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@5thGenTexan. personality questions aside, these questions are constant in scouting. I've always been asking myself, "What am I best at?" Or, more importantly, "What do I enjoy doing so much that a few flawed personalities won't dissuade me?" So, for me, I would have loved to do nothing more than help rally venturing in my district and council. But, I realized that, with our troop merger, we had SMs and boys who needed a good bit of care to move them from Committtee-managed to PLC-managed. Neither the district/council nor our troop were completely devoid of abrasive personalities. But at the troop level, there was no doubt that my SM and I and our troop's other ASMs knew how to mentor boys. Parents could disagree with us for a litany of reasons (e.g., the SM for the past few years never wore a uniform), but they couldn't disagree with smiles on the boy's faces. So, I'm on the sidelines of my council venturing committee. The net effect was that I got assigned to a World Scout Jamboree troop -- as opposed to a crew. Oh well! I still get 36 youth to work with, and they'll let me wear my green suit when it suits me. Back home, this month a first-year can now tie a taut-line hitch. Paycheck! Sounds like your after the same thing. Let someone who doesn't want to deal with a den be a CM.

Just a general point: I go with what the scout records in his log, regardless of if it is in troopmaster. This does mean that a scout may have an event as one of his ten that his buddy who also participated does not. If a scout asks for a calendar of events, that's fine, otherwise adults should not be auto-filling requirements. I find that mindfulness is an important tool for the scout to have.

The trained patch is intended to acknowledge that the scout/scouter is trained for his/her position (e.g. IOLS for SM/ASMs, ILST for PL/SPL, ILSC for crew officers), a few years ago NYLT was given it's own strip to acknowledge that a youth is trained to deliver the scouting program to his/her unit. It's actually kind of wimpy compared to the old JLT patch. Training is not a rank, either you have it, or you don't. Change position, remove your trained strip until you complete training for your new position. http://www.scoutinsignia.com/trained.htm NAYLE is not the highest, just a highly unique level. A youth can also participate in Kodiak, Powderhorn, WFA, and LNT. (https://www.scouting.org/programs/venturing/training/advanced-youth-training/). The norm with advanced leadership training is to not wear it on one's sleeve. For those recognitions, we have the right pocket, the backs of MB sashes, and brag vests -- or we have special neckerchiefs, beads and woggles.

I don't think any of us here designed the program, so you won't find a satisfying reason here. I suspect someone asked a focus group of youth what they'd like in terms of insignia, and they thought the temporary patch was good enough. If they had a NAYLE shoulder patch, then they'd have to swap it in. It's such a hassle tearing off those little patches just to put on new ones. This isn't GS/USA. You're not supposed to plaster yourself in patches for every scouting experience that you have. Pick your favorite for the field uniform, save the rest for a brag vest. I actually had a venturer told me that's why she liked the program.

Around here, it's split even. Ours was general interest. If you like three-ring circuses, it's kinda fun. However, when a group can do anything, they have to spend a lot more time deciding what to do. That can be stressful for youth. If you know that you're about one thing, year-in and year-out, there will be a set number of events and sub-goals that dictate the schedule. Things go smoother, but some youth might feel that they are stuck in a rut.

Our troop coordinates the district in placing flags at a large cemetery. Looks like we'll be working around some storms tonight.

There's nothing like burning through the calories in a morning to solve picky eaters. But the nice thing about Philmont is exchanges. There are locations to drop off what you don't like and pick up something some other crew doesn't like. Plus, it's likely to make trades mid trail. Evidently my venturers despised green beans, but they kept crossing paths with a contingent from Tennessee who couldn't live without them. Those exchanges solved a lot of problems. P.S. - I've never been to this HA base myself, I merely conditioned with my crew for everyone's mutual benefit. My venturers and leaders who did go were pretty thorough with the after-action review. In fact they were half the reason I had a crew. Some went while scouts and came back wanting to return so they could "do it right."

Tall buildings? Stadiums? We have one on Pitt's campus that is very popular for stair racing ... even though we have no shortage of hills. Our South Side neighborhood holds a step treck. It's on a bus route. My brother in Ohio found the one property with a decent ravine and made friends with the farmer. He does multiple reps up and down. Then helps chop wood or gleans peaches. (Note to self: make room in the freezer next month.) Creative preparation is part of the scouting experience.

Don't knock neighborhood hikes! Especially if they include preparing a meal in a local park. It really is # of hikes over length of hikes. When the blisters came in my crew, it was at mile 1. I'm not saying limit town hikes to just a mile. But most of the challenge is getting everyone past that first mile. When a contingent can do that, then the stream crossing skills and other things can proceed with all present. I suspect that your crew will be the least of your ranger's worries.

Never say never. BSA HA bases have the meals packed in advance. Very little forethought required. Seabase: no campfires. Philmont: depends on the weather. World Jamboree's tents are going to be in a crate in a field waiting for us. If a boy chooses his HA's so that meals are ready-packed, his tent is folded, and half his gear is provided, I would feel that he's missing the letter and spirit of the requirements. In a sense the weekend "PLOP" camp-outs around his area may require a whole different set of skills and provide opportunities big-ticket scouting could never offer. It's a funny badge that way. It's not about the numbers, yet it is about the numbers. I would never feel sorry for the 20+ HA guy. He's had lots of fun. He just doesn't earn the merit badge. I've never understood why this is a problem.

