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resqman

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Everything posted by resqman

  1. Just another post in a long line of uniform posts. "I don't like some aspect of the uniform for some particular reason and I want to wear something similar but not the uniform and want the forum to tell me it is OK." The boys will know you are not wearing uniform pants. Introducing the double standard of adults do what they want but the scouts have to follow the rules. Parents? They should expect you to follow the program as closely as possible and set the example of perfect uniforming so they can point to the adults to show their sons they should be uniformed properly. The Uniform i
  2. An active troop program will get a scout to 1st class. A scout has to decide to do all the extremely boring and school work merit badges that are required for Eagle. An active program will provide the opportunity to earn the outdoor based badges. Look at the current requirements for Eagle Scout. 13 requried badges. 3 citizenship badges, Personal Mgt, Family Life, Communication. 6 badges that are all indoor, write an essay, do boring paperwork for months and months badges. No matter how active a program a troop has, nothