resqman

Depending on length of trip, look into the 50 Miler Afoot/Afloat award. Maybe you want to have all attendees complete swimming mb class before you go? You might want to hit a lake for a practice day of canoeing to work out the kinks before you spend a week paddling. Also check out any posts regarding Northern Tier or Charles Sommers Canoe Base. Looks of good infor about canoeing

During our Webelos invitational, we always have them make their own lunch. First they build a box oven with direction from Boy Scouts. They from a foil into cookie sheet by doubling over and then bending up the sides 1/2 inch forming a lip and providing structural stability. They place a 6 inch tortilla on pan. They get 1 or 2 spoons of pizza sause from jar and spread with back of spoon. They sprinkle handfull of cheese over sause. They select pepperoni, olives, mushrooms, etc from buffet of toppings to add to their pizzas. They place their pan and pizza in a box oven they made 15 m

Do a websearch for Box Oven. I made a box oven ahead of time for a den meeting. Had a second box and foil waiting for the lads. Split den into 2. One group lined the box with foil and stapled. The other group added 1/2 cup milk to Martha White muffin mix, stirred, poured into muffin pan and put in pre-built box oven. Added coals pre-heated in charcoal chimney. 12-14 minutes later, there were hot muffins for all to share. The first group finished their box oven so had them place store bought pre-made cookie dough on to sheet pan and bake for 12-15 minutes. The lads made an oven, mi

Bill Murray wore a red wool jacket in Stripes. Maybe he is the 6 member of this team

I attended a couple of roundtables a few years ago. Boring. They gave out a spirit stick to the troop with the most people in attendance. Our troop won it 4 out of 6 times when we had 3 people attend. The sprit stick had to "live" with your troop and the troop was expected to decorate it with some trinket from the monthly troop activity. The boys got tired of messing with the stick. The boys did not attend round table and could care less about some stupid stick the adults made them decorate. As a result, adult leadership attendance from our troop declined at round tables due to the spir

For adults, they usually stay home. Often loosing significant weight will resolve the need for CPAP.

Our Pack used to bridge the older boys first. The Webelos would bridge off to their new troop. Their Webelos neckers were removed and the troop necker put on. Next the Bears bridged. Their Bear neckers were removed and the Webelos necker put on. Where did the Webelos necker come from? Why the previous bridging. Keep this us for the Wolfs and Tigers. The Pack had a few extra of each rank in the box of bridging supplies because each den was a different size. The neckers are "Pack Property". You get one from the Pack. If the scout loses it, he has to provide a replacement to the pack.

My first uniform had the red piping on the pockets. Seemed kinda silly to be able to button up the pockets. The next version of uniforms was too light in color to hide the grime of an outdoor scouting activity. I loved my red beret. I also loved the knee high socks and garters with tabs. Never really like my red wool jacket. The wind blew right through it and it was not warm at all. My Explorer Post had uniforms that looked just like the local EMT/Paramedics. We even modeled our unit patch after the local responders. We were a First Aid, Safety and Rescue oriented Post.

I have two sons. One loves sports and spends most of his free time playing sports. Made several try-out teams and advanced to a travel team with paid coaches. Practices 3-4 times a week and games every weekend within a 3 hr drive. Several times in his life he was on mulitple teams at the same time with as many as 8 practices in a week and 3 games in a weekend. Not much time left over for scouting. Scouting did not hold any appeal to him. Other son loves science, nature and scouting. No interest in sports. Since I was a DL and now an ASM, he has had to go early and stay late to eve

"just out of interest what type of qualification do US Scout masters require in order to take Scouts out hiking? and is there any type of permit scheme in place to authorise and show that those leading such activities are up to the job?" A travel permit must be filed with the local scout office listing the two primary adults and their BSA training, vehicle information, destination and some other details. Boy Scout Volunteer Training Requirements and Electives Please take time to read the following. This is a nutshell of Boy Scout Volunteer training. A Scoutmaster or Ass

My oldest joined scouting at age 14 yrs 8 months in January 2007. He will be sitting for his EBOR this January. 36 months start to finish. He also played on a travel soccer team and high school team. He lead a very busy life. His goal was to complete Eagle in time to include on his college applications. He sent in some apps last week so did not quite make it. It is possible but the lad has to be committed to the goal and look for opportunities to complete requirements. When he started 3 yrs ago, I though he would quit by first class. Scouting is just not his thing. I am proud

Interestingly the orignial poster has already closed his account. Hit and Run.