Short answer: BSA doesn't offer much in guidelines for a reason: it's a big country. Everything you mentioned is an activity. Certainly helping their fellow scouts do Eagle projects is an activity. Studying in school is not an activity. Going to church is not an activity. But ... Maybe a patrol decides to take a special class at school, or speak at an assembly about scouting, or the troop visits a church and participates in the service in uniform. They may throw on their uniforms and pay respects at the funeral of a departed scouter. Those would be troop/patrol activities. Now, you could split hairs. If the course is over a few weeks (e.g. swimming lessons every Wednesday) does that count as one or multiple activities? My suggestion: ask the scouts what they think. Whatever you do, don't take your cues from strangers on the internet.

@willray, I would not be so dismissive of Bryan's Blog, it is very much intended to be an official mouthpiece of the BSA, and Michael LoVecchio is no slouch. On the flip side, I agree that not everything in those blogs is signed off by every executive and council president. It's goal is to report from trusted sources. But, trusted sources don't know your scouts. And if you're the SM you're tracking so many things, you might be biased one way or the other towards a particular scouts unique experience. But, that's what MB counselors are for. They put some time in with the boys, read the requirements together, asks what they think about a particular log. (I'm a firm believer that a boy should present his own recollection of his camping career, and not depend on a troop database.) After dealing with lots of scouts, a counselor can be objective about these things and invest more time in an enriching discussion. For example, go down the list and ask the scout what he learned at each activity, what was the most challenging, which one he wouldn't ever do again, etc ... And I think that's the point of the requirement ... to have a number of diverse experiences of preparing, implementing, stowing gear, repeat so that the scout has something to draw on.

A patrol is a means to efficiently rove the land, spy it out, and report what's observed. The concept is as old as the book of Exodus, at least. Moses was quite explicit as to the guiding reason for the Israilite's patrol of 12, of which Joshua and Caleb were distinguished members. The guiding reason for youth patrols is to fulfill the pinnacle scouting experience of hiking and camping independently with your mates. The point of multiple patrols is to enhance skill and enjoy the fellowship of reporting to one another and your SM, adult leaders and parents.

Smoke and mirrors! Untangling this: The registration fee increase is news to me. But it looks like per continuing scouts: $33 registration $24 held by council then billed to national. $125 council dues (who are we trying to fool here?) $1-$8 rechatering fee depending on the size of the unit ($40 divided by # of scouts). $2 unit accident insurance. (I'm just projecting costs here.) So that's $185 per renewing scout per year. Half of summer camp. Perhaps scouts should quit in December and join in January to dodge the fee.

Just had this discussion with some scouts in my Jambo troop. One had experienced such nit-picking at NAOC. I gave him a suggested a frank, but respectful, reply. (If any you Uniform Police hear something that sounds like it came from a stranger on the internet, drop me a line. I'll let you know if it was my suggestion.) I think BSA botched it by declaring nonstandard the use of belts sash racks for convenient storage and display of extra regalia. If it had allowed it, then boys would be more likely to keep both sashes at the ready, only wearing one or the other over the shoulder as needed. P.S. - the belt sash rack this would also resolve the crowded MB problem. If a scout wanted to display them all, there would be a specific way to wear the extra sash.

Rules of order just serve as a means to make space for everyone to listen to everyone else. Experience with them is good thing. I've had friend from church whose first exposure was as an adult at a congregational meeting. Being a programmer/engineer he was amazed at the recursive logic built into human interactions. I pointed out that most folks want computers to imitate our nobler traits. That said, I've seen masters of those rules use them to justify any disdain they had for leadership and authority. So, while it might be good to encourage scouts to use rules of order at a PLC, you want them to use different listening skills within their patrol. And, you want to discourage them from being indignant if rules of order aren't used properly at other meetings (e.g., O/A Chapters or Venturing Officers Associations).

Rules of order are next-level. Your PLC should be proud for even trying to use them. I wouldn't ask for a recount based on technically. If some PL's felt left out, they could move for a vote of no confidence in the SPL. But, it is probably better to just wait until the next election cycle and see if candidates bring up these changes as justification for election/reelection.

Certainly when I was a scout, the SMs and ASMs were nowhere to be found on my BoRs. My dad was on the committee, and they would be held after the troop meetings. The SM would go upstairs to give his report, and any boys waited downstairs, he would come back down and then the boys "went up" for their BoRs, one at a time.

I would not put into by-laws anything about advancement except that you all will comply with BSA's Guide to Advancement and maximize the opportunities for youth leaders to sign off on requirements under the direction of the Scoutmaster. You could add that any counselor failing to teach the entire content of an MB's requirements and review each scouts completion of those requirements on an individual basis will be black-listed from the troop and never again recommended to counsel any other scouts in the troop, district, or counsel. Don't worry about the 'semblance of evil when what matters is evil personified.

