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Our camp provides decent wall "A-frame" tents, which we supplement with tarps and, as needed, our preferred cot. (Camp cots have something to be desired if your back is aching.) I still usually set up a rope hammock for those afternoon power naps.

Be slow to judge, quick to challenge. Simulating drug abuse is not the same as condoning it. However, the SPL should be challenged to think how his impromptu sketch came off on scouts and parents who saw this. Certainly if a family has lost a loved one to drug or alcohol abuse. I agree with @@Stosh that a supplemental SM conference is in order.

In general, we have not seen boys all that conflicted. We've varied over the years between 1 and 4 patrols. Looks like we'll be up to five. The troop's activity schedule is not so jam-packed that a patrol or two couldn't make plans for their special interests. If older boys want to do something off the troop's beaten path, they are encouraged to coordinate with the crew. This forces them to take ownership of what they're doing and give them a chance to bring their peers along side the activity. The SPL mainly is responsible for getting PLs in the same room so they coordinate those details. This summer we are doing the two-camp thing because 30 boys want Seven Ranges, and 8 want Heritage Reservation. Two of the latter of those are crossovers, so it's not the younger vs. older divide that we expected it to be. I expect after camp, we'll ask those boys if hey want to stick together as a patrol. Regardless of the patch on their sleeve, our older boys tend to be cheerleaders

And lots of comments judging how different boys work the program.

First: boys like tradition and structure. It helps them get through tedious ceremonies quickly. So, they will pretty much imitate what they see in adults -- with shorter speeches. It takes a little nudging to have the creative boys add a little creativity in an awards ceremony.

Welcome @@Ankylus! Love the questions you asked on Bryan's forums.

So, this week was a wash (quite literally) as far as campsites go. But these are great ideas. I'll keep them in mind. It just so happened that I could meet @@Krampus, who unlike his avatar, was rather nice to my kid. (Think Santa Clause with BBQ instead of toys in the off season, you get the idea.) Good thing too, because where we met, anything with horns was on the menu. We touched on the tragic week his troop was dealing with, and it sounds like he has good people. But our job was mainly to be friendly strangers passing through so he could offer a couple hours of hospitality and scoutmasterlyness. (My daughter is already starting to line up her hiking buddies on his advice.) This is a fun brotherhood. We try to remind everyone here to manage their back and forth so that if you meet in person, you'll never hold what you wrote against one another. This world is small enough that your paths might indeed cross.

Two of my kids were VOA officers. It's a unique opportunity. Challenging, and rewarding. It is on par with lodge chief. But, many of us know that can be good and bad. For parents: brace yourself, hold your kid to his commitments, but also respect that he's added more adult leaders to his collection of mentors. For youth: prioritize, please! Let the people in other organizations know you have this new responsibility, and your friends to step into whatever gaps that creates.

Some days, stosh, some days. Our SM just has similar boys use his name as a reference. Let's face it the guy probably has seen more of the boys religious life than his pastor. But @@CherokeeScouter, are you sure nobody in the churches you've visited could give a reference? Surely some of these people you all sit in the pew with know your boy from seeing him around town. I'm told that in the first century, fishermen who were probably too occupied mending nets to attend synagogue could get a favorable reference from the travelling rabbi.

@@heat4212, the picture of a scarf and slide sounds like a great idea! Make it part of a letterhead. In it, thank the boy for adding to the life of his den and pack in his current rank. Invite him to start working on his next rank as soon as possible!

I expect our adults to be very clear on their political opinions. I expect them to have good reasons for holding them and to be able to convey that to the boys if asked.They can respect the office without agreeing with the policies. The boys should see that. Same goes for religion. I never let the boys know how far they have to go to be out of earshot!

Interesting site, both to inspire teaching ideas: Stemforall2016.videohall.com Not clear if it's up for just this week, or for an extended period.

It sounds like, especially since one boy is moving away, a framed photo of their den -- with boys signing the back sounds like a good idea.

Wow. It's discouraging to hear about the "re-valued currency" of cub scouts driving some families to leave. However, sometimes Cubs do need a break because they are done with Pack life and will be ready for troop life if they back off for a year. Can somebody at least offer suggestions for the belt loop card challenge? Hot glue? Slotted cards? Fold the cards and stick inside the loops?

Brakes? That's what the flywheel is for! But since you were cooking them, do have your mechanic check the lines and your pads. It's worth the later to be 100% sure. Just so you know, it's hardest on the fault finder in the long run. Take the criticism with a grain of salt.

E94. I +1ed too much much today, otherwise you'd have one from me. The real work on your part has never been pushing the boys to take charge of their own scouting career. The challenge is convincing adults to step out of the way. Well, at least you have some more things for which to praise the boys. Brag like a proud Pappa.

@@Krampus thanks for the update. Tonight will be significant. No doubt you'll find what the Good Lord has for you to say, and will say it well. The more important thing is coaching the boys going forward as they find ways to remember their buddy and attend to his family. That's a matter of being attentive as time passes and nudging and encouraging in a quiet manner as time goes forward.

