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What's "real" these days? Print? Does my registration fee pay for the ink and paper that I'd need? Illustrations are not requirements. Professional? Like the Project Workbook that many scouts have trouble loading on to their devices? I get nervous any time someone asks BSA to doll anything up. More importantly, this is a game with a purpose. And, like a game FAQ, it needs to be rapidly scroll-able. The requirement's file should be minimal so that it can be comprehensive. All hyperlinks are ASCII. (Well, technically, everyone has gone UTF-8 ... and doing so might aid language translation services.) Plain text is amenable to free-form search and if it uses tags, standard apps can read it and generate the TOC, and image links. We're talking about the base file from which all other material is drawn. The pretty pictures of all the patches aren't going to go away. They just won't be a distraction for anyone who wants to scan a large volume of data quickly. Full disclosure: I do save all of my output for work as .pdf if possible. But our product is tables and charts, so formatting goes a long way in communicating to others, including my future self. The only down-side is when I want to machine-read some output, then ASCII is my friend once again.

On my honor, I have never withheld any information from a scout that could, one day forestall death (the scout’s or other’s) and generally make the world a better place. I dunno, why would I place an orienteering control in the middle of the woods and not give a scout turn-by-turn directions to it? Neither you nor I can be exauhstive sources of information on every path a scout may take. If you think you have been, you’ve deluded yourself. And, there is a risk, like at the start of this thread, of bemoaning the requirements of an award because it emphasizes something your scout doesn’t want to pursue. The next step is we fall into a Dad-shame trap. I “knew” Venturing Silver would be an ideal path for my daughter. She, like 99% of Venturers didn’t see the value in it. She didn’t even take VLST until she had to teach it as part of her VOA responsibilities. Then she had the gall to complain about why I hadn’t told her about it earlier! She had the Leadership Manual on her shelf for three years! Well, absent BSA bling, she started college early, got a full ride somewhere just across town from @Eagledad, and commenced extracting oil and gas for everyone until you all stopped driving around last year. Then she came home and started in freight logistics, and just moved to her house across town that she bought with her nest egg. There are a couple life skills her brothers picked up that she missed out on by not perusing a personal growth award, so I’m a little sorry for that, but I’m not sorry that and all her friends have grown strong and good nonetheless. And now, award requirements are online (even if they aren’t in plain-old-ascii like the game FAQs that Son #2 learned to read by). A youth’s journey can start before he/she even cracks open a handbook!

I'm of the opposite view. It is the scout's responsibility to read his/her handbook, magazines, and other literature and learn what awards they might wish to earn. It is the adult leader's responsibility to inculcate a vision of the pinnacle scouting experience of hiking and camping independently with your mates. Sure, if a scout is an avid camper I might tell him, in passing, to look up the NOAC. If he's a good shot, I'll let him no about Jr. NRA. If he swims like a fiend, and is very conscientious, I'll encourage BSA Guard certification. If he masters a knot, I'll probably tell him to demonstrate it to his PL and get a sign-off. Those are obvious "next steps." But my job is not to let every scout know every award. My job is to teach him to discover the lay of the land, observe, and report. I encourage other adult leaders to do the same. That jobs hard enough, most days.

My only wish is that all requirements were in one plain-old-ascii file. Same thing for annual reports.

Regarding youth supporting basic council operations: my crew had lots of interactions with professional staff at council HQ and at VOA activities. We considered those interactions as part of their leadership training. The pros were mostly positive role models for my crew. One DE even had a spare sleeping bag for a venturer who had forgot hers. (He explained that he had just come from a cub event, and having such stuff was par for the course.) So, if put upon, I think my youth at the time would have been open to fundraising to support what you all consider "basic operations." The the boys in troops, however, have less interaction with pro's so they can't put a name or face to who they'd be supporting. When I was a scout, the DE was father of kids in my youth group. So, I could see us also fundraising to support him if folks told us he needed it. But, back the deep pockets proudly giving to BSA were ubiquitous.

My gut (and I think this is in the spirit of most regulations): if you've kept the pack running, you'll want to wait until you can share B&G with parents and grandparents, etc ... Sure, you could do something online, but folks are hankering for a celebration to look forward to. Postpone until everyone in your circles has had the vaccine. (Mrs. Q and I got round one yesterday. She's a little bit more sore than me -- but more sore that she had to wait this long. I'm only sore that my facility only doled out a sticker the size of my fingernail.) A June B&G picnic would be nice. If the AoL's have crossed over, it's all good. Invite them back. P.S. - If you all can afford it, book a caterer and maybe a local band or act.

So, here's the advantage of a Unit-collection: Volunteer labor spent presenting (and, from your parents' perspective, listening to) FOS presentations. As you mention, those costs are not trivial. Here's the disadvantage: Youth labor spent raising funds for other troops. The whole point of FOS is supposedly to provide facilities and camperships to scouts who couldn't otherwise afford them. It's one thing if your youth want to do that. (GS/USA youth seem to be quite proud that their cookie sales do such things.) But perhaps your youth have other charities for whom they want to raise funds . Your council (and, in turn, those other troops) will want its cut first. The disadvantage to council: Collection from willing individuals once they have left scouting. A lot of our folks who pledged at FOS presentations, kept doing so for decades.

If this were a scout in my troop, I would have paid for the registration in exchange for some treats (or at least a post-card) from your overseas placement. Do you use scoutbook? Does anything there say something about rechartering?

I can’t remember when it was rolled out. There’s this bit of discussion with just a little snark from yours truly ...

Thanks for the update. We scouts and scouters tend to be a plain-spoken bunch. So you're going to here about dislikes as well as likes. Shoot, you are even welcome dislike this post by down-voting! Now, SMs and ASMs are not on a board of review, we generally introduce you to the board, leave the room, and wait somewhat uncomfortably out in the hallway for you to join us, then wait some more while the board deliberates. So he will not be able to sway the board one way or the other. In your scoutmaster conference, you can discuss how things went down and how the approval process was emotionally trying, discuss what you learned from it, and voice your concerns that some members may still hold a bias against your work. Your SM should then be able to help you continue to reflect on your work so you will be well prepared to present it to the board.

Oh, for the days when Maslow's pyramids were sketched with scrawled labels on transparencies and pinned on bulletin boards in the halls of academia! I should have taped pictures of fresh sandwichs under them and a rotting ones outside of them. ;) It's not that I disagree with the concept, it's that people mistakenly put intellectually demanding actions at the top of the pyramid. Can't blame them, it's an academic concept. For example, I think you've placed Swimming and Camping too low on that hierarchy. Those two in particular are about fulfilling the vision of the pinnacle scouting experience of hiking and camping independently with your mates. Sure it's kinda nice to forestall your own death, but the requirements for these MB's in particular are to gain the strength and skill to keep others in your care whole ... thereby achieving a sense of love and belonging, esteem, and self-actualization. Scouts should camp and swim the day after their EBoR If I recall correctly, we once rescheduled a trek for the sake of an SPL's EBoR . The following weekend's weather subjected us to a maniacal winter storm hellscape. When we were all finally home safe, I told the scout he owed us big time. Kid's, invite your district reps to visit your campsite and convene your EBoR around a nice fire. We scouters will love you forever, thereby enabling your full self-actualization. ;)

Sorry @Bowsprit, DE&I (the concept, not patch, not political mantra) is interesting. For example, to @Eagledad's point: A cultural issue, a broken family issue, and a drug and alcohol and tobacco issue. Plus, a negative feedback loop where educators in certain districts have expected less of my scouts. It's the latter that has to be defeated as it was for me about a century ago: The day that the school superintendent walked across town and explained to my grandfather why his kids should continue into middle and through high school ... is the day that rewrote history for eight children, dozens of grandchildren and great grandchildren, and who-knows-how-many citizens of this country. Wars were won, freedom was secured, and death was forestalled. Frankly, the reason DE&I mantras seem to go nowhere is that it pushes solutions before giving someone a problem to solve. Instead, we train a scout to find a disparity (e.g., a swimmer is showing signs of fatigue while others are not) offer some manageable solutions (e.g., Reach, Throw, Row, Go with support) and enable the scout implement the solution (i.e., rescue the swimmer so that he/she can swim like everyone else). Frankly, I think the MB would get traction if were named "Disparities", stripped of that bookwork and ridiculous pledge stuff, and boiled down to: a. find a disparity, b. fix it a little, c. reflect on your experience.

They support my statement. More numbers of, and a higher percentage of, young men than ever before in our nation's history are enrolling in college, graduating from college, and getting advanced degrees. Bonus: their sisters, girlfriends, and wives are enrolling as well. Simply put, higher education has never been better for guys of any race/class. Regarding equity, minorities are still not entering academia at a desirable rate. That's a disparity creating disparities that are hard to overcome via trades. My hope is that new media will be able to help minorities sharpen their business acumen so that they and their children may enroll later, and possibly with less debt. Sadly, fewer young men know how to solder copper pipe. But I'm not blaming girls. I'm blaming Sharkbites.

@Bowsprit, you've been lied to. But, you're not the first one ... Fact: More boys (in raw #s or percentage of adult males) are entering college than ever before in our Nation's history, more are completing college, more are going on to advanced degrees. We could credit many things (the GI bill for one), and one institution would be the coeducational system allows boys and girls to be inspired by the achievements of the opposite sex. In a decade, the rates of suicide have doubled for females (tripled for black and Hispanic females), they have less than doubled for males (and increased marginally for black and Hispanic males), but for a long time males have had a higher rate than females. Females, on the other hand, have had higher rates of self-mutilation. I have not seen any studies of fire/shelter building skills between resident vs. non-resident camp. All I know, from observing the kids in my family, if you need a fire started fast ... ask the Ugandan niece who lived the bush life for 9 years. Sure, it's a sample of one. But, most education research -- especially that of differentials -- is on skills taught in a classroom. I have none that discusses learning differentials in skills taught in the process of communal life.

