Proud Eagle

Scoutndad, What exactly do you mean by that. One person's right thing is another person's wrong these days. As to politically correct, I think the last two things BSA did to try to be politically correct were allowing women as adult leaders and moving the uniform to a less military form. While discussions about values or uniforms are interesting, I think there is a better direction we could take this. What about the program itself? In particular, how would troops and patrols be structured? Or would he have even used the patrol method in the current day? Some of our frien

I would possibly take the following actions, depending on the exact details: Wright a letter of protest and distribute it to - Scoutmaster, Troop Committee Chairman, Charter Organizational Rep, Instatutional Head, District Council Regional and National Key 3s. Write a letter to local media outlets explaining the change and my position on it. Write a letter to current supporters of Scouting who I know personally explaining my views on such changes. Write a letter to my elected representatives in government outlining my position on the changes. Write a letter to th

Eamonn, I think what you are running into is the same thing I frequently observe. OA Troop Reps often don't do anything more than what an Arrowman is already expected to do. Now, why exactly would that be? Common reasons I have run across are: lack of understanding of the program by Scoutmasters lack of understanding by the lodge/chapter lack of proper support from an adult adviser lack of proper support from the lodge lack of proper training Now the question I sometimes have is, what exactly in the job description should they be doing that another Arrowman in the

I happen to think the Pope is a great man. I also think he was right on the vast majority of issues, though there are a few here and there I don't agree with, or at least I can't fully support them. However, I am only willing to suggest I may be right on a very narrow set, because I do not have the benefit of the long years of education, contemplation, and spiritual guidance of the Holy Father. On most issues where I differ I chalk it up to my quite limited understanding, and hope that God will forgive an ignorant soul (and I hope to one day gain a greater understanding). The Pope is o

Hold it. The cross is not by definition a religious symbol. Neither is a crescent or a star of David. They are symbols that can (and often do) have religious meanings, but could just as easily have a secular meaning. The crescent is symbol used by many middle eastern nations and cultures. The star of David is frequently used by both those of Jewish descent and those of the Jewish faith, along with the state of Israel. The cross takes a similar place in many western societies. Also, the cross is in truth a symbol of torture, execution, death, and rule by fear. Execution using the cr

I thought the Venture activities had been merged with the Varsity ones so they could share the same literature and such. Maybe I am wrong but I think the Venture letter and Varsity letter are one and the same now.

but, but, but... if the uniform isn't perfect for all outings it must be a total failure...

First, these guyst won't be without experience leadership. They will have the troop's adult leaders, and many youth leaders in the troop, to help them along. The older Scouts may not be a part of their patrol, but they should be helping to teach the new Scouts and serve as a good example to them. Second, the new Scout patrol is a short lived group of inexperienced leaders. It gives the young Scouts a chance to make mistakes without any major consequences. It gives them a chance to become leaders with some experience, so that in a year they will be able to be part of a regular patrol.

What you need is the Scoutmaster's Junior Leader Training Kit. There is a paper portion that fits in a 3 ring binder and there is a video. This should contain what you need to get started, though you will have to figure parts of it out on your own.

Lets see DOD gets to use Jamborree for training they get to use it for recruiting they get to use it for public relations they recieve the benefits of the BSA's good will (such as BSA being receptive to working the DOD on other matters) they recieve certain improvements at the AP Hill site there is a clear body of statistical evidence indicating that Scouts are more likely than the average person to enter the military, this makes them a prime target for recruiting there is a body of anecdotal evidence that BSA's programs give a person skills of use to the DOD

The ACLU has chosen to wage a war. It is a war opposed by most of the nations people. It is a war that causes more and more of the nation to question the motives and intentions of the ACLU. It is a war that causes many to see the ACLU as an enemy. It is inevitable that there will be a back-lash against the ACLU. It is only a matter of exactly when it happens, what sets it off, and how severe it will be. The ACLU's actions are also serving as the greatest single energizer of the conservative/traditional groups that support the appointment of "originalist" or "strict constructionist" j

While we are all sad to lose such a faithful servant of God, let us not be overly burdened with sorrow. I think it was Gen. George Patton who said that we should not mourn for such men, rather we should celebrate that they lived. I think perhaps that is a great thought, particularly in the midst of the Easter season. The message of Easter is that the power of death and sin have been broken (though they still remain with us). So I think we should mourn our loss, but celebrate his life. He may no longer live here with us, yet he does still live, in the embrace of the Lord in Heaven.

