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T2E ... a slap on the wrist to you. If it takes bravery to speak up at round-table, there's a problem. But, I know what you mean. It seems like folks who want this to be their problem (and not the boys') are gonna micromanage anyway. I do think there are good reasons to spell out to boys why some badges should be started right away. Part of it is that there are some boys who will never learn to pay attention to those kinds of details without your guidance. Part of it is some boys really could benefit from taking one badge sooner than the others. I was talking to an soon-to-Life scout, 15 years old and figuring he'll save his Eagle project until he's 17 and double-dip for his senior project. All I told him was "There's something really cool about being able to wear your Eagle patch for two or more summer camps. And, once you do an Eagle project, doing a senior service project will be a cinch!"

At Scout Sunday Service, our crew historian, an Italian exchange student, gave a "Minute for Mission" on what being 5000 miles from home and still having a scout unit to call her own meant to her. It was quite touching. The best part IMHO, she held up the woggle on her neckerchief and said, "We say this means always a scout, I now know it also means anywhere a scout."

The German's beer booth is likely to be a more pragmatic concern. Anyway, the whole point of world Jambo is cultural exchange. Half the discussion of "BSA" being more "Scouting USA" stems from scouters' favorable impression upon meeting international units.

Time to put on the Ill-tempered SM hat ... That is the stupidest thing I've ever heard. Units who don't provide fellowship and service opportunities suitable for 15+ year olds (Eagle or otherwise) are worthy of their demise. Units who dole out positions based on "need for rank" rather than desire to serve and approval of the boys are worthy of their demise. Units who don't make serving as Librarian as demanding as SPL are worthy of their demise.

Yes. The activities of GS/USA are only bounded by the willingness of moms to support them. Of course, you would do well to talk to your council to learn what other troops in your area are doing.

Regarding the comments on this forum from international scouters (whose invites have prepared me for many opportunities that have come my way as a crew advisor) ... We must understand that there are also a collection of scouters who moved on when their programs went coed, and it took decades for them to rebuild membership. What's different for us in the US is the readiness to litigate.

There's something to being that troop who always sees the cabins from the outside. Lots of options for the future: survival weekends, Klondike derbies, snow shoes, ice fishing .... Really depends on where you are and the type of winter. My favorite: Outdoor video projection of a Steeler's playoff game.

Some scouts quit instead of aging out. Sometimes they do it before making Eagle, sometimes after. People just take it harder when it's an after-Eagle quit.

It's not your fault, that we have scouters who, once they get a chance to "advise" a patrol -- or an entire unit -- in a CO who keeps its distance, run it off the rails.

@@ianwilkins, for reasons that I don't quite understand, there is a distinction between the chocolate that we'd get in brand name candies, and the recipes we cook at home. I remember having a friend send me a bag of Kisses® so I could share with all of my Perugian friends who were justifiably proud of their Bacci®. While they were trying to avoid making sour faces and being as polite as possible, I had to concoct some story that Hershey represented the rough, pioneering spirit of the Americas. But, Cadbury's brands are available alongside US brands in most pharmacies and grocery stores around here. I always count on a creme egg or two in the Easter basket. (Bonus: pulling out the winter jacket in November or December, waiting at a bus stop that first frigid morning of the year, and finding an egg still secreted away in one of the pockets. )

No experience teaching lip readers, but I'll take a guess: Board room - presenter talks facing the presentation (e.g. chalk board, fire lay) behind, instead of the audience before him/her. Shoe shine - talks with head down, or at a poor angle for audience to see his/her mouth.

I would consider that recent enough. The follow-up would be interesting. Four years later ... Is the writer's boy still in scouts? Has he considered joining O/A or is the sense of appropriation too offensive to him? Have they talked with their tribal elders about how they should react to this? Did the lodge make any adjustments? Are things better, worse, the same? Side note: last meeting the troop had a visit by a local amateur historian who ended with the story of the chief who is our township's namesake ... a very interesting piece of local history that would otherwise be forgotten.

TLS, may I suggest that you put you hat in the ring as a merit badge counselor for Scouting History merit badge (https://meritbadge.org/wiki/index.php/Scouting_Heritage) and maybe one or two others? This may give you a practical means for hanging out at troop meetings. Cub-leader feedback is certainly welcome, but in small doses.

