Scoutmaster. Let me explain things a bit. Our CC is a parent that got involved because of his kid, and because he is an Eagle Scout and so has more Scouting experience than most of the other parents. Unfortunately, he is like many parents and is finding it increasingly

Scout Spirit is always a difficult thing to determine, as is "active". However, the level of attendance of a Scout is one of several outward signs of Scout Spirit. Behaviour, living by the Oath and Law, proper wear of the uniform, willingness to take on and live up to responsibilities in Scouting, and a great many other things can all indicate Scout Spirit. All of the rank requirements say, if I remember correctly, to "demonstrate" Scout Spirit. This means they have to be doing and/or saying something to provides evidence in favor of their having Scout Spirit. All too often Scout

The OA has no secrets. It does have mysteries. Mystery is one of the methods used by the OA. In the past, the organization was for more mysterious than it is now. At one time the group was only known to outsiders by a part of its name. Over the years the mysteries were opened to concerned parents and a few other interested parties (such as some religous officials who had misgiving about the nature of any secret society). While someone with a genuine reason for needing to know could know seek information without becoming a member, this has never really been encouraged, b

OA inductions certainly work better with smaller groups. Often times multiple ceremonies can be staged in the same weekend to help with this. Another option is to offer more choices on the dates of the induction. This also helps make certain more of the candidates are able to attend. We had one kid that after the election, when he was told he was elected (our troop didn't attend Camporree, which is where call out was, and we knew the older guys were going to Philmont, not summer camp) and then told the dates, already knew he couldn't go through the induction because of other comm

Here is a very important question- Were the elections always conducted properly and taken seriously by the Scouts in the days of quotas? I would guess that was not always the case. I would bet there were untrained and inexeprienced election teams that didn't do a very good job. I bet there were Scoutmasters that let it be known they didn't think much of OA. I bet there were members that didn't set a very good example of what an Arrowmen is supposed to be. Therefore, even in the old days, there were probably people selected for the wrong reasons. Now it may have happened that th

So in other words you are saying Scouts, members and members alike, cannot be trusted with the important job of electing candidates for the Order? If they cannot be trusted to discern who is and who is not qualified, placing a limmit on how many they select will not help the situation. The troop isn't supposed to select the most qualifed. It isn't based on be more or less qualified. Scouts are either qualified to be elected, or they are not. It is up to their fellow scouts to determine if they posses the qualifications to become a candidate. Now there are ways we can help

Thank you for the information. That fills in a few of the blanks I had. I suppose what probably makes MOS and OA at least partially compatible in the current day is the fact that most lodges are holding inductions outside of the summer camp sessions, while MOS seems to be sticking to an almost purely summer camp based system. Your account certainly seems to support that idea.

It seems a very serious aspect of this discussion has been overlooked. There is a health and safety argument in favor of not cramming extra people in a tent. There is also a legal and regulatory issue. For any long term camping there is a BSA minimum on the number of square feet of living space per Scout and Scouter. This would sometimes make it impossible to put extra Scouts in a tent. Also in some areas there are even more strict laws governing these sorts of things. Its the sort of thing that in the wrong place could get a camp shut down. So don't just assume 3 to

Here is what I have seen professionals do: I have been to several council offices, and I have never seen a professional Scouter in the office in anything other than business attire. Sometimes it is the dress uniform, sometimes it is just a suit. At council dinners, the pros are always in dress uniform. The staff of all of the scout shops I have visited wear business type clothing, except for the Louisville Scout Shop, which is run by National Supply Division, and its employees wear the field uniform complete with gold loops. At summer camp, the pros are usually in field un

I have been interested in MOS, and its advantages and disadvantages relative to OA. I have a relatively good understanding of OA, and of the local Lodge, and there are certainly good things and bad things about both OA, and the local attempt to deliver the OA program. However, MOS is mostly a mystery to me. Certainly that seems to be intentional, and I understand the desire to maintain myster (just as the OA seeks, often without success, to maintain the mysteries surrounding its ceremonies), yet I wonder if perhaps a greater understanding, at least on a limited basis, would serve the greate

Go to these web links to find out more information: http://www.oa-bsa.org/programs/tcrew/ http://www.oa-bsa.org/programs/tcrew/oatcflash.htm http://www.oa-bsa.org/programs/tcrew/#appl

So, who would have ever thought sending a letter to all the Lodge's Vigil Honor members could turn into a youth protection issue? Turns out it could. I sent such a letter, and recieved an email response suggesting we should look into one of the intended recipients, and gave a rather serious reason why (involving criminal prosecution). Having no way to substantiate either the authenticity of the email, or the accuracy of the claims made, I decided I should forward it to others more competent to handle the matter. So, I forwarded it to the lodge adviser, and the council's profe

