RememberSchiff

Pretty vague requirements. We looked at the Interpreter requirements long ago, rolled our eyes, and all wondered if our scouts could even qualify for the "English" strip? I think more specifics should be added to reflect likely conversations among scouts from different countries at a Jamboree - "Do you want to trade patches?", "Where is the nearest latrine?", "Is that miles or kilometers?", "Do you have girls in your unit?" ...

Today, I suspect our scouts could earn ,if it exists, "TEXT MESSAGE" or is that "WU?" (What's up?).

I wonder if there were "igPay atinLay" or "Kookie Talk" strips?

Don't know about Little League, Cal Ripken, Pop Warner, soccer, etc., but Boy & Girls and 4-H are larger and growing.

2007 - Boy's & Girls Club 4.6 million youth, coed,

2007 - 4H, 6.5 million members, coed

Thank you for working through this with the scout. I hope he and his family thanks you at some point.

What would I have done? I would have added to the drama, spelled out the situation, and had scout plan his next steps during BOR. Maybe you did this.

Hold the BOR in a room where the wall clock has been set 10-15 minutes ahead. Start later or run the meeting longer (that was a Friday night) and ask scout to develop HIS plan to be a leader in troop and work towards Eagle in the next 6 months (I would provide calendar and other reference material). This would be reviewed by an openly skeptical Board. Have some discussion over it's merits, give him feedback, glance at clock 11:56, argue some more 11:58, 12:01... (yeah, I miss "24")

Then the Board Chairman says 'Well I think we are all agreed. Are we past the deadline? Say, that clock is wrong by my watch. This time we will go by my watch, but the District Eagle Board will not be as flexible. They believe that failure to plan, does not constitute an emergency on their part, consequently they only meet at preset times during the year. As we have demonstrated tonight, the adults in this troop are here to help you, but your future success lies with you completing your plan. Tomorrow is a new day and a good time to start. By your plan we are expecting you in front of this Board in December. Good luck.'

Hmmm size,

I have been curious about the number of employees in councils, especially as I read that councils now have spokespersons, marketing specialists, media liaisons,... I remember when far fewer "employees" served a greater number of scouts. My old council office staff (two) back then was part-time and handled all the badges (Scout stores did not exist yet, families shopped at local dept stores for uniforms and other scout stuff.)

Well I am thankful that there are still American-made motorcycles

I have been a scout leader in four different units and webmaster for three, here's my $0.02

1. Do not upload to Youtube, Facebook, MySpace, etc. unless you have no issue with scouts navigating those sites. Alot of easily accessible, inappropriate material there. Even stop-motion, LEGO animation on Youtube looks fine but then surprise, the soundtrack includes vulgarity. These sites typically ask "registered users" to flag inappropriate content, yeah that works - NOT.

I know the BSA, councils, and units have leaped onto posting to these very popular sites but I don't think they gave it due consideration. Granted some will embed a Youtube video so a scout does not have to go directly to the Youtube website, but the Youtube watermark is on the video as an invite. Maybe someday, there will be a SAFE social network site for scouts to post photos, video, etc.

2. Photos are great but place them in a password-protected area and change password every so often. At first, I had photos publicly available, but as I checked the access log to my website, I discovered some porn IP's hitting the photo galleries and then there was Google which thinks it has a God-given right to catalog all images whether you block them or not. I digress, assuming you have parental permission to post photos, let everyone sleep easier by password protecting access to photos.

3. Do not identify scouts directly or indirectly in any photos - no first name, no initials, no Charlie's son,... Those that need to know already know.

4. A scout unit can operate just fine without a website. You mentioned your unit has gone 4 years without a website, has it suffered for lack of a website.

Anyway my $0.02

"See you at camp on Sunday at noon".

Let parents work out the transportation details themselves.

Yeah, you will annoy some either way.

What I decided in past, if the scout is in the full camp uniform (even if it's just a Camp t-shirt) then scout salute, otherwise out-of-uniform then hand over heart. Also, in your situation with ball caps, there are fewer problems with Cubs if they keep their caps on their heads for a flag ceremony as taking caps off is asking for trouble.

Camp Augustine near Grand Island, Nebraska has tornado shelters. They were built back in the 80's in the aftermath of tornado destruction. The nearby Girl Scout Camp Cosmopolitan does as well. Both camps have shelters built into hillsides.

The Omaha World Herald http://www.omaha.com/ has detailed coverage including several eyewitness text accounts, a log of update reports from yesterday, and a gripping 14 sec video of tornado - you hear the warning siren and 'There ain't no scouts up there.'

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25107608/

LITTLE SIOUX, Iowa - An apparent tornado struck a Boy Scout camp in western Iowa on Wednesday, and local media reported four deaths at the camp, as well as many injuries.

A dispatch operator with the Harrison County Sheriff's Office said first responders were at the camp site and more were en route to the camp, located about one hour north of Omaha.

Arli Hasbrouck, a spokeswoman for the Boy Scouts of America's Mid-American Council in Omaha, confirmed for the Des Moines Register that four Scouts were killed in the tornado, but she had no numbers of how many were injured.

