qwazse

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 time to think about an endowment to cover rising energy expenses. Or ... you might want to ask the question "are we big enough?" Do the youth in your community need a Venturing crew that specializes in some specialty equipment (e.g., climbing or whitewater) which will require major capital expense? Does your success mean you should expand your mission? This will be a slow conversation over a number of years. Having too much cash is almost as bad as having not enough.

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 18th-minus-a-day. It would be nice if council's rejection of his app came in writing. Then it would be a matter of the service center making copies and sending it through the appeals process. Otherwise, it's only one-sided testimony that the boy was a victim of an intimidating beaureaucratic glitch. But, isn't that what defines an Eagle, one who knows the requirements so thoroughly he will defend his right to his award even if a management rule stands in his way? ("Why do you deserve this award." "Because, sir, I have completed the requirements and lived according to the scout oath and law.") af but he's pretty successful today so I'm sure he would have gotten the recommendations back then. That's a non-sequitor. Possibly, it was this failure that subconsciously drove him* to be more meticulous and timely in his career. I wish him* good luck whatever course is chosen. *oops, "you", before BP castigates me for promulgating falsehood ...

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 guy with no personal involvement in the matter ... Sure, you could talk to your district advancement chair about "rectifying" your situation. But every minute you spend doing that is two minutes (yours and the leader whose ear your bending) you could spend helping a boy become a caring and thoughtful adult. Appeal to National, if you like. But honestly, your testimony can be of great service to boys who think that Eagle is something they can put off until the last minute. One in five Eagle candidates seem to be in denial that they can squeak by and everyone else will solve their "paperwork" problems. If they don't, they can cry loud enough and everyone will eventually lend them a sympathetic ear. This blog is a testament that this indeed is not the case. Print it up, have it ready for a slacking older scout, and ask him if 15 years from now, how would he like to be "that guy"?

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, rumb lines. Now, if NOVA produced a couple of shows on the above topics, I'd make one of the techies in my Crew or troop set up a fire-side projection system to watch them. Otherwise, there's no way I'm "requiring" a kid to watch a TV show.

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 burning thier boots in the fire. We could actually focus on perfecting how to bake that pizza without some kid trowing a ton of leaves on the fire and smoking us out. My in my son's troop, the older boys effectively segregate. Only without an LC, there is no structure that gives them time to think through how they were balancing their obligations to the youth in the troop and the other activities they were in. I try to provide that with the Venturing crew, but it's not the same. (E.g., many senior leaders see Venturing as optional, as they should, while we all saw LC as desired or almost required.) I guess the bottom line is when we are dealing with a cultural pattern such as the one our boys are going through, there is no one-size-fits all solution. But the LC patch was definitely one of my favorites!

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 boys check troop gear out for backpacking, that gear will need thorough inspection before going back into storage. You may even want to have that clorine bucket ready for the meeting after the trip!

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 tent and leave them talking about "the next big thing." Repeat every three months or so. In other words, the biggest thing you can do for these boys is give them the privelage of guiding the troop. For adventures on their own, wait a couple of months until you've got to know these boys. Chances are, they already are happily engaged in age-appropriate activities outside of the troop. If they are looking for more, you may suggest they multiple with a nearby crew, or involvement in O/A. Let thim in on any to council/district activities. If you're at a camporee, make sure they attend the crackerbarrels for SPL/PL's. Encourage them to take Personal Management MB and save up for a "big ticket" item like Jambo or one of the high adventure bases. Point is, a troop doesn't have to be a "be-all and end-all" for an older boy. It just has to be home base.

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 boys.)

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.

I asked for a pair of greys for Father's day. My family got a puppy instead. Any decent pair of grey pants or shorts will do for the venturing uniform. (Although it is nice to coordinate with your crew.) Last year's offering from the scout shop was far below decent.

Nice to know if you miss the fireworks, you can always log in ... Follow your SM's lead. Ignore the smoke blowing. Calling for "dismissal" of volunteers rarely solves anything. Was there ever a motion by the committee that this ASM had the authority approve camperships? If not, contact the mother and let her know the ASM was misinformed and her son is still eligible for a campership. The committee makes the decision. You may want to gently inform the ASM that you found her behavior toward another parent to be abrasive, and as an empathetic parent you would like things to happen differently in the future. Also, are there any positives that this ASM brings to the equation? Does she work well with the boys? Any good outdoor skills? Has she taken the time to get trained?

