qwazse

Is "Mobilization" some more polite term for "Disaster Drill"? An emergency service project? Sounds like what most 17year 9 month old Life scouts are scrambling for. I guess it's all spelled out in the ... wait for it ... Merit Badge Pamphlet

Finally realized you have to be logged in to see images! If we are interpreting the characters as old vs. new year ... they are both under 18, so no violation. If it is father time and the nascent scouting movement ... I think that's a parent/guardian relationship, so 1-on-1 is okay. There is no indication that they are conferencing in a closed room, so it may be a non-issue regardless. On the other hand, the uniform police (especially the anti shirt+jeans crowd) would spit nails. Happy New Year, P.S. - I do like the subscription price!

I'm gonna fold my arms and let the youth hash out a program plan with you. In general: have a "plan B", (E.g. emergency shelter you could hike to if needed, a first-aid kit. emergency phone. Etc ...) Your adults probably think of this stuff without telling you, but asking them for that plan will instill a lot of confidence.

Folks are gonna ask for details, but here's the bottom line ... The COR is appointed by the CO to wisely choose adult leaders (esp. the CC) to represent the CO's wishes and make sure the physical space is available for a BSA program. If the CO wants you all to do some good thing, it would be best if you did it. Problem solved. If the CO is not fulfilling their contract (e.g., they are not providing enough space for your rapidly expanding troop/pack), best look for another CO -- no hard feelings. If your CC is respecting parent's wishes and representing them well, the SM/ASMs work with him/her. If not work around him/her. If that's not possible and the COR is standing by the CC, find another unit to serve. Your DE might even know of a CO that's considering starting a unit and would love some seasoned leaders. Life is rarely as dramatic as most troubled units make it out to be.

'Skip, Your solution works for our local sites/insertion points pretty well where parents just bring their kids there. But lots of troops have 2+ hour drives for nearly every outing.. The challenge is the BSA reporting requirements. Our councils are supposed to know two weeks in advance who will be driving, what vehicle they will be using, and drivers are to confirm with us that they have our state's required minimum insurance. (Some parents have missed the memo on "obedience".) My experience is that that info rarely gets completed until the week before the event.

I've generally been satisfied with the amount different adults have contributed to the needs of our crew. In our troop, however, from time to time the SM or CC has had to make clear to parents we were coming up short on transportation. But do make an effort to recognize that times are tough: Reimburse drivers for gas. Consider feeding drivers for free. Have the boys calculate the mileage and other costs in advance. Make sure activity fees account for that. If a driver doesn't want the $, consider it a donation to the troop treasury. Camp locally. Maybe one or two of these "not drivers" have some property you could use? Consider community parks or conservation lands. Someplace within hiking distance. Find out if the boys could do a service project while they are there.

Citizenship in the World and Wilderness Survival

I started having my VP-admin do them when they were just a fill-in-the-blank pdf. Then we went to the scouter.org online system, and I have barely learned to use the thing myself! Far as I can tell there is no direct way for a youth to create an account and develop the plan.

Just forwarded to my VP program. Thanks!

My opinion -- (not nationals): we're only mostly youth-run as long as adults are doing the Tour Plans. Not too bothered by that. Fact is, when you have driven youth, adults will rally around to support them. Sometimes that support comes by way of running the bureaucracy on their behalf.

So, as long as nobody else is jumping at the same time, go right ahead!

Jim's reply makes sense to me. More broadly, this ain't Eagle. This is an opportunity for the boys to reflect on their year. My suggestion is to put this to your PLC, or your entire troop. Have your boys hash out if THEY think they deserve the award. If they are letter-of-the-law types and don't think they should apply for the award, ask them if they are still proud of what the troop accomplished last year. Then give them national's opinion, and ask them if this makes them feel better or worse for applying for the award. (Some boys might feel better because they aren't breaking any hard and fast rules, others might feel worse because this leaves some wiggle room for troops to not pursue some really worthwhile MBs.) Ask them if ribbons like this are really important to them, and if they should tweak your program to make sure they don't "just barely" make it next year. In other words, make sure the boys are in the loop and are using things like this to spark conversation on how to shape their program.

