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@mashmaster, props to your son for embracing the suck. Our boys saw some other SM's and how they operated, and thanked for giving them a long leash. But it wasn't automatic. Our SM got reamed out by jamboree management staff over scouts who got "lost" on two spear the occasions. Each time the scout knew where he were going, but misplaced his buddy. After trying to explain that we were being tasked with the impossible. They emphasized that they would return a stray scout to camp HQ -- not our campsite ... Not even our subcamp. And we would have to come retrieve the scout. As it became clear that he was only going to get more flack, the SM responded with, "Yes sir. Thank you sir." I wasn't present ... probably a good thing. He simply came back to camp. Waited until dinner, and told our boys what went on: that we were blindsided by this procedure, and that we would like them to respect the fact that our day (or night) could get derailed if they were found alone walking the roads between subcamps. I could imagine some other SM going all command-control on their scouts. @Setonfan, I am no "grumpy couch-sitter." I have the blisters to prove it. We participants were the ones quickly solving the problems. We told members of foreign contingents how to work around HQ mismanagement. I made it quite clear to every duty officer who stopped for a cup of coffee that the real HQ was not in those white tents on the hill above us. It was on the road between our site and the site of the next US contingent. If you had actually visited our section of subcamp C, there is no way you would describe any problem as being "solved quickly." We had some that took two days to clear up. We bailed the staff out at many turns. And, it was our pleasure to do so. Our boys' enthusiasm for taking care of our neighboring troops when HQ was faltering made the experience. On behalf of our scouts, you're welcome.

I talked to scouts from several nations bearing their countries anxt about access to firearms. On the other hand most scouts were happy to learn how to safely use them for the first time. At campsites, our scouts had many fruitful discussions about them.

Many scouts were aware of the Scouts BSA rollout. USA girls at Jamboree were a big deal to them.

I am wiped out from partying 10 days straight with tens of thousands of the most awesome well-fed youth on the planet. My bottom line: all of the negatives listed above amounted to net good.

From the hammock of our Jambo SM (because all the boys left camp, finally): We need a new word. People who work for scouting are professionals; who do things in free time for youth, volunteers; who do it for cheap, staff; but ... What is a word for people who pay to work (e.g., International Service Team or SMs/ASMs)?

We get that a lot! The place is vast. But, the black rasberries are in, and it's worth hiking some distance to the sweeter ones. @Sentinel947's scout who works as an EMT at one of the basecamps said that they are out of crutches. But "jamboree" is no joke! The sounds of songs and games and laughter and swapping tales all night are continuous. For my part I calmly go about my day letting everyone know that the best coffee on SBR is at my site. I also mortifying Brits, one site an evening, by demonstrating how to make sun tea in a clear bottle. I get rave reviews: "Is that water cold?" "No milk?" "God. No! Please make it stop!" "That wouldn't be mint tea. That's tea and mint!"

I met @Sentinel947 at Summit Central yesterday after my nap. (Oh the life of a contingent leader.) We just sat on a shady spot in the lawn and watched the variety of uniforms (mostly activity uniforms) come up the sidewalk. We then hit the trading post. Surprisingly, it was not terribly crowded.

Questions like this are the purview of local councils.

How long does it take to form a patrol? The patrols in our World Jambo troop had two meetings one and one shakedown. Our camp is at a cross roads, and I am seeing and hearing them form and reform daily.

@SnarlyYow, thanks for sharing. In multiple volunteer capacities I have met predators and folks who were wrongly accused of predation. I'd be a fool if I thought that I can now tell the difference.

Your son can leverage his talents. Invisibility goes well with capture the flag. Seriously, if it matters to him, he should commit to sending pictures of the trip back to the troop every couple of days.

I hope you didn't misconstrue my comment as a 'vote' one way or another for a visitor. I abstained because: It would never cross my mind to visit a Jamboree. The experience for a vistor is much different than a participant. The most important thing about welcoming the world is ... be welcoming. The most important thing about spending an August day in WV is ... beat the heat! If you can be welcoming and beat the heat in your uniform all day, go right ahead. If your kids would rather dress like they're spending a day at resident camp, go right ahead. The good news is you have two days ... your family can do it differently each day.

Depends on the Scout's reply. If it was "Sorry for the omission, please let me try agian." --- that suggests to me that he is living by them. If it was: "Well, I don't think a scout really needs to do all of those things." or it was: "Correction, a cuttlefish is ..." or any such variation ... --- that suggests that there's one or more that he'd rather not live by. The Oath and Law are no mere shibboleths. If you advance the snake who says them masterfully, but you know he's refused to live up to them in his daily life, you're doing nobody any favors.