"That's all we know at this point," she told the Register. "We've got lots of Scouters on their way to help."

Terry Landsvork, a meteorologist in Valley, Neb., said law enforcement officials had called the weather service Wednesday evening and reported the deaths and injuries at the Little Sioux Scout Ranch in Iowa's Loess Hills.

"Last we heard, hospitals in Omaha had an alert for 40 inbound injuries," Landsvork said.

David Hunt, chairman of the Mid-America Boy Scout Council's Goldenrod District, which covers several eastern Nebraska counties, said the camp was hosting a leadership development course for boys.

Hunt said he didn't know specifically where the boys were from but thought they would have come from eastern Nebraska and western Iowa.

The 1,800-acre ranch is about 15 minutes east of Interstate 29, near Little Sioux. Its amenities include hiking trails through narrow valleys and over steep hills, a 15-acre lake and a rifle range.

The tornado touched down as Iowa's eastern half grappled with flood conditions in several of its major cities. The storm threatened to stretch Iowa's emergency response teams even further.

A meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Omaha also told the Des Moines Register that the tornado went through at about 6:35 p.m., about 12 minutes after the warning went out.

This breaking news story will be updated.

Hi AhoyDave.

Here are some changes I would like to see, I would be interested in your take.

Make scout advancement and leadership tracks separate again (as they used to be!). It's great that scouting teaching leadership skills but not all scouts will be or can be leaders. This can be particularly hard for autistic scouts who have difficulty staying on task and making eye contact, but it can also be hard for neuro-typicals too. "But Leaderhip Development is a method of Scouting", yeah so is Uniform and uniforms are optional.

As you note, require that a parent of a special need scout be a registered "one scout" leader who is only responsible to deliver the program to his scout. He or she will not have other special need scouts dumped on them, similarly, other leaders will not have special needs scouts dumped on them WITHOUT that "one scout" parent leader being present. Also "one scout" leaders will not be part of a leader headcount for two-deep leadership etc. It is definitely true, that a special needs scout needs a "champion" in Scouting just as he needs an "advocate" in the school system.

The disabled do not need to be reminded at every advancement turn that they are disabled; most join scouting in the hope NOT to be reminded. At present, the scout has to submit a request for alternate requirements to the Council Advancement committee at every rank step when most unit leaders can handle the matter without compromising advancement integrity.

Patrol competitions are a big challenge. At a Klondike Derby, we had a PL in tears. He wanted to win, but his patrol spent their energies keeping a special needs scout from wandering off. What can be done here? Does Special Olympics handling of competitive team events have some advice here?

Disabilities Merit Badge needs a rewrite - no Talk, no Discuss, no Googling, no Observing...DO! Learn by working with disabled, e.g., Work with a special needs scout to advance a rank, Volunteer with ..., raise service dogs,...

I wish I could counter your experiences with some success stories of my own but I cannot, not yet anyway.

If you had it to do over, how would you have better spent your time to meet your son's needs?

Thank you for your candor and your service to Scouting. I encourage you to write more on the subject as God knows the uninformed certainly do. I hope your son finds happiness as he makes his place in the world.

Odd that John Glenn was never a Scout.

If you feel your Pack will not deliver the scouting program, then it would not hurt to look at other Packs. Attend other Pack meetings and outings with your son/den. You and the Mrs. should attend a Committee Meeting or two see if the Tiger, Wolf, and Bear parents are actively and cooperatively involved in delivering a scouting program. Look at their pack by-laws, budget. fundraising, and program calendar. Talk to members. Relay your findings to your den parents.

If things do not improve with your current Pack and you find a better Pack, transfer over and take as many of your den that want to go with you.

Worked for me, your mileage may vary. I moved my scouts to a better Pack and spent my time and energy on my scouts and not on trying to change City Hall. Happy ending.

Good questions Wilton125, maybe you can appreciate the irony...Back in the 70's, the Natick Army Labs asked me to evaluate some new cold weather gear even though I have never been a member or employee of the military, just an outdoor guy. Now I have been a member of the BSA for a longer than that, but the BSA seems uninterested in my letters. Luckily, there are a number of outdoor websites and magazine, interested in feedback from novice and expert alike, so we can pass on what we've learned.

Neckerchiefs are part of our scout heritage and universally identify us as scouts, why even those WB21ers wear them, a special one I think? Neckerchiefs are multi-purpose like duct tape. Neckers are our bandanas, cravats, slings, signal flags, water filters, dust mask, handkerchief (when wearing short sleeves), troop identifier (color, design), hobo bag... Neckers fell out of favor here when they were downsized to the point of being useless, hell I need two for a single cravat around my leg. That fact was successfully used by my PLC in their argument to switch to baseball caps. Great decision too, no neckerchiefs means no slides to whittle so our scouts don't know how to whittle; no one earning Woodcarving mb either.

Good point about the internet being available today as a feedback mechanism.

Has me wondering...

Was a survey done on scouting.org? Scouting magazine? Was there any postings at council offices? I have not seen any.

Has any forum member participated in this evaluation or even know someone who did? I asked around council and have not found anyone. I would think with the summer camps starting, that it would be an opportune time for staff to showcase the new functional, outdoor uniform, but I had heard nothing along those lines.

