Proud Eagle

What exactly concerns you in this? I seem to remember having read this same thing quite some time ago (or perhaps it was a similar document). There is really nothing of any great importance in the entire thing. Though I suppose if you didn't know the air force was modernizing, outsourcing to civilians, or preparing to add space capabilities those could be somewhat suprising.

That is the problem with most competitive contracts. If all it is based on is the lowest bid someone will produce a low bid counting on the fact they can cut corners on quality. The same thing shows up all over the place. School construction, power plant repairs, home remodelling... it doesn't matter, there are always ways to cut corners and not get caught until it is too late. The union label also seems to meen less these days than it once did as far as product quality goes. Now if BSA were smart it would have made the various uniforms using the same design and only changed very s

I was awarded my Eagle in 2002. At the time I was the OA Lodge Chief. I was also 18 by the time it was awarded so I have never worn the badge. On the other hand I did sometimes where the medal to certain events, such as Lodge Executive Committee meeting that I chaired. It didn't take long for me to realise that the occasion really didn't merit wearing the medal (especially since we always ate dinner during the meetings). Really the medal should be worn to a small number of functions, such as: Courts of Honor, major Banquests, formal business meetings, and other formal/fancy/important

Everyone knows that troops that are MB and advancement "factories" are generally not considered to be good representations of the Scouting program. However, most summer camps seem to be the ultimate MB and advancement factories, yet there is rarely been any criticism over this issue. Most people seem to advocate that advancement should take place as a natural outgrowth of being involved in the BSA program. Why then does everyone so highly favor the idea of sending the Scouts off for a week or two to a place that likely forsakes the patrol method, with the primary objective being achieving s

Several years ago at summer camp the SM of my troop was quite suprised to find out about what some of the scouts had supposedly earned. The completed merit badges for the kid that didn't go to camp were amusing. (He had registered for camp and badges but couldn't go.) The completed badges for the kid that went home mid week were also amusing. Just because someone signed a piece of paper saying something doesn't mean it is so. Counselors sign off on things by mistake, others just don't care and sign off on anything. Other times I have seen sytems used that generated computerized reports on

I don't know what a "stretch goal" is. I have a few ideas, but they may not be correct. On the other hand I am familiar with SMART goals. I personally like SMART goals, but I can't pass judgement on "stretch goals" since I don't know what they are.

FOG, you may be right in general, but I know most youth lodge leaders know more than they want to about lodge and council politics in many cases. After all, the real secret about the OA is that it is the most capable rumor transmission network since the time when house wives gossiped over the back fence.

In my area there was once the White Feather Society. It became the White Feather Lodge of the OA and then merged into what became the White Horse Lodge. The former White Feather Society territory now exists as two chapters of the lodge, one the White Feather chapter, the other the Deleware translation of White Feather. As to how both a local program and OA could coexist, it is quite simple: do seperate programs with seperate goals that both enhance the larger Boy Scout program in the area. OA is moving away from being summer camp based, so that leaves a perfect opening for something e

This will really be a help in my council. The council is 200 and the lodge is 201. As for everyone needing new flaps, that isn't really an issue. What was once a proper uniform is still one now. The only requirement is that you may only wear the flap authorized by the lodge you are currently a dues paying member of. I suppose a lodge could decide that old flaps may not be worn after a new one has been issued, but I haven't heard of any that do that. Really this is a logical step in the continued transformation of the OA (which began as a camp based society of honored campers) int

The Y2K requirement book details the following troop positions for Star, Life and Eagle: PL, ASPL, SPL, Guide, OA Rep, den chief, scribe, librarian, historian, QM, bugler, JASM, chaplain aide, instructor I must say either may memory has gone bad or the list for Eagle has been changed. I seem to remember my 10th edition handbook had different lists for Star/Life and Eagle. The list for Eagle was shorter, I seem to think. I really have to wonder why in the world some of those positions are on the list for Eagle. I can't imagine some of those positions, as usually implimented by Tr

I am not certain, but I think certain officials are automatically notified by the national office. Also, your local council may request recognition for Eagles. I know in my case my SM was sent a letter from the Assistant Council Scout Executive detailing who recognition had been requested from. You may want to contact your council and find out if anything has been requested, or if they have a list of people to contact that they can give you.

In 2001 my council filled open youth slots with some members of other councils that had extra applicants, but not enough extra for additional troops. Unfortunately that activity may be coming back to bite the council because we have only been given 2 troops instead of the 3 at the last couple of Jambos.