Didn't know about the point change. Son #2 took all of open program last week to meet reqs. (He didn't complete his Swimming partial from last year b/c of it!) I think he used the 20/35 red compounds. Can't remember what my reqs were back in the day, but I remember practicing for a year at 20 yards with a wood 25# recurve and wood arrows (no arrow rest either). I don't think I took that bow to camp, but adapting to the 35# fiberglass recurves was a piece of cake after all the practice with that clunker. (In it's favor, the wood did have a smoother draw.)

Most trainers that I know are not overwhelmed with students. It's not sponging if they're paying. Even if it is, I "sponge" off of the GS to re-up my CPR because they seem to have their act together to schedule trainings at my convenience. But, to get around all of this, I would suggest you invite the leaders interested in training to register with the BSA units, especially if the crew is co-ed. It's an extra $15 for them, but that makes them available as a resource to the crew and venturers available as a resource to them. (Hint, crews often need: 1. female chaperons for overnights and 2. youth who need instruction in a specific skill for bronze-award venturing candidates to teach.) Or they could register as an MBC in the troop. Not sure how many WB trainers have had "just MBC's" in their classes, but that would make for some interesting tickets! Regardless, push a little paperwork on the unit level -- problem solved. Any of you district or council folks see any problems with that?

E92 - Well the global politcs may amplify it, but culturally we tend to be brought up with a different leadership style. (E.g., "first to speak, last to listen." "My way or the highway." "Git 'er done.") Regardless of its validity, that stereotype leads folks to look to leaders from other nations to be the point-men when putting together multinational teams. I was in one of those situations many years ago, and it took me months to realise that having a Yankee as "the guy" didn't bring out the best in the team, but as a sidekick I could help move things along, and when the leader was in a jam, I could tell him "Hey, I have this 'you can run but you cannot hide' routine that works from time to time, I think you should give a shot. Just this once ..." I wasn't a parent at the time, and my kid's interest in scouting wasn't on the line. But I did grow a little. SB, I hope something similar happens with you and your CC. The more you tell us about it, the more my option #3 seems to be your ticket through (only maybe with some tea instead of coffee).

One would be surprised at how much time "off trail" is involved in taking youth camping. So, I wouldn't doubt that in some way FS was doing just that. Since I was party in derailing C!C!'s post, I'll come back to topic. There are parents who try to "game the system" -- partly out of lack of faith that their boy can make this trail on his own, partly out of a conditioning to domineer, partly because of a culture clash with a new troop and its traditions. There are also parents who "bump into" controls that a committee has in place to help boys advance decently and in order. There are some committee's that are officious and others that are outright belligerent. Telling one parent from the other or one committee from the other is impossible this side of the web. So we're, in different ways, telling folks to "play nice." As to concerns about impostors, it happens. Not so much on job/college hunts, but in more casual ways. For example, an 18 year old may be unwilling to admit he did not get his Eagle in spite of completing his project and all but one merit badge. Then when a scout, playing a "collect the signature" game asks him to sign the Eagle square he caves under the peer pressure. True story, and yes I did confront the young man discreetly after I heard about it. I pulled the "don't sully my badge again" card. I did not have a grand tribunal, but others may have. Bottom line: I don't care about the value any college or Armed force or employer puts on the badge. I do care about the value I put on it. Therefore, I will act accordingly and hope that I don't come off sounding abrasive in the process.

ED I'm interested in learning those differences. I think the differences are perception only. I've seen great results from jr ROTC and 4H. But BS and GS are far more general programs. It would be easier to believe some progressive admissions office would hold a lower view of seemingly narrowly focused activities, even if there is no data out there to support such an assertion. Calico - I had no doubt that the original assertions were based on zero facts. Thanks for confirming that.

I think you settled the procedural matter just fine. Folks who blow stuff out of proportion only make themselves look bad. You've explained yourself, if they try to report the issue you could say, "Fine, report me to HQ!" I like the view from the yard-arm. But, you also have a "people problem". Your CC was hurtful. Well, the only suggestion is to tell the CC (preferably over a cup of coffee) that you were hurt by how they handled this. You should have been contacted in person to help sort out what happened, and that you wish you didn't have to be on the defensive before all those people who got that E-mail. You might mention that you'd like to help out more in the troop, but if this is the way you are expected to treat people when they mistakenly push the wrong paperwork, you'd rather not be party to it. It happens all the time in our troop, (more with First Class requirements, but also with MB's sometimes). One of us goes to the parent/guardian and explains the fauxpas in person.