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FWIW, I've found it really important to have folks like Eng61 as well as parents from "the other side of the tracks" on committee. Because when there's a discipline issue that makes it into the SM report, we need opinions from different angles to adress it. It's nice to sit in a room of concerned parents and say once, "This is how I would like us to handle this one." It's also nice to have folks collectively evaluate the situation and say (if they have to), "This one's out of your league." This kind of back-and-forth is a growing process for the adults as well as the kids. Hopeful

SP - Some "hikes" are actually level 3 climbs. Knowing the difference and when to require helmets and climbing signals (such as "rock!"), is a challenge. It's not like these things are always marked on hiking maps. Eng - I spent several moments this weekend talking boys off of cliff edges. Sedimentary rock looks real stable from the top, looking down the canyon to the next rim, however, one begins to realize what may not lie beneath .... SR540 - Short of GPS activated shock-collars, I don't know how you implement such a policy at all times. In this case, travelling in a contingen

SR540 - it probably has more to do with reporting. We have as many tragedies on this side of the Mississippi. Three years, and I haven't gotten over a loss in our troop. That one never made it as a topic on this board, nor did we intend it to. I do know that the mom has appreciated our (somewhat feeble) gestures to remember the young man. His buddies, my son included, have grown through it all. Pray that the young men around these two manage to do the same.

Best thing that happened to a relative of mine was that his folks called the State Police to bring drug dogs into the house. Having the knowledge I would gladly do the favor of making that phone call. (As humiliating as it would be, I would expect my real to do me the same service.) The first problem is the USING. That needed to be addressed right away. All of the other problems (possession, distribution, etc ...) stem from that. If the boy thinks that using is right, he may leave the troop on the basis of the seventh point of the scout law. When he decides that he will obey the s

Depends on the "crime", I guess. There are some things that are above my pay grade. A prostitute (of either gender) in my crew would definitly make me call my SE for a better placement. An assault and battery? If it hasn't shown up in the crew life, I'd give the kid a chance. I wouldn't sign him/her up for a high adventure until I've seen reliable performance on numerous weekend outings. Most teens are up front with their "liabilities." They've probably learned that letting someone find out indirectly makes things worse. So, if a kid tells me he/she has baggage we have t

It's like a game of Scrabble. If the other players don't challenge a mispelled word, you get the points. As long as the DE takes credit for units that meet standard, and nobody challenges him that his #'s are padded with "paper units", he's in the clear. Moreover, he hasn't wasted time chasing signatures. Win-win. I wouldn't like to be at the district meeting where a JTE ribbon was challenged!

SP - I agree, but that has nothing to do with a scout's alleged criminal record. We've had "very good" boys brought before the committee and given the "shape up our ship out" lecture. We've also had boys going through the court system concurrently serve as SPL. Eng - It doesn't take a thug for your worst-case scenarios to occur. I assure you, if I knew which boy was more likely to do such fool things, I'd lock the doors on him today. Fact is, your best teen with the best parenting is just as likely (and probably better resourced) to exact profound evil before you can stop him.

SP Keep in mind that the rule of thumb is that one bad boy can drive six good ones out of a troop. My SM and I want to revise our sign ... Troop ___. We take bad kids. Those six "good" ones are welcome to start their own troop/crew next door. (Which they did, BTW.) Hopefully after a few years they will attract a few bad apples to tend to as well. If they don't want them, our door's open. Most troops try to hold onto problem children too long, in my experience. Is until 18 too long? We find if we are firm with discipline, kids who don't reform themselves leave. Is i

Step-brothers (brothers of any kind) are a big help. One thing that may be important over the long haul are opportunies to go back and pay respects. We all need that reflection time.

It depends. What are your annual expenses? Our rule of thumb is to not have our general fund exceed more than 2x our annual operating budget. Think of it this way: we are collecting money/labor from boys who in all probability on average will be in the troop for only a couple of years. If the boys have a bad year fundraising or we have another expense, that gives us at least another year to adjust by having more fundraisers or cutting the budget. You might want to talk to the CO about a capital expense that would benefit you and the troop, like a new youth room. Or, it may be tim

BP Is this the kind of person you want providing your kids with guidance in scouts ... So is the Gospel of John the kind of book your parishoners should heed? After all, the guy never once had the spine to say "I, John" in the entire of book. Not much of a saint by your logic. Bn If he still has evidence that he completed the requirements prior to being 18 (e.g., a signed Eagle application, signed blue cards, etc.) he or someone should contact his local council office. I guess that depends on the date of the SM conference? Every date, including that one would have to be on 18t

Geez guys. So St. John was dishonest in writing the Gospel in 3rd person? The OP was using a similar device. Just because it confuses us, that hardly makes him dishonest. My brother's SM left town along with his Eagle paperwork never to be found. This was back in 1960, and it still goads him to this day. My advice to him: "There are a lot plenty of adult recognition awards to be earned." His story is a cautionary tale to all my boys about keeping your own paper trail just in case SM __ is AWOL on their 18th birthday. So please don't take the following suggestion as something from a

