Region 7 Voyageur

When I leave a wilderness location after a Scouting function I strive to leave no trace. Whatever trace I do leave is the same regardless of the jacket that I wear.

Sometimes young men do not see things as well as adults. Please allow me to tell my personal story. I became a Boy Scout in September 1970. At that time you had to be 11 years old to join Boy Scouts. During that fall two things happened that affected my scouting career. At the first court of honor I attended a young man became the first Eagle Scout from our troop. He was a senior in high school and was a few months from turning 18. In November of that year my father died at the age of 39 after years of alcohol abuse. I made achieving the rank of Eagle my main goal in life. I

If you cant kick a dead horse when it is down, when can you kick it? This is my opinion, a Scout that is very active, has set personal goals, and works consistently at advancing will achieve the Eagle rank when he is 14 years old. This is good! A Scout may then look to earning Eagle Palms, or joining a Venturing Crew and working towards the Silver Award and the Ranger Award. A Scout may also have an interest in working towards the Quartermaster Award in a Sea Scout Ship. Scouts that I have observed that have earned Eagle at 17+ years of age have usually had long periods of inactiv

SFmike, I am sorry to hear that your son has passed away.

I have doubts about the veracity of this story. I suspect that this is a story made up to spur silly arguments between us about subjects that have already been argued. Lets see: 16 year old Second Class ScoutWhat has he been doing in his first four troops? Adult who needs to get trained before they can be registered? What happened to the existing Assistant Patrol Leader? How does a Scout that only made it to Second Class then earn seven merit badges at summer camp while sleeping in his tent? This Scout seems to have impressed the other members of the troop enough

Oh No! Scoutstuff.org says that there is a "Class A" uniform. https://scoutnet.scouting.org/BSASupply/ItemDetail.aspx?ctlg=05NDC&ctgy=PRODUCTS&c2=UNIFORMS&C3=USHIRTS&C4=&LV=3&item=BSSSS Cut and paste this address into your browser and see the uniform shirt for the "Class A" uniform.(This message has been edited by Region 7 Voyageur)

A Scout may choose any of the 15 required merit badges in the 12 categories to fulfill requirement

I agree with the idea that it is always better to file a local tour permit than not to. The council that I serve in has stated in writing that trips within the council do not require a permit. It appears that this is in compliance with the statement "Local councils set re-quirements(sp) for travel fewer than 500 miles one-way." that is found on this page at national's web site. http://www.scouting.org/awards/10-278/index.html

My son is 13 and he is registered to go to the Jamboree this year. I believe that the Scout in question in this thread is eligible to go this year, but it is probably too late to get registered now.(This message has been edited by Region 7 Voyageur)

In our local news there has been much talk about an Eagle Scout from Naperville that was killed in Iraq. Here is a link to CBS web-site with more info. Our troop has a campout planned to the forest preserve where the bridge is located next month. It will make a good hike. http://cbs2chicago.com/topstories/local_story_115171458.html

Consul the young Life Scouts on learning leadership, responsibility, and service. Help them to really learn from working on merit badges, their position of responsibility, and their leadership project. In no way hold them back. It seems that parents of Eagle Scouts that finished just short of their 18th birthday are more inclined to think that becoming Eagle at any younger age is too young. Though this may not be backed by actual fact I have listened to many parents that think this way. I have never heard this thing about affecting the high school transcript.

Bob White, thank you for the quick response. I too do not think that it would be the best method. I have heard of Charters that have done this and I wondered about how if fit in the BSA policy.

Does any one know (Bob White?) if a Charter Organization may require that the unit(s) that they charter wear the complete uniform? In other words even though BSA does not require a uniform can a Charter Organization require that all registered members in their units wear the complete and correct uniform?(This message has been edited by Region 7 Voyageur)

Well, it looks as though I made an assumption that was incorrect.