Here are some examples of Federal money from grants and even some specifically earmarked appropriations going just to my home town. My town is just 25,000 people. None of our Senators or our Congressman is from the town. The political leanings of the town makes it a lost cause for both our Senators and our Congressman. So, really we aren't getting any special favors to amount to anything. So far all street lamps have been replaced with replicas of the originals. The lamps had to be specially designed based on photos of the old ones. That cost the Federal government something like a

To answer some questions posed to me by Bob White earlier in this thread (4th page I believe) I offer the following answers. Quoted material is from Bob White. "Why would you drop him from your roster before his membership expires?" I don't think I would. Notice I said "could", not "would". I am suggesting it may be done, not that it should be. Though I would take the actions (or more correctly, inactions) I described as a very strong indicator that the Scout no longer wished to be involved in the unit. "He has done nothing in violation of the BSA?" No he has not violated the

I bet I know where BW is going with this. I could be wrong but here is just what I am guessing. I am sure Bob White will correct me if I am wrong, but I just couldn't resist. If all requirements were signed off then the BOR must accept the requirement as being completed because it was signed off. Now if say the POR requirement was going to be signed off on during the BOR then it would be up to the board (actually it would be up to anyone on the board capable of signing off the requirement) to decide to take it or not. Now I don't happen to agree with taking any requireme

oh, and as for the headline style name for this thread: Well, Duh! It is, after all, part of the national standards for membership. That is about like saying, "Scouts Go Camping" or some other painfully obvious headline.

I am going to have to make an objection. I don't have a problem with Scouts discussing sex. There are certain ways of discussing it, and certain sub topics, that I would object to, but the subject of sex is not banned for discussion. If I overhear Scouts discussing something relating to sex I would not necessarily intervent. However, if it is degrading some group of people, or promoting risky, unhealthy, or immoral behaviour, then I would intervene. Though suggesting that sex is not the best topic of conversation would be appropriate, it would be most inappropriate to tell the Scouts to n

My theory is that alot of the problem has to do with not knowing the differences between Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts. By the time someone reaches the Boy Scout age they should be ready to move on to new things. Unfortunately many never really understand that Boy Scouts is NOT Cub Scouts. Most people that were in cubs will tell you they were a "Boy Scout". If you ask a kid why they didn't stay in Scouts it will be because: They didn't want to do a bunch of kid stuff They thought the craft projects and other Cub related activities were "uncool" They don't want to spend time at a meeting

If we follow this guy's logic, that his kid is going to be recieving some kind of message about a group of people, because of the BSA's policy, one that is not advertised and rarely comes up, he must go nuts about other groups. The ROTC would certainly not get his approval because it may send the message that war is necessary. The Christian Fellowship groups would abviously send the message, with their name itself, that there could be something wrong with being of another religion. YMCA sponsored school clubs would also go into that group. The FFA seems to promote the agrarian lifetsyle qu

To address the point about the OA being a secret organization and this being a proper forum to discuss it: The Order of the Arrow is not a secret organization. It is instead mysterious. One of the "methods" if you will, that OA uses, is mystery. If the details of everthing about OA are spread throughout the Scouting community it removes that mystery. (Though already far too much is known by the Scout community at large. Far too many new members come in already having been told what most of the mysterious elements were, and so the Ordeal had far less of an impact on them.) If someone

This is a tricky issue. I would say for the camping nights requirement to count since joining the troop. Though for most requirements I would count only since starting the badge. As an example, I once read through the Chemistry MB requirements. I realised that I had pretty much done every requirement a couple times over. However, the general opinion I got when I asked about this was that only things done since starting the MB should be counted. Otherwise I could have counted stuff I did in a Chem lab 3 years earlier before I even realised there was a Chemistry MB. I would also say a key

As to anyone having current involvement in OA, I suppose I would qualify. This time last year I was finishing up a term as Lodge Chief. Though really you would need someone that works on the national level to provide information on most things relating to agreements and arangements with the various Native American tribes and nations. Probably members of the National Order of the Arrow Committee would be the best source for this. Unfortunately I don't think we have any of them here, and I don't have any personal contacts with any either. I do know it has been quite some time since any

I really do have to get into this a bit. The Scout badge at the first meeting seems a bit unreasonable. For the benefit of those who do not have the references at hand I have a 1998 printing of the Eleventh Edition of The Boy Scout Handbook. I also have a y2k requirements book. So here is teh core of the requirements: Meet Age Requirements. Complete application and health history forms. Find a Scout Troop. Repeat Pledge of Allegiance. Demonstrate sign, salute, and handshake. Demonstrate square knot. Undertand/agree to oath, law, motto, slogan, and outdoor code. Describe Sco

I would say it sounds like you are on target. I bet those who are in the 16 month catagory could actually have made it in 12 if they had really worked hard with that goal in mind. If it is reasonably possible to make first class in the first 12 months, then it is OK. If some are taking 16 months, that is fine, not everyone works at the same rate. If others need a second summer camp, well, that is a bit slow, but that is ok too. Just ask yourself this- If someone joined the troop at any point in the year, was active in meetings and outings for 12 montsh, and actively made an effort to

I rather liked the model used during the National Jamboree by my troop. (I think this set up was produced at the national level, but I may be wrong.) We had 4 patrols of 8 Scouts each. We had 4 youth troop leaders (SPL, ASPL, QM, Scribe) outside the patrols. We had 4 adult leaders (SM, 1stASM, 2ndASM, 3rdASM) outside the patrols. Each patrol cooked and cleaned on their own. Each had a dining fly, tables, anc equipment. The troop had an additional dining fly and tables. For meals each patrol cooked for 10. They would host one pair of troop leaders (a youth and the adult the ad