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I've found this with venturing females as well. The ones who haven't had formal recognition as leaders before are really enthused to hold a position. They don't even care about the patch (especially if they weren't in GS/USA). They just want to be trusted with some responsibility. And the smile on their face when you give them a "well done" is priceless. If I were you, before summer camp, I would take a shot at teaching ILST (Introduction to Leadership Skills for Troops) for PLs APLs and any youth interested in running for SPL. If one of the girls was a venturer, she may have taken ILSC. If so, you could ask her to lead the course. It really is intended to be a youth-coordinated youth-taught kind of thing. Obviously, schedules might be full and this takes up the better part of the day. Even if you can't fit in ILST ... if you are on course to have the lion-share of each current patrols at summer camp, I strongly suggest you move up your SPL elections to before you depart for camp. Two or three campouts is enough for youth to decide who they think would be a good leader for the week. I don't think you will regret having one youth and her assistant "on point" for the entire week. Really, PL is the much harder job at camp, and your patrols -- especially very new ones -- really need stable leadership. In this circumstance, the SPL basically fills out rosters assigning patrols to troop-wide responsibilities, leads roll call, and does occasional after-action review with the PLs (i.e., practices holding PLCs). At the end of the week, you can ask your camp SPL and ASPL if they are still interested in serving in September. They may not be because of other extracurricular obligations. Either way, your scouts will go into the fall with a better idea in their head about what to expect from an SPL if they see one trying to work the position for a week straight.

It makes no sense that they would "do a swap" just to get the SPL tapped out. All three boys could be elected as well as just two. So, if they were going to commit fraud, the simplest thing to do was change the vote count. Did you all have pre-printed or write-in ballots? I ask because one of the mistakes scouts often do is write the first name of one scout and the last name of another on the same line. I would have gone beyond the OA rep to the lodge advisor. Anyway, you're not going to have any peace about this until you confront the SM and/or CC and let them know what you observed. To do that before or after the lodge advisor chimes in? Your call.

@Cburkhardt, It's obvious there is a debate as to how many patrols have to be formed before a troop needs an SPL. It's a big country, so you'll have to make a boots-on-the-ground decision about that. I'm of the opinion that two PL's and their assistants can sit at a table and plan meetings/activities without needing an SPL. If they have a field of dreams a stick and some ball for duct tape, it's obvious who will be versus who in the first round of playoffs. They and their assistants and any other scouts who are making rank quickly can gather over breakfast/pizza and have the troop's first ILST. Like @DuctTape says, they can decide which position they need to fill first. Another troop has given them a bunch of gear? Maybe they need a QM. Donations of books? Librarian. Etc ... @David CO is absolutely right that a mature scout or two from another troop can be a godsend. That's problematic for troops of girls who aren't linked with a troop of boys (or, informally with a co-ed crew that does a lot of hiking and camping). But, even without that, after three months of real activity, the PL's and assistants who you have will be "senior" in terms of the leadership "school-of-hard-knocks." You and your ASMs can sit on the opposite edge of a big old field with one patrol in one corner another in the opposite corner and watch them normalize before your eyes. It's when you recruit a few more scouts and those two patrols are oversize that the calculus changes. They need to form that third patrol. You need to be in the middle of the field -- and they, at three corners. Your head is going to be turned away from someone. Therefore, a scout and assistant have to shuttle around and check up on them, then report to you how things are going. The PLC is now 6. The troop leadership is now the size of a patrol in its own right, teams now have to take turns on that field of dreams, and to make things like that work amicably, the lines of communication need to switch from mutual to hierarchical. You may already be at that critical mass for an SPL. Or, you may have scouts like @Eagledad describes, who looking at that handbook and thinking that they'd like that patch even though the position would be make-work. Regardless, the one thing you don't want to do is have an adult doing the work of an SPL. Better to leave the position empty or try to coach a scout up to that level than give any inkling to the scouts that they can let an adult steal their leadership development.

When you have three or more patrols (about 24 scouts), elect an SPL, it's that simple. What changes is the frequency that the PLC meets. Starting out, you may need it have weekly short meetings. Eventually the patrols will stand independently enough that you can space meetings apart.

Just a heads up: that link has some click bait that hijacks the page to present a fake survey pretending to be from Firefox.

Son #2 prefers gentle persuasion, but the other day at the plant he realized that a couple of workers were taking advantage of that leadership style and assuming they could just watch their partners do the job. He instantly switched to "boss mode" because he wanted to end the week early and with successfully completing the tasks needed to keep the plant on schedule. (Did I mention that he's an intern!?) Maybe you do need to tread carefully with your volunteers, but generally when we find the tail wagging the dog it's time for a reset. Well golly. Now I'm gonna have to decide if "Uniforming ... it's not just about the cloth" can make a run against "Stupid happens fast" on the list of Q-isms to carve on my tombstone.