Both Boy Scout Troops and Varsity Scout Teams may hold OA unit elections. Also, both unit types have OA Unit Representatives as a position of responsibility. This is because both of those unit types are part of the larger Boy Scout program, as is OA itself. Also, OA events are considered council events. I would strongly suggest at least taking a look at potential conflicts. Don't let it dictate your choices for a crew or ship, but if you have two otherwise equally good sets of dates to choose between, it would be nice to schedule your outing so that OA members could attend both your e

Let me say that in 2001 I started my Philmont trek in the Vidal area. In fact, most of my trek was actually off the Philmont property. So I probably have a bit more experience with the particular areas in question than your average Scout or Scouter. Those areas are certainly beutiful. They are certainly worth preserving. However, they are not exactly untouched wilderness. There are gravel roads, jeep trails, and even a few paved roads in the region. You will see quite a few fences delineating various grazing lands. There are even a couple of public camp grounds in the area that are

I happen to think that while your former section chief had his heart in the right place, he obviously hadn't fully taken into account the actual policy on the matter. The sash is not meant to be worn to regular troop functions, or as an extra decoration for special events. Instead, the OA sash is to be worn at OA events, and when representing the Order. So wearing the sash to each and every troop meeting would not be following the policies set by the Order. I don't think it is a good way to foster respect for a group by violating its policies. Now, there are a few times that bendi

I too would agree that this was handled pretty well. He did in fact resign for unforseen personal reasons. As to weather or not he is guilty, that is a matter for the justice system to sort out, not a matter for the OA or BSA to take up. It would have been out of line to either condemn or defend the ex-Western Region Chief. I should also note that the editorial policy of the NOAC newspaper was to avoid, in all matters, writing opinion pieces. Therefore any commintary would have been inappropriate. Also, this story is not relevant to the Order as a hole. It is best that m

Responding to the original post in this thread, there are a great many problems with a local option rule. Who decides the standard for the summer camp staff? The camp staff is certainly in a position to act as role models, and as such they would be as much a concern as anyone else. What about council contingents to Jamborree, Philmont, Seabase, and Northern Tier? Who decides which rule applies to the adults? Who decides which rule applies to the youth? If we allow avowed homosexuals to lead these treks, that would essentially close them to the Scouts whose families believe that a

I personally favor the approach of having a moment of silence in place of a PA system prayer. If a local minister or a student leader wants to have a pre-game prayer, have a designated time and place for that, but do it in such a way that people don't have to participate. (Do it in the end zone, on the sideline, or in some designated part of the stadium.) Alternatively, you could have a "religous/philisophical/ expression moment" and all the Christians could say the Lord's Prayer together. Those of other faiths could do whatever they want. Oh, one other note, doesn't the id

Order of the Arrow Guide for Officers and Advisers (2002) Choosing Vigil Honor Candidates (p31-32) "4. Select an honorable American Indian name and its English equivalent for the candidate. Use the American Indian-English translations from the Lenni Lenape Word List found in the back of the Order of the Arrow Handbook or from another credible American Indian language text. The American Indian name should be selected in a serious manner, based upon each person's qualities, talents, or traits." (p. 32) You will also notice on the Vigil Honor Petition that it asks for "The Indian

The BOR for Tenderfoot through Life (Eagle being a special case that I will not cover here), should only be checking for one thing: were all requirements signed off properly. It is not the job a BOR to pass or fail a Scout. What are reasons for dennying advancement? If a requirement has not been signed off. If a requirement was signed off on by someone not authorized to sign off said requirement. If a signature is forged. If it is technically impossible for a requirement to have been completed (such as a time requirement). It should be noted that Scouts can (but only ra

For selecting names this year the process worked pretty well. We had a copy of the Lenape-English Dictionary and a the Deleware-English Dictionary. Do to linguistic differences between the two, we decided we should not mix and match words and definitions from the two. We consider the Lenape to be the best source, but it is a small book. The Deleware is much more comprehensive, so we had to switch to it for some names. The first thing we did is come up with a list of traits or notable things about each person. We then selected a name in English and then looked up what that would be in

I am not saying I think it is in the top 3, rather I am saying it appears the Southern Region thinks it is in the top 3. I have no idea how they came up with that idea. Maybe they say that to everyone to make them feel better. I don't know. Also, I think they limited it to council summer camps. So that would leave the national camps safe, since they are not council run. Anyhow, I can very well say what I have heard various individuals from the region office say. As to weather or not they should be saying what they have said is another issue, and one that should be taken up with the

One note on names, I believe names in other native dialects are now allowed. The key is that a credible source must be used for the translations, and the name must be respectful. As for visibility of service, this is always an issue. It is sort of like a tree falling in the forest without anyone to hear it. This is especially true since the nominating committee must be made up of youth. Therefore they are not very likely to know about some SM who has dedicated years to Scouting but hasn't been seen at an OA event during their lifetimes. To help correct this problem, most lodges will