There is no doubt that it would be a formidable thing if one could go through their life as a scouter without crossing scouters who take advantage of the system dishonorably. At the opening of our University of Scouting weekends, our council president would start by thanking us and reminding us that we, not someone at national, are the "gatekeepers" of scouting. Far too few CORs attend those events. So, it comes as no surprise when they set the stage for a hot mess, and when outsiders who are called in to look at it decide the cake can't be unbaked and walk away. At the end of the day, a scouter needs to look at the facts on the ground and decide: "Am I reaping enough in boy's smiles to stay, or can I fulfill my calling to a greater degree elsewhere?" So, you left the BSA and evidently the one CO. Have you considered how what you've learned as a scouter will enable you to continue to do right by the youth of this world?

Getting them trained and signing them on as reserve (http://www.scouting.org/Home/Commissioners/newsletter/bsa_news/04_2013_scoutparents.aspx) sounds like the way to go. It's always good to build a depth chart. You could also ask a troop if they have any assistant scoutmasters who could fill in; however, cubs often respond better to trustworthy parents.

@@Respectful, welcome to the forums! Do you know if the article is recent? It doesn't have a date, and he material referenced is 6 years old. I wonder if anything has changed in response to it.

From the day my shirt with it's awesome lodge flap "disappeared" from my tent at National Jamboree, I knew not to expect that sort of thing from any group of more than a dozen. From similar happenings in secular clubs and religious groups, that opinion has only been enforced. BSA has no incentive to disbar scouters who haven't been charged with anything. Nor does any society run mainly by volunteers. Boot the volunteers, and it's even-odds they'll haul the organization to court to retain their right to stay and defend their good name. No matter who wins, everyone except the lawyers lose. So, either you convince the boots on the ground to take things seriously and assume responsibility for their property in a court of law or via bonding, let things go and work for the smiles on kids faces, or quit.

File under context is everything ... Depends on the wall. One of my childhood SPL's took on the project of beginning restoration of the steam locomotive at the historical society. The walls of the cab were painted with 1/8" tar pitch. The only way to lift it was with propane torches and putty knifes ... grueling work in pretty close quarters dodging hot, sticky goo. (Talk about being tarred for serving your community. ) There was no way, even given thousands of man-hours, we could have gotten that monstrosity to the painting stage. But, it was safe to say that without a handful of scouts who were willing to set an example of cheerful service (and bragging rights to crawling around and in a 100 year old fire box), the inspiration to continue restoration over the necessary years would have never been there. And when that whistle finally did blow, and the thing rolled down the track, you betcha mom was sending the newspaper clippings to wherever her son was getting his advanced degree at the time.

There is nothing ignoble about vultures. Lacking them, eagles will scavenge the carrion. (Hunting is typically the second option for golden eagles.)

Once without right angles, it'll be all wrong.

CO electing paper reps getting trained

@@CalicoPenn is over-thinking this. Props to the Cambridge hawks! That's about it. Think fondue concentrated, and you've tapped into the typical Yank's dessert palate. Our pastor offered to judge a contest for the best salad and best dessert at our church picnic. My daughter, age 9 at the time, decided to cover both bases with dark-chocolate-covered baby tomatoes and carrots. She won the dessert category hands down. Next week, in front of the congregation, she was awarded the biggest bar of baker's chocolate she had ever seen.

Technically, the project need itself not be complete. Circumstances may have impeded success, but if, in spite of that, the scout showed leadership an EBoR could approve it. These would be extremely rare circumstances. For example a boy gets the materials for a bridge over a stream, lines up workers, then an earthquake triggers a landslide redirecting the stream and burying materials; however, in the process the boy directs some rescue effort or redirects traffic -- forestalling death. The SM might ask to convene a board, who would still review the project with the boy to help reflect on what he learned. So, if incomplete projects -- in extenuating circumstances -- could warrant board approval, certainly projects that set the stage for future work could ... and probably should. This is one reason boys should try to make rank as soon as possible. The Eagle project might just be step 1 in his high school career. The subsequent projects for his Hornaday award might be steps 2-5.

Welcome @@TRON1160! As Stosh points out, most organizational charts are best read upside down. (E.g., the committee supports the SM, who supports the SPL, who supports the PLs, who support the boys, who pursue that pinnacle scouting experience of hiking and camping independently with your mates.) I always try to encourage SPLs to sit in on committee meetings. You want to be polite (speak when spoken to, talk to the committee chairperson and SM afterword if there was something that bothered you, etc ...) but firm (share the boys' vision when asked for your opinion, respectfully disagree with what someone said if you have to). But you should be a welcome presence. I'm not sure what BSA literature says about this, but this is certainly the case in venturing. And I will not allow my crew committee to meet in the absence of the crew president and his designee.

One more reference from Bryan's blog: http://blog.scoutingmagazine.org/2014/11/17/youth-adults-wear-eagle-scout-medal/ The comments show that you are not the first one to bring up wearing the medal at B&Gs.