My youngest started in Cub Scouts because I was a scout growing up. He enjoyed all the scout stuff like fire, knifes, and playing outdoors. Sports was never his thing. After 4 yrs. of him as a Cub and me a as Den Leader, we both moved on to Boy Scouts. 4 years of Boy Scouts later he stays in it because he still loves all the outdoors skills and has a set of patrol buddies he has been around since Wolf Cubs. My oldest tried Cub Scouts for a couple months. Bored to death. He went the route of sports. Played on multiple teams at the same time, travel teams, paid coaches, etc. 1st or

Technically the minimum amount of time it takes to earn the rank of Eagle is 21 months. 30 days for the physical fitness tracking of tenderfoot, plus the various minimum time in POR for the higher ranks. Nationals viewpoint is to complete 1st class in the first year. That only leaves Star, Life and Eagle which require 16 months of POR. I personally would not consider your soon ONLY having 6 years and a few months a problem in earning Eagle. In an active troop, he could earn his Eagle in 2 years but more likely it will take 4 years. My youngest son started as a Wolf and is 4 year

The public perception of scouting is growing a boy into a wilderness survival expert with knot and first aid skills. They know the highest rank is Eagle and they are supposed to be impressed that a scout earned his Eagle rank. Scouting is about challenging a boy. Learning the specfic skills of knot tying, tent pitching, hiking, etc are fun to know but not terribly important in the overall scheme. The primary goal is to take boys out of their normal environment of parent and adult led activies and ask them to do new activities they have never done before. As the scout learns these ne

Our troop purchases 4 man tents. Promotes members of a patrol living together. New scouts have a couple of buddies in the tent to keep the boogie man away. Less tents the troop has to maintain for a small incremental cost per tent. Example: 5 four-man tents versus 10 two man tents. We have a few 2-man left over from years ago but they are worn and seldom used.

Rite-In-the-Rain Outdoor Journal or Spiral Notebook, and a pencil. While most boys will not think to journal during the trek, jotting down a few memories each night just before bed will be a cherished item when older. A thermorest and good boots are the only 2 things anyone really needs at Philmont. Anything more is just weight you are lugging around. I would have like to have more pictures from the trail. A $100 buys a decent digital camera. A 2 gig SD card allows you to store 400+ pictures at lower resolution setting. Most digital cameras even provide video. 2 sets of

I recommend color coding all the equipment in each patrol box. Colored electrical tape is usually satisfactory. Some items do better with a sqirt of spray paint. Mark EVERYTHING in the kit the same color. Each patrol a different color. We issue out a patrol box with everything marked a single color and every patrol attempts to return a rainbow colored box at the end of a campout. Label each tent and rainfly. Keep a signout chart so when a patrol checks out a tent, you have a scout name. At the end of the weekend, they should return it clean and dry or at the next meeting clean an

I am an Eagle scout and treked Philmont. I was a member of a wilderness Search and Rescue team. I was a member of a Rope rescue team. I was an EMT. I can camp, find direction, tie knots and perform first aid. There were things I re-learned or key points to stress when working with Boy Scouts became apparent when I took IOLS. I probably could have tested out if I knew at the time there was such an option. IOLS is not designed to make adults proficient with the skills after progressing from T-SC-FC in a weekend. It is an introductory course. Part of the weekend is also shari

"But not being about to Salute the flag as usual is wrong. I think that that is exclusion.. not what I want any boy to feel in my troop. In the field, do they wear 1000% uniforms for morning and evening Flags? I know at Summer camp we do, but a weekend camp out?" There is 1 uniform. All or nothing. If you are not in uniform, then you cannot use the scout salute. You are dressed as a civilian and show respect to the flag the way a civilin would, with your hand over your heart. Stop making excuses for not wearing the uniform. If you will not wear it fully and correctly, then don'

"The full dress uniform is for "show". I'd wear it to some activities at Scout camp, for our evening meetings, etc. For anything else (like camping, hiking, any other rough activity), I'd wear something else, like swapping out the scout uniform pants for jeans, wearing ordinary socks, etc. " Phooey. The uniform is for wearing. I wore the zip off pants every day for 8-10 hours a day for a week while at Northern Tier the last month. The pants are at least 2 years old and have been worn on every camping trip for the last couple of years. Wear them to troop meetings, campouts, and all oth

Older son plays sports. Uniforms for his team cost more than a scout uniform. Team replaces uniforms every 2 years with a slightly different uniform. Old uniform cannot be worn since it doesnt match. Cant be worn to practice because different practice uniforms. Just throw it away. Scout son has been wearing his scout uniform for 3-4 years. Every meeting, outing, camping trip, high adventure, etc. Starting to pill in a few wear areas. No need to "upgrade" to new version of scout uniform just because a newer version is available. $100-$125 over 4 years vs. >$250 every two years.

"Resqman: Good corrective re ARC. You're right, the "Roles and Missions" are not very similar. However, ARC is what came to mind first when I was writing. (Idly: While I could never see this happening, I do wonder: If ARC allowed disaster training or deployment for

I have been an ARC volunteer, volunteer firefighter, EMT, and rescue squad member. I am also a ASM and Eagle scout. What the ARC does and the responsibilty is has to the public is in no way is similar to what BSA does. The SM is the CEO of a scout troop. He does not have to know how to tighen every bolt on every product coming down the assembly line. He has to set the course for the ship and hire the right people with the right skills to run the factory. The better people skills he has the more likely he will succeed. Having better outdoor skills helps him to better understand the p

I found it interesting you listed "Adult leaders may not be the best all the time" as a CON of scouting but not sports. Son has played club travel sports for last 5 years. Paid coaches, multiple practices a week, games each weekend within 3hr drive. Players at this level are regularly scouted for college teams in preference over "just" high school players. The coaches are very knowledgeable about the technical aspects of the game, its rules, and various techniques. Not always the best motivator, speaker, or ethical person. Leadership training was something left off the list