Lacking prior information, we don't know how much this was originally a negotiation between the SM/CA and the founding members of the crew. I've met several guys who wore both hats at the same time. From what I gathered, this was a strategy encouraged by the council (and no doubt from national) to "jump-start" crews. The thinking being that an SM would make the best advisor and could easily channel his outdoor enthusiasm to support his troop and a general interest crew this was true for one in three guys. The other guys I met were bitter about the process -- the one especially so because he could not get tiger-parents to stop helicoptering, and having his older scouts almost automatically registered with the crew mad things worse. So if it works or not, it is an official BSA program in that it has been aggressively promoted by BSA professionals. Even now, every pro I know would endorse such a program were a COR to give him the charter applications. So, it continues to be a BSA program, even if the patrol method is set aside for the sake of free-wheeling teens. @@Scourge, if you can spare the time, get your crew to take Introduction to Leadership Skills for Crews and sign up for NYLT (and eventually NAYLE). Get the boys to take Introduction to Leadership Skills for Troops. It will give you a baseline with witch to judge how a crew should managed. You wouldn't be the first youth/young adult to realize your unit could use an adjustment. @Sentinel's story is a good one to follow as to how he moved his troop towards better execution of the patrol method.

I'm taking folks at their word that the new requirements were bamboozling. Just tell them tiger was harder this year. They tried. But maybe next year they'll do better with Bear by diving in and getting busy starting in June! I know it may be stressful to see a bunch of little boys not getting a patch because scheduling was nigh impossible. But, as hard as it is for you all. It will be harder on national when they don't sell as much bling as expected. We can expect THAT reduced revenue stream will lead to a correction in a few short years.

Thanks for reviving this @@Scourge, as we all benefit from the boots-on-the-ground perspective. So let's take a for-instance weekend where your crew is sharing an activity with the troop. Does your troop operate in patrols? (Basically that would mean each patrol has their own campsite apart from the other adults. In a big open field there would be 300 feet of space between campsites.) If so: Where does the crew camp relative to the patrols? With whom do the dual venturers/boy scouts camp? What trade-offs in time and responsibility do they make? Are those of you who are only registered with the troop responsible for anything (e.g. a skit to the campfire, etc ...)? Who decides when something is crew-only, troop-only, or crew-troop activity? Lots of questions, but for readers who are trying to figure out how to make this work ... the answers may help them decide a course of action. Users may browse my replies to see how my crew worked, but generalizing from a sample of 1 is a bad idea.

Absolutely correct! A well-executed patrol method will enable precisely the opportunities for any ambitious kid to advance three ranks in a year. That's not what we're talking about when we say 1st class, 1st year, The problem arises when adults benchmark the troop based on the majority of crossovers obtaining 1st class in 12 months.

Glad you had a fruitful time. That was a pretty small course, so dispensing with the games was a really good idea. Over the long term, I think the best thing about those courses is you get to know some people in your district who really care about making scouting run smoothly. It's good to have their numbers. Good questions to which I have no pat answers except one: Abandon 1st class, 1st year ... and encourage every leader to do so. It's an abuse of the advancement method. Teach skills, and boys will advance. One rank a year is fine. 2 in one year and four years to the next is fine too.

You indeed have a dark and long road ahead. We'll walk it with you. By way of suggestion, here is what we did ... A select few ... mrs. q and the pastor talked and prayed with the family directly. Our council's director of field service provided counseling and did a lot of social work. I wrote a quick tribute, echoing some of the boys' feelings that I had overheard, and circulated it on the troop E-mail. Gathered the scout family together the next day. A quick prayer, then the boys played some games downstairs while we adults shed our tears. We agreed that nobody would talk to the press. The family certainly didn't want to, and we wanted our boys clear of any cameras. The pastor directed any inquiries, including the TV news van who tried to park outside the church, to the council service center. The family asked me to talk to one reporter for the obituary ... I gave her the statement that I had written for the troop. She was none to pleased that no other interview was forthcoming, I was courteous but firm that what I had written would be the sum content of any interview and assured her that we had not published it elsewhere. Scouts and scouters selected one hour when we would pay respects at the funeral home. Our Eagle Scouts were honor guards at the memorial service. Later, with the church and family's permission, we planted a tree in the boy's honor. It stands about 30' today. And means a whole lot to the mom for her to see it. On scout Sunday, we signed and presented a "Lost on the trail to Eagle" plaque. That's mostly what we did. I think it was all helpful. But, there's still a little hole left empty at CoHs and graduations, etc ...

More seriously, I think to hew to the spirit of requirement 4 (Discuss with your unit leader the acceptable standards and practices for using allowed electronic devices, such as phones and games, at your meetings and other Scouting events.), I'd make sure someone responsible to talk to each crossover about troop rules regarding electronics.