Saying the word may is not the same as saying may or may not. The requirements book says that work on an Eagle Scout Leadership Service Project may count towards the requirement for Star or Life ranks. How can a Scoutmaster then say that these hours may not count? The reason for Scoutmaster approval of service hours is to make sure that what a scout intends to do is truly service to the community. I have heard of some off the wall things that some scouts have thought should count as service. As I stated in my previous post, a Scoutmaster (along with the Committee Chair, and the Distri

Page 20 of "Boy Scout Requirements 2005" book covers this issue. On that page it states "For Star and Life ranks, a Scout must perform six hours of service to others. This may be done as an individual project or as a member of a patrol or troop project. Star and Life serevice projects may be approved for Scouts assisting on Eagle service projects. The Scoutmaster must approve the project before it is started." My opinion is that service hours performed while working on another Scout's Eagle project, which must have already been approved by the Scoutmaster as part of its approval proce

Sure there are many in Scouting that use the term Class A or Class B when referring to uniforms. The problem is that these terms mean different things to different people. When someone says Class B are they referring to the same uniform items as the activity uniform as described in the Insignia Guide? Or, are they referring to someone wearing some form of Scouting related T-shirt with any pants or shorts or socks or hat? Mike Walton is considered an unofficial authority by many on the Boy Scout Uniform. He talks of a class A, B, C, and D uniform. His definition of a Class B uniform i

The Guide to Safe Scouting requires a "Certified Instructor". The NRA offers training for "Range Safety Officers" and "Certified Instructors". I have completed both courses. The certified rifle instructor course that I took was a Friday night through Sunday noon class. The range safety officer class was an all day Saturday affair. I do not believe that being a range safety officer qualifies you as a certified instructor in accordance with the Guide to Safe Scouting.(This message has been edited by Region 7 Voyageur)

Last Sunday I was driving home from a troop outing listening to the radio and the news about the passing of John Paul II. My son said that all he really knew of the man was that he was old, had Parkinsons disease, was hunch over and mumbled. What a different image he has of the man than I did. I think of a vibrant energetic leader who seemed very approachable and loving. I was not a Roman Catholic when John Paul II was elected but I became one in the 1980s. The living faith and warmth that I saw in him (and John Paul I) seemed so much different to me than what I saw in Pope Paul VI. My t

Lynda J mentions Another problem with adults in housing projects is most probably wouldn't pass the background checks. I hate to say that but in one of the project housing developments here criminal history is at about 95%.. I was told (maybe incorrectly) that the background check is for the information of the charter organization. The charter org decides if anything in it disqualifies an adult from serving as a leader. Does anyone know if this is true?

I am all for young scouts having motivation and working hard toward earning Eagle at an early age. If they complete the requirements they qualify as Eagles. However it sounds from your posting that quite a bit of thought and possibly planning has gone into this potential project before your son is a Life Scout. It sounds like contact has been made with a benefactor organization and details and costs have been figured already. These things are part of planning for the project. The Eagle Scout Leadership Service Project is to be planned and carried out while a scout is of the Life rank.

The following is just my opinion: I have no problem with my scout pants and scout shorts. I do not like the looks of the current cargo pants and shorts. I prefer the plain pocketed trousers and shorts. Last year national supply was having a sale on the non-cargo pants and shorts. I think that they were trying to clear their inventory on discontinued items. I stocked up. I have a pair of pants that I bought in 1998 and have worn weekly since then. The material wears like iron! I just picked two pairs of scout pants (non-cargo) from e-bay for $20 each. My pants fit even better when

mhager, You state that you were awarded the Eagle Rank in 1986. On your Eagle application you signed a statement saying that everything on the application is true and correct. With that application you had to show evidence of living the Scout Oath and Law in your daily life. The Scout Oath says that you will do your best to do your duty to God. The Scout Law says that a Scout is Reverent. Were you truthful when you signed your Eagle application? Or, have you become an atheist since you were awarded the Eagle rank? If you were an atheist as a youth then you lied on your Eagle app

NYScoutmaster If I understand your post correctly you wear the Eagle rank patch on your assistant scoutmaster uniform, and your reason is because you earned it? Do you wear your Bobcat patch and any Webelos activity pins too?

Trevorum's post brings another question to my mind. If a scout earned the UU religious award before 1998 may they still wear the award today or a knot to represent it?(This message has been edited by Region 7 Voyageur)