Son #2 asked me to be his Eagle Project advisor. Aside from that, I didn't sign-off with Sons and Daughter because -- although I knew that I was best at many of the requirements -- I fondly go through my old book from time to time, and cherish those PL signatures. I wanted them to have that same sense of a panoply of leaders that I had as a scout. So, my thinking: If someone else is the better expert, send your son to him. If he is almost as good, but you think you think that person deserves a significant role in your son's life, send your son to him. If your son knows your the best at that requirement, and asks you to help him with it, dive in. As other's said, you wont regret it.

A friend's daughter created her LP as a "do something club" that was entirely service oriented. It lasted until her peers started worrying about college, and she got a job as a barista to save up for books, etc ... On one slow day at the shop after she had served my iced-coffee, we caught up on her plans for the future, and her reflections on high school. She said, "I really wish we had done more exciting stuff, like backpacking." Before my drink started to boil in my hand, she said that she knew that I was always "there" for her. I guess what LPs can gain from a troop is inspiration to commit to a panoply of adventure.

Hi @Kudu, thanks for coming back to stir the pot! I've meet a few such lone patrols (LP). Thanks to a relative's cabin or farm and a generally free-and-open city and state park system, Western PA is rife with youth going hiking and camping independently with their mates. The recently instituted requirements for, and legalistic definitions of, adult supervision, make BSA a very hard sell for an LP. But, absent those here's my observation: The Pro's of of a (LP) joining a troop: Metrics: the LP may now have an objective rating of their performance through competition and sharing of reports. Ethics: the LP may now acquire a common set of ideals with which to challenge themselves and other patrols. Association: the LP may now access their community's most dedicated adults and get constructive feedback on any plans and designs. Materials: the LP now has access to more/better materials through bulk purchases and shared maintenance. Fellowship: members of LP can feel isolated. It may turn out that their LP stinks -- or he/she stinks in the opinion of that patrol. In a troop, the observant LP member can request transfer to another patrol. The Con's: Abdication of Real leadership. In an LP, if you don't serve your mates well, they'll invest their time elsewhere -- there's an immediate cost to failing to lead. Joining a troop provides the temptation to pass on real leadership. The former LP may bank on the troop to take up slack, and repeatedly drawing on those reserves will leave the LP with nothing of distinction. Clumsiness. Free-range patrols drive their parents nuts because they make plans quickly as soon as they see openings in schedules. Troops demand that patrols stop and think about their next move. The other patrols might have expectations. At the very least the LP will have to seriously consider meeting those expectations. More often, that is not a question of "if", but "how." Infrastructure burden. All LP members can quickly agree to use one media platform. E.g., they may meet at a particular park bench every morning. To offset clumsiness, a troop needs to maintain a more permanent presence, and the LP must now contribute to that maintenance by providing QMs, TGs, JASMs, Scribes, Librarians, Buglers, etc ...

Scout #1. Tell her to not think of it as "telling" so much as asking firmly. In fact here's an approach that I found worked for some scouts: For scout stuff, get into the habit of addressing each member of your patrol formally, with titles. E.g. Mister/Miss Surname. Each "command" begins with "Please" and ends with "Thank You". E.g., "Please get the fire started while Miss is getting our supplies. Thank you." In other words, she needs a culturally appropriate language that frees her from worrying about things like pushing her friends around. Make clear that you expect to see her demonstrate progress immediately, and emphasis your confidence that he can succeed if he tries. Scout #2. You must arrange a brief conference with him. Tell him that you observed particularly unhealthy behavior. A scout is helpful. Ask him if he wants to be a scout? Ask if he treats his parents this way. (I bet on some levels, he does.) Chances are he'll Tell him that if he wants to continue to be a scout, he'll to be helpful to his patrol ... both the one assigned by the troop, and the one assigned by the Almighty (i.e., his family). Make clear that you expect to see him demonstrate progress immediately, and emphasis your confidence that he can succeed if he tries. We'll worry about what happens to those scouts if they don't improve in short order.

On my small-troop experience, whoever did the work held the position, patches were superfluous. But how this wound up was a couple of older scouts would stay after and we asked them how things are going and what we should do next. IMHO, focus your attention on the PL+APL if they are showing up, and if other scouts are joining them and it's making everyone productive, keep it going. In the process you will identify who might be the better QM vs Scribe vs Librarian, etc ... There is no point in formally convening a PLC until the troop has three patrols who need to coordinate. Then, PL/APL from each patrol and the SPL/ASPL are your PLC -- effectively or "leadership patrol." Again, I don't go checking patches to see who is sitting there. If a scout's doing work, he has a say. In this context, how the weekly after-meeting goes is that some weeks it's obvious that what the plan for the next week will be so SPL says, "See you next week." Other weeks we have to hash out a number of details or follow-up on a bunch of activities, so the meeting is about a half hour. In that case, the SPL will let the leaders know that he'll need more of their time that week.