A variety of meats, but best of all: the universal garnish of my wife's aunt's homemade horseradish, of which a jar got sent home. May God rest ye mightily, gentlemen (and ladies). I do believe in most cases, that's a good thing. But if you believe there's something better you should wishing me when we meet, I do hope you'll find it in your heart to offer it. The Good Book tells me that the Almighty's translation service doesn't process words as well as it does the pits of souls.

Most of our projects do *not* require significant fundraising. Many of our communities have funds for materials, but not for labor, or leadership! A boy can go to his town hall and ask what needs to be done. Now sometimes, a boy's vision is for a project that lacks money. But, we try to help a boy understand that there are a variety of possibilities and he doesn't necessarily need to have one with a fundraising component.

Too bad they didn't give Laurel Highlands Council a call, we love gerrymanders!

Most of the Arab Muslims I know would have no problem seeing a Christian praying in Jesus' name. That would endear the guy to him more. They would be very interested in his experience with families of former slaves. Many are a generation (or less) away from legal slavery.

I'd take Stosh's approach and have the Fire Inspector give you the capacity of your troop's meeting place. That's your upper limit for totals of youth and adults. If you are reaching that volume, you should have a couple of capable adults to train. They'll get so good that some of them will spin off a new unit, and you'll be back under your maximum in less than a year!

Looking good. Our provisional sailors were responsible for their own transport. You should make it clear to late-comers that they will owe their share of the extra transport costs.

There are plenty of hungry ASMs out there. My utensils and bowl are always at the ready to serve!

#21stCenturyProblems#

Forget spreadsheets. Award sterling (wooden nickels in foil) for whatever you all decide is worthy. At the end of the competition have an auction where boys can bid on gear/food/pwd cars/donated items. Only award by patrols. A patrol of 15, even if they do win a little more "sterling", won't have as much buying power per boy as a patrol of 5.

To be precise, it's been a national program for 66 years (the first NOAC starting 13 years after the first national jamboree). Still, nothing to sneeze at. Don't misconstrue me, I am incredibly pleased with OA, especially our lodge, and what it's done for our boys. I actively promote the NOAC to my youth. And, as much as I loved going to Jambo as a youth, I'm in no rush to go again. In fact I believe the OA definitely deserves to be recognized with its own piece of real estate on the national uniform. How 'bout that pentagon, wider than tall, flapping downward at the top of that right pocket? Let's not use that flap for anything but a patch designated by the OA lodge (even if it looks like Totin' Chip or Firem'n Chit would fit) .

I think the mission of the CO comes into play here. If it is to attract masses of kids (for whatever reason) then it will encourage the SMs' to become more like a management team with the ASMs handling a lot of the SMCs. If it is to provide opportunities a select group of dedicated kids (again, for whatever reason) it will encourage the SM's to become more like counselors with a certain "caseload." Obviously, not all of us can flex into both roles. So, that would mean some units would have to swap out leaders as the size of a troop changes. In fact, when our unit was numbering in the 40's we did change SMs fairly frequently. Now that we are smaller, our current SM is very happy to stick around (his boy graduated this year). And, it is kind of nice not to have to drag that trailer everywhere!

So the issue is: ignoring the number of participants, are they equivalent enough? Name recognition. NOAC simply does not have it. Broad base: NOAC is not open to scouts who were never elected as honored campers. Nor are invites sent to BSA members who have no access to being elected - not even for them to volunteer as event staff. Global: there is no international equivalent ... no World-NOAC. Curb appeal: no tent cities? 'Nuf said. There is no doubt going to NOAC is its own reward. It rightly can claim a place on a boy's right pocket or sash-back. But, I can imagine that for someone writing the insignia guide, it takes a street-recognized, broad-based, global event with lots of curb-appeal to justify coloring up the region between Epaulet and right pocket. NOAC, NAYLE, the HA Bases, Sea-Scout Conventions, Venturing Summits, and the first-aid meet at the neighborhood gym are simply not that event.