In my view one always advances after a BoR. If a board finds that the scout has not met the requirements for a rank, then the BoR is suspended until the scout rectifies the situation. The board gives the scout, in writing, where he/she falls short and what must be done to rectify the situation. IMHO, I would like a board to suspend its review any time it finds that a scout hasn't fulfilled a requirement. If he could recite the law flawlessly, and with gusto, but as a practical matter refused to live by a point, that's a reason to suspend. I would not like a board to suspend its review because someone forgot "A scout is". Any board that did so would have to convince me that the candidate actually did not believe that a decent scout would be any of those 12 points.

'Skip, missing the photo, but love the image in my head! In other news, I delivered troop t-shirts delivered to the last of our scouts. Because I only have a dozen other more important things on my list for the next 72 hours, I started working on my drying "rack". Fishing stand + 20 feet of para-chord.

I really like what she had to say about the economics of cookie sales. I think here is were we begin to shake our heads ... Newsflash: the young women who join Scouts BSA don't want to be called Girl Scouts either. They want to be scouts who happen to be girls. I believe in some ways GS/USA is a victim or its own success. Girls amass that "courage and confidence" and ask, "I want to qualify to hike and camp independently with my mates. Can I join the troop who does that?" The execs say "No, that's full!" Girls demand to be "fairly and adequately compensated" with camping nights. BSA eventually says, "Yes, but safely ..." And here we all are, trying to figure what the "but safely" entails. Hopefully our friends from around the world will give us good advice. But one piece that I think they all will agree on: "Stop making lawyers rich over things that won't make you better."

Not in one day! Although, there have been some boys that, for the sake of their health and safety ... Anyhow, I spun off the clean vehicle discussion as a topic under Working with Youth

What are your scouts responsibilities to drivers and their vehicles? From the World Jamboree Thread: ... and, concurring: I learned from mostly from band, rather than scouts, that riders can make a driver's time pleasurable by: Stepping out of muddy boots before entering, Putting your towel on your seat, Collecting litter just like the airplane stewards do, Riding shotgun and talking about life, the universe, ... Navigating, At the truck stop, giving a buddy your lunch money and your order while you clean windows and mirrors, Checking tires/oil/coolant/lights, Tuning the radio (especially if the current station goes to commercial for more than 5 seconds), Sharing your playlist (well, maybe that's just me, but I talk music and lyric analysis like nobody's business) .... Do you coach your patrols as to how to treat your troop's drivers? What courtesy tips do you give them?

I plan on having that many friends as soon as that aroma of the moka pot covers the grounds! If not, the SM and 2nd ASM aren't coffee drinkers, so the 3rd ASM and I can go six sittings before we have to wash dishes!

Seen a few such units. Met the scouts/venturers. They were impressive. Their leaders are gems. Troops devoted to scouts with disabilities have a lot of advantages. Everyone learns the rules for alternative requirements for advancement, so they can better help scouts get the most out of the program. If learning disabilities are the issue scouts may take decades to make rank. The challenge is volunteers. Not everyone is cut out for this sort of thing. And even helping one individual can be a very long game. Expectations change drastically. What's trivial for your scouts is high adventure, and potentially perilous, for these scouts. So, goals and methods have to be drastically adjusted. Still, if a scout can flourish among scouts with no obvious disabilities, I would suggest joining a troop with normal abilities. It's a tremendous growth opportunity for all involved. However, I'm not whitewash: the troop's program will change. That's not always a bad thing. But for those who want high adventure at all times, they will be making major attitude adjustments.

Since that's up 3% from last time, does that mean projects can have 2.9% fewer service hours?

Our no-my-first-rodeo SM has been reminding each of us leaders to bring a bottle. One is usually in my gear box anyway. Tonight and tomorrow's exercise will be removing extra gear and making room for the 5 lbs of coffee (ground for stove-top) and the dozen 4-oz cups Daughter got me for my birthday.

Note to self: add 5-gal bucket and plunger to list of stuff my family won't miss for two weeks.

@Double Eagle, the bottom line is always "neat appearance". The large patches (of any nature) were clearly intended for the backs of jackets, backpacks, and other non-uniform purposes. I agree that it's more important to give an 18 year old a Voter Registration Application than it is to throw him/her the Insignia Guide. That said, young adult ASMs do ask me when they should be removing their oval. I usually reply, "If you're old enough to ask ..."