Will the evaluation results and a FAQ be published on scouting.org or elsewhere?

How large was the survey group? How diverse by age, size, gender? Were they all scouts and scouters?

How large was the field evaluation group? How long did the evaluation go on (interested in the weather and geography) as well as age, size, activity,..? How well did they do around a sparky campfire? Did the more stout scout need suspenders to keep pants from, well migrating south?

Why wasn't the neckerchief made functional to fit with a new functional uniform? I had hoped that shortcoming would be fixed in time for the 100th.

What attempts were made to find a US manufacturer? Is there a US manufacturer licensed to make special order uniforms.

I think these are fair and valid questions/concerns. Other forum members have also expressed fair and valid questions/concerns.

He's right about the name "Community strip", but the "community" was the location of your unit. So in the 60's, you could be a member of Troop 154 with community strips (two one town and one state) "Pennsauken" and "N.J.". Councils in my area were organized by counties. In this example Camden County Council, no council designation was worn then. With scouting on the decline today, I think it is now the South Jersey Council which covers multiple counties.

I think more are interested in what town and state you are from than what council, much better conversation starters. For me, the council patches after awhile seem generic and there is always someone who is pushing a NEW council patch, because newer is better.

Yeah and bring back the City/Town and State strips! Too bad they did not take the 60's style and color, use the wicking fabrics, and manufacture in the US. But then I want full size square neckerchief, over the collar, with a scout-carved slide too. Think I will stick with my old uniform.

As to the shirt-tail problem, here's a solution, though gender specific I think, that airs next week

http://www.nbc.com/Deal_or_No_Deal/video/#mea=257423

Maybe that's a new format for Round Table too?

I don't recall a horse. Probably too big and heavy to fit in his Cessna , besides he didn't seem to need a horse as the bad guys were always a short walk from the airstrip.

What I've read, #2 HDPE plastic (milk bottles) are though to be the safest plastic, while #1 (typical convenience store water bottles) is only recommended for short, single use water storage. I have noticed my area supermarkets are cutting back on those #1 bottles, of course, there is also a green issue does it make sense to truck water bottles when tap water has equal or better quality.

Another brief informative article

http://trusted.md/blog/vreni_gurd/2007/03/29/plastic_water_bottles

I wonder what I did with my old scout aluminum canteen. It held water and I could use it to signal Sky King.

I think Canada's decision to declare B.P.A a toxic chemical forced the product withdrawal decision. Too bad Canada was not as vigilant about their own Menu Foods dog food, eh? Ok, we share blame too.

http://www.backpacker.com/blogs/105

with a followup in June Backpacker magazine.

I think it is prudent NOT to heat plastics (hot water, microwave) due to concerns of toxins being released, but then I don't use teflon coated cookware and am a firm believer in glass baby bottles and glass lined thermos.

Anyway speaking of bottles, I think we will be left holding ours. I have seen no consumer recalls or trade-in offers.

So can this be wrapped up? I think Ed wants pie.

It has been shown that

- Scouts may wear their uniform during their Eagle Scout project which was the original question.

- Scouts are not restricted to wearing their uniforms to just scout activities.

- An Eagle Scout service project is a scout activity.

- Some councils require local tour permits for parts of the Eagle Scout service project.

No official BSA documents were presented that explicitly stated that the above practices are incorrect. Many examples were cited that the above have been common practices in the field for a considerable time. If in doubt, check with your Eagle Board.

Well good thing the Eagle service project is a scout activity, otherwise YP, a BSA policy, would not apply.

Not my rules, I cited examples of councils that require local tour permits for Eagle Scout service projects. No one was talking about other scout activities you mentioned - OA or Jamboree.

Sounds like you are advising Eagle candidates in those councils to ignore their council rules as they work on their Eagle projects.

As eagle90 mentioned, some councils do require local tour permit for parts of an Eagle service project. Some reasons include documenting that youth protection guidelines are being followed or as a service tracking log as councils did before the National Good Turn website started.

Here's one:

http://wm.ppbsa.org/Advancement/Eagle_Scout_Elements.pdf

" Funding

b. Fund raising projects require a tour permit, detailed plan and an approved BSA fund raising permit."

" ADULT INVOVEMENT:

a. BSA policy requires 2 adults (Youth Protection Trained) to be present at any BSA activity."

Here's another

http://www.monvalleyboyscouts.org/upldDocuments/

Unit461/Microsoft%20Word%20-%20Eagle%20Scout%20

Project%20Guidelines%20for%20Scouts.pdf

"If you are transporting Scouts make file a Local Tour Permit."

Here's another

http://www.frenchcreek-bsa.org/wtd/advancement/

life_to_eagle/project_safety.pdf

Reminds Eagle candidates that the Sweet 16 Safety points including #12 Permits applies to all activities.

http://www.pioneeringprojects.org/resources/ebooks/

LeaderTrainingConference.pdf

Eagle Project Q & A

"IS A TOUR PERMIT REQUIRED? Yes. A tour permit is required any time a Scout activity takes place outside the normal meeting location"

Local scout council set local tour permit policies.