Sea Scouting is a traditional program. If you want some sort of non-traditional maritime Venturing Crew (not a Sea Scout Ship), and you want literature for it, look to Venturing itself not the Sea Scouting program (which is a subdivision of Venturing) to create such literature. If you want traditional Sea Scouting, be a Ship. If you want something else, do like everyone else in Venturing and be a Crew that figures it out for themselves. (This isn't to say a Ship must be completely traditional, but rather it makes no sense to provide support for two different types of Sea Scouting,

I suppose my greatest hang up about Venturing is a complete and total lack of anything even vaguely like a "patrol". The patrol is the fundamental unit of all Scouting and as such is the basic unit of the BSA. Troops are groups of patrols. When a younger boys program was needed they again drew on the patrol model and created Cub Scout Dens. These are grouped into Packs, though in a much different way than patrols are grouped into troops. In the Varsity Scout program the basic unit is the Squad. I don't know enough about Sea Scouting to know if it had such a basic unit bellow the Ship, bu

I certainly did not have sarcasm in mind. I really do stand by a literal reading of everything I had posted above. While I have never attempted to start a new Crew, I can easily see the point about many failing. Many troops and packs fail in a similar amount of time, usually because COs start units without knowing what they are getting into and unit leaders don't use the program and instead do something else that doesn't work as well. As to weather or not it is a good thing for Venturing to be an open ended program, I don't really know. Maybe it would do better with set program, m

If you look up the "Unit Election Procedures" in the Guide for Officers and Advisers it makes no mention of the OA troop/team representatives. It is the responsibility of the lodge to create and train unit elections teams, contact the leaders of each unit, schedule elections, and then conduct actual elections. Troop/Team Representatives would be likely good choices to serve as members of unit elections teams, but there is no requirment that they be members of such teams. If you check the job description on the OA website or in the SM's Junior Leader Training Kit you will find it

Correct me if I am wrong, but if Venturing was being conistent between its program and its literature the "leader" manual would be targeted at the youth leadership, since the adults are supposed to advise and support the youth. Perhaps 3 manuals relating to crew operations would be appropriate: Advisor's Manual Crew Committee Guide Youth Leader Handbook Your idea of literature to support each program emphasis and each bronze award is also logical. However, I don't think there needs to be a traditional and non-traditional form of Sea Scouting. There is Sea Scouting, and th

I know the last version of the election video I looked at made mention of no discussion after the process had been explained and any questions had been answered. Also, in the Guide for Officers and Advisers, page 26, "Election Ceremony" if you look under "OA Member A" it says: "Campaigning in an Order of the Arrow election is not permitted. You are expected to think for yourself; do not let others influence your decision. The election is by secret ballot and no discussion will be permitted, so no one will know for whom you are voting. This important decision about your fellow Scou

Not to offend anyone but... W T F Can we just make this stop and go away? By the way, this mess (I have decided just to trust people's descriptions, no reason to become another "hit" on this person's webcounter) does violate one law of importance to people here: The Scout Law. I do not see how such a display is respectful of the beliefs of others. In fact it would seem calculated to insult and mock. Again though, can we just make this go away? It isn't relevant in any way and it would be best if this just died.

Actually hops was more on target than I was. It is a thing with military bases. When I went to Ft Knox even with the ROTC we all had to have photo ID and had to have them ready at the gate, event though we were there for official reasons, traveling as a group, and even on Army busses. We recently hosted a lodge event at a regional National Guard training center. They required photo ID to let us in the gate.

I personally want no part of a BDU based BSA uniform. BDUs are great for the military, SWAT teams, rescue squads and the like. They are not good for Scout camping. Why? The same reason a M2 Bradley would not make a good troop vehicle. It is overbuilt, too heavy, and not really designed for what we need. BDUs are designed for crawling around on your hands and knees for days in the mud, for lasting months in even the worste climates imaginable, and for being able to be used in any climate zone (meaning they suck equally in every climate zone). On the other ha

I have also heard that unit leaders will be given ScoutNet access (read only, no changing data, and only for records relating to their unit) sometime possibly next year. Of coarse with the now widespread use of troop software I have to wonder how useful that will actually be. Also, at long last an update was made to Scoutnet so OA lodges can check their membership against Council membership. Finally (and somewhat unfortunately late) the OA national committee has decided to support the developement of a ScoutNet compatible LodgeMaster database. Of coarse by this point most lodge

No, I think what he meant was that he has an old book, but the new requirements were already in it. It could be they just made some minor change. There may have been a typo or something wasn't printed that should have been. Who knows. I do know that Archery was completely revised for 2004. I was the Archery supervisor for our camp last summer. We had a brand new book with new requirements in it LAST YEAR. The edition prior to that was a 1970 something, and that is what had been used through 2003. Why they needed to change something in the 2004 edition for 2005 I have no ide

Yeah, it is a policy of the Transportation Security Administration that anyone traveling by air must have official photo ID of some form (there is a list of exactly what all counts some place or another). So you can thank the Department of Homeland Security for that one. Also, there is a long list of what can and can not be taken on an airplane as a carry on and in checked baggage. Everyone flying should pay close attention to these lists, unless you want to be fined, arrested, or loose the items in question.

I, personally, would encourage the Scout to continue his advancement work in the troop if he plans to remain active in the troop. I would also suggest coming to some understanding with both the Scout and his Crew Advisor regarding this issue. I don't know if there is any actual policy on this, so I would just go with a gentleman's agreement (perhaps in writing, just in case someone forgets) about this. ScoutNut, You are off base. While what you say makes perfect sense, it is not in fact reflected in any policy I have seen. If a Venturer achieves First Class (or hig