Our council has been doing something like this for decades. I think it was through the scoutreach program. Probably it is a "slack" week. Our reservation had one where all of the tents from the last session were left up for a week. It was a sweet spot just before HS fall sports seasons were allowed to start practice. The VoA used it to pilot a "super-activity" summer camp. It eventually became the camps "trek" program for older scouts. I'm wondering if this is a week that used to be filled by Venturing, Sea Scouts, or LDS.

Yes. In different ways. For a while we would not honor the signature of an ASM if it was in the book of his son or nephew. Then once we trained boys in sign-offs, we effectively revoked sign-offs of all adults. Then when we merged troops, we learned that the other troop's SM had revoked PL sign-offs because they were passing boys who barely showed any skill (if at all). His scouts were young and didn't have enough mature natural leaders to set the tone. After we merged, the SPL brought me a scout, explaining that a requirement was completed. I asked him if he saw the scout complete it. He said he did, then nearly fainted when I handed him the pen and said my signature doesn't deserve to be on that line. Now, we are at a happy medium where boys talk to the leader who actually saw them do the requirement and ask if they did it well enough. Finally, after a few disruptive years, everyone seems to be mastering skills equally well. The scouts are winning klondikes, they are serving up some pretty good meals, the senior scouts are asking for tougher challenges. Uniforming ... its not just about cloth.

The standard issue coffee pot from the aluminum patrol mess kits does a great job at this when you forget to brink your moka pot.

The equivalent of "Class-A" in the military would be a blue jacket/red tie combo. The equivalent of military "Class-B" would be the field uniform. Then there's the BDU -- with no youth equivalent, and the fitness uniform (a.k.a. gym cloths) which would be our scouts' activity shirts. The boys' scout uniform should not be treated as an "indoor, don't get it dirty" piece of cloth. However, that ideal is undermined by the obsession with the "third world general" feel of the ODL design, the cost-effective alternative of imported t-shirts, the size of patches, and the rise of technical fabric for every type of activity. Maybe even the Army's sharp look of their "Class-B" uniform has this effect as well. The insignia guide doesn't help, as armchair wonks now feel free to criticize every image that scouting magazine posts of scouts and scouters in action with something non-compliant. A good scout uniform should look like it's seen a few campfires. Inspection sheets should probably include bonus points for stains and smudges.

@Treflienne I can think two strategies 1. drills and competitions on the material that was signed off. This could be on a campout where the prize for demonstrated mastery is dessert. To make it interesting, score the scouts (on a 0 to 5 scale or something simple) on each skill you tested, but then, assign that score, not to the scout, but to the leader who sign off on her requirement. The leader who has the highest score gets recognized for producing quality scouts at the next CoH. The leader in last place gets a "Sign it when you see it" totem (maybe to wear around his/her neck when in uniform). 2. The SM and the CC also have a nuclear option. They can simply ask the scout at an SMC or BoR, "If I asked you to <insert requirement here>. Could you do it?" A scout is trustworthy, if she says "no" have her come back to complete the SMC/BoR next week or when she knows that she mastered the skill. On her honor. If the scout says "yes" but then later is found to struggle with the skill, ask "What happened? I thought you told me that you had mastered <insert requirement here>." What do we need to do to get you back on track. In the meantime, it's okay to agree to disagree with other adults on things like this. For good or ill, no matter what we ASMs think and how loud we say it. The attitudes of the SM and the CC will rub off on the youth, and eventually if the youth step up, they will set the correct tone. Stay the course. This is a marathon, not a sprint.

If we are talking about first camping activity, obviously that would be troubling because half of the requirements can only be completed on a campout! But, I think the scouter means "before summer camp", which wouldn't trouble me at all. Every scoutmaster should want all of their youth in top shape before they land in the middle of a bustling camp three months from now? In my troop, that means being sure the scouts are physically fit, that they are ready for patrol cooking for a week straight, that they know enough knots to set up canvas, and that they can look sharp at flag ceremony. (That latter one is no joke. One year, we drilled our scouts at the church's flag pole at every meeting until every patrol could handle the flag flawlessly.) We put it on our PLs to train and sign-off on T2F skills at camp -- be on a weekend or at summer camp -- regardless of what other time the PL would like to spend on his own advancement. I would far rather have our PLs enter summer camp with only one two boys needing to earn tenderfoot than all eight. Keep in mind in a new troop, the PL wouldn't even have made rank. The PL's job is to qualify to take the patrol hiking and camping. First class rank is that qualification. Now that may take a couple of years, but it starts with giving everyone confidence by getting most of the scouts to nail those tenderfoot skills within a couple of months.