Sorry, you lost me at "here's a new program ..." Like packsaddle, I would like to see some different technologies that more apply to scouting's required topics. For example: Camping: tarp/tent textiles, peg design, water repellants, external combustion (e.g. camp stoves), load balancing mathematics. Hiking: Boot design, lightweight clothing technology, portable solar panels, pack desitn, communication tools, trail difficulty ratings. First Aid: compression bandages, insect repellants, snake bite kits. Navigation: celestial mechanics, GPS technology, triangulation, rum

DRLeadership Corps--great idea, tough to implement as designed, I think. I remember the older guys joining the LC and then pretty much ignoring everyone else. After being a PL, I guess it was cool to join the LC and just hang around with your peers. Not true everywhere, but it was evident in one of the big troops I was in. I have not seen that behavior disappear in the absence of LC. My LC had a lot of guys who really focused on teaching the youngn's. It was nice to get in that extra winter campout/caving trip/backpacking week away from the responsibilities of keeping tenderfeet from b

The "simulated firearm" has little to do with the shape of the launcher. (Although the red-tip rule is probably wise in some neighborhoods.) It has to do with the purpose of targeting. For most launchers (air-soft, paintball, photons), the purpose is to simulate delivering a skin-penetrating tissue-disrupting projectile. With that aqueous stuff, the purpose is treating/preventing heat stroke. So *all manner of launchers* delivering lower-than-body-temp liquid H2O should be permissible within the G2SS. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

MT - have hubby make a deal with the guy. Let him counsel five merit badges for every unit he counsels for. Right now, assume he's only available to the troop, so he starts by picking his best five. As soon as the DAC sees a boy from a different troop completing a badge through this counselor, let him know he can sign up for another five, and so on ... Since there are no guidelines, there's nothing keeping a DAC from making deals that meet the needs of the district.

fred8033: Like adults talk about BORs after-the-fact, scouts will gossip. I can see one scout making fun of another scout because of something said in a BOR. ... Expect less of your boys and you will never see them deliver. Never heard of scouts sitting on BORs myself. (Certainly did not happen in my troop.) But, I'm willing to take E92 and wjt's word that it worked for their troops. Counts a whole lot more than idle speculation. I'm pretty sure a loose-lipped youth would not be welcome on the committee.

K - Having survived these many years without carrying clorine in my pack, I've found cleaning up uses about 1/2 cup of water and a drop of dish soap in one pot. All the grub gear (there shouldn't be much) goes in the largest pot. Heat the water, add soap, shake vigorously, scrub with wash cloth or sani-wipe, rinse. This assumes you're working in a patrol and are cooking enough volume to have one hot water pot and one cooking pot. FWIW. I don't mind getting a pot or pan dirty in the winter. Snow is a great abrasive. Bringing this back to the trailer discussion, if your boy

SMT224 - Your last list is awesome! Make sure your adults have read it too. If your committee does BOR's in camp, encourage them to ask questions based on this list. Regarding your first list. It's fine, but before the cars pull out, circle up your drivers (especially if some of them are new to the troop). Give them a paper with directions and your navigator's cell phone. Remind them to not caravan. Arrange a meeting point just before camp, so your troop can pull in roughly together.

Boys that choose to join with a younger troop are probably prepared to do a lot of teaching. If they wanted to "just chill", they could have joined a venturing crew or a troop with older boys. Involve the older boys in some evaluation. On your next campout, after they've completed bed-check, ask them to hang by the fire. Ask them questions like these: Is this troop ready to backpack? Where to? How many miles per day? What do we need so we can do a canoe trip? What's the coolest skill you'd like to introduce to these boys? Then you and your ASM walk the 100 yards to your t

My suggestion, You should 'store' only the minimum gear (the safety and maintenance stuff and tie-downs, etc.) in the trailer. Your troop QM is responsible for loading for the next trip and unloading for the previous one. This means that two meetings a month (ideally pre- and post- trip), the boys are devoting some time to transferring gear under the watchful eye of the QM. Depending on the activities your troop does, you may want to rig racks or storage hooks for personal gear. (E.g. bike racks, backpack racks, rod/reel holders ... it all depends on what's popular with your bo

I prefer "tagged" as opposed to "shot at", but anyway ... BUCKET BRIGADES. Using coffee cans (or gallon jugs, whatever), which patrol can fill a 50 gal drum the fastest? (The leakier the cans, the more the fun.)

People should keep in mind that parliamentary procedure is simply a way to make sure every opinion gets its fair share of time, and motions don't go ignored. If you are so cozy that you spend two hours at the end of which nobody knows what their assignments are, it's time to work on being formal. When parliamentary procedure is used to bash others, it's purpose is defeated. Then, maybe you need to spend a couple of hours being informal.

A squirt gun (i.e., the generic brightly colored bulbous variety -- although, now that the gun show guys have guns with pink stocks to cater to the ladies, whose to say that line isn't getting blurred as well?) is a simulated crowd control device, not a fire-arm. Marshmallows simulate rubber bullets. The intent is to startle/restrain not harm/maim. There is no prohibition in G2SS against simulated anti-riot gear.

Giant hamster wheel! A scout in his final year at summer camp modified plans for a ladder to make it. It was about 6 feet in circumference, and flexible with no axel. So, it operated more like a tank tread than a stationary wheel. He didn't have fresh wood, so it only lasted a few "rotations", but it was fun watching him work it out.