There is also significant data (a preponderance of it so great that US public schools remain integrated) ... that shows that sex differences in learning styles is marginal at best, defined by prevailing cultures and fashion, and so biased by the educators themselves that it is not worth investing in separating sexes. The evidence leads one to conclude that a successful arrangement will keep sexes in the same environment and teach both how a given sex may acquire and retain knowledge differently. Individuals adjust accordingly and are able to segregate when needed. Most all of this only partially applies to a scouting environment of 24+ consecutive hours living together.

@Owls_are_cool, the way I read it was that the scouts' proposal was reviewed by the district and got a "good enough." The scout is now concerned that those dissenting opinions might bleed through however many months from now when he has his BoR. It's actually a pretty decent life-lesson. You could convert a run-down bowling alley into the Sistine chapel, and someone's not gonna like it. How do you muscle through that opposition when you are up for an award and the opposition is sitting on the board? It's tough to say, "Respectfully, Sir, I got approval from your district on the exact spacing between God's finger and Adam's." You might want to consult your allies before the meeting.

Welcome to the forums. When this happens to our scouts (we have is one district scouter review proposals and give feedback ... mostly very good, but sometimes directing a boy to pick a new project unnecessarily), I let the scout know that if he chooses to go with his first choice the committee will stand behind him, no matter what the esteemed scouter said. Usually the scout picks a different project, but it means a great deal that we stand behind our Life scouts. I agree with @MattR. Talk to your SM. He might assign someone in your troop to be your Eagle project advisor and look over your proposal before it goes to the district. You want that person to be brutally honest, but open-minded. Beyond that, councils and districts vary a lot. That's a good thing. These scouters probably at one time or another have had to propose projects in your community or, based on their jobs, submit bids for contracts or apply for grants. The way that happens varies across the country. So, you aren't going to see one-size-fits-all behavior. But, your experience going through the process will reflect what these scouters feel it takes to get good work done in their fields.

Here's an update from an Indian SM on the "longer" other side of the pond: Hope it helps to know we are not alone in our trials.

I did 2 v 23 last summer camp. The new ASM and I could have easily welcomed seven more ... so long as they came with at least one first class scout. Hitting 2 v 40 pushes it. The staff was very helpful, and kept an eye on our site when I was re-updating my BSA guard and the other adult was chaperoning our four 1st years. That said (and somewhat back to the OP), I could have benefited from our Scoutbook expert (who is registered and trained as an ASM) on site to help me navigate some advancement questions and log sign-offs. That task took me away from camp; however the wifi was in a location where I could see my scouts crossing from one activity area to another. More importantly, I'm still in the middle of the learning curve with that thing, so I was also E-mailing him and the SM for some clarifications.

@RememberSchiff, this goes to the crux of the suit. GS/USA would argue that this constitutes continuing use of their brand: allowing a headline with “girl” and “scout” to garner goodwill toward any organization other than their own. It’s not relevant that you and I are hungry for a story of scouts of both sexes working together in a chipper mood.

For the record, I have not implied, but rather explicitly stated that some scouts or their parents espouse racism. I spared the details for various reasons ... mainly to avoid speaking for scouts who might proudly assert a view now, but grow to regret it. Implying that any posters here are racist would be ad homenim that violates forum rules and is largely irrelevant when weighing the points someone puts forward. My main interest in this thread is determining if this MB improves scouts' abilities to address problems of the day.

I have many other things to work on with my troop.

@CynicalScouter, leaks don’t count. The official requirements and 2021 changes are here: https://www.scouting.org/programs/scouts-bsa/advancement-and-awards/merit-badges/ That’s where all of the scouts and scouters in the country go to get an outline of their badges. (BTW, it annoys me that this can’t be a single page of plain text with a navigation bar on the margin.) As of today, there is no DE&I MB. I got nothing to tell my scouts/scouters about. I’m not that surprised. Even without controversy, publishing on a six month time frame is a challenge. I’m pretty sure at least a year’s work went into each 2021 requirement change that is published. Fact is, if they hadn’t rolled it out two weeks ago, National should have plainly announced that they will push back their timeline a couple of months. But, speaking plainly is not in marketing and public relation’s wheelhouse.

I’ve always figured RS was giving his best tupence. And they say the best things in life are free. So, I’m running with that! Happy New Year!

@Owls_are_cool (and anyone in his position), as a general rule, if your son wants to take a break from scouting or leave it altogether ... let him. Don’t let current events be a tipping point one way or another. Regarding requiring this badge for Eagle. Nobody has to earn Eagle. No SM has to encourage a scout to earn it. I recommend that you take this as an opportunity to use advancement for something different: fun. Enjoy the hiking and camping and service projects and get scouts to Life rank. The few who want to be Eagle Scouts will find their way.