I think @The Latin Scot we all are victims of an inordinate elevation of Eagle rank ... to the point that I fear many scouts who could do otherwise just "stop there." Case in point: avid readers of Bryan's Blog, know that Eldred was the first Eagle scout. How was the first Quartermaster, Silver Awardee, or Summit Awardee? A scout's Eagle project should be the first of many such endeavors. It is truly impressive when youth coalesces his/her next four projects along a single theme in a few short years. The Hornaday award (along with awards in Venturing, Sea Scouts, and Exploring) have been undersold by BSA and NESA. FWIW, no scout needs to earn Eagle to earn Hornaday. But the Eagle project may count toward one of the 5 projects needed for the Hornaday silver medal. So if you have a scout who is really into conservation projects but his advancement is flagging because of MB ennui, consider introducing him to the Hornaday awards.

Pot, not machine (https://primulaproducts.com/product/lifestyle/the-flash/aluminum-stovetop-espresso-coffee-maker-1-cup/). And no paper is harmed in expressing flavor from the grounds. There is a weight-trade-off -- especially because you have to jury-rig most burners to fit the smaller pots. That said, I love a good pour-over. And of course, runnier coffee means more volume, for which standard mugs abound. My fave is REI's durable plastic mug. Others have discussed their favorite 8+ ouncer cups at length in other threads. But, I'm really aiming for something that replaces the gold-rimmed porcelain cups, saucers, and spoons that I take to summer camp. It's all fine if I can transport it securely in my car. But I doubt they would be treated so gingerly in and out of the hold of a bus.

Suppose your goal is to serve the best campsite espresso at a World Scout Jamboree. You know which beans you will secure, you know which moka pots you will bring, and you have a grinder in mind. Although for most spontaneous activities, you stock up 2oz Solo Cups (a.k.a., hillbilly demitasse), for extended stays, you'd like something durable, washable, and potentially exchangeable. There are two occasions at which your family have an opportunity to get you some suitable cups for gifts. The start asking what you'd like, and you have no idea. What do you do? Get recommendations fr the Scouter forum, of course! Go!

Micheal Del Vecchio is national's number cruncher. You might want to reach out to him. Also the scouting museum may have a compilation. You mar want to send them an inquiry.

@Drastent, It stinks on a level that I can't begin to contemplate. During years 18-20, Son #1 and Son #2 were go-to guys for church youth group overnights. Meanwhile troop adults-over-40 were sucking the oxygen out of the room, and venturing had nothing to offer that they couldn't do on their own without the burden of paperwork and adult "minders." And it's a downer for me, as well. What's the point of being an advisor if you have to be in the vicinity for every activity and meeting?

Once upon a time, we all carried our med forms in our wallets, Subcutaneous RFId's would end this discussion. Or better yet, sub-lingual tattoos. Scout sticks out tongue, doc reads bar code. Privacy, emergency access, security.

I'm not comfortable with the "us vs. them" mentality. WB courses are area events. This is because a single council cannot possibly set up a course to suit all of its scouter's schedules. It's intended to be a "you train my scouters, I'll train yours" scenario. The OP's situation is that the extra vacation time is available this year, not next. I think the situation is that this year he can attend summer camp and the WB weekends, and next year he'll have to pick and choose. So, waiting until next year may mean setting aside summer camp to attend WB. I can't imagine any council wanting to lose a leader actually serving youth for a week just so course fees pass through its coffers instead of its neighbors.

Simple solution: stop using Email. Pay the USPS 50 cents a pop to find your Arrowman.

Wow, Joe, I don't know if I'm sorry you missed this or sorrier that you found out! We've been going on about is for a year ... I think I got the early scoop at our University of Scouting. Some lawyers must have thought some 18 year olds had done something real bad on account of their immature brains. (Brains that, evidently, are of the ideal malleability for college and war.)

If it's one thing GS know how to do, it's parse time reqs.k I don't think this is a marketing piece, the brands aren't conflated, so it's fair use. It's a century late for GS/USA to castigate its troops for using BSA materials. The more interesting thing about this group of Rochester girls: they all seem old enough to be venturers, but they opted for Scouts BSA instead.

This happens from time to time. Somebody not being allowed to hold their talking stick when and where they want to. @SSF Why don't you start your own topic of Abysmal Examples of Scouts BSA for Girls? That way you can have the moderators ding everyone who posts something positive. Then those folks can claim foul about being manipulated by elites. @Cburkhardt, you have gone to some lengths to reply to everyone who hasn't proffered the responses that you'd like to see. That's nice. But I will note that it only intends to invite equally long off-topic aggrieved retorts. It kind of defeats your purpose. We can still enjoy opposing views on this forum. But, going around raining on someone's parade is not the way to do it.

I was very strict with myself about calling my venturers young men and young women. More to let them know that's what I expected of them then out of any sense of political correctness. If I'm talking about my troop, I will use the term "boys" more than before because the distinction may be informative to some. If I'm talking about the new troop in an adjacent district I will use "girls" -- again, the distinction may be informative. Simple example, that troop may need a chaperone for backpacking. They already have a male leader. If five more guys step forward, because I didn't specify the sex in the first place, we've wasted all of my time. Other than that, collectively, I've called them scouts.

@BuffaloAnnie, welcome! And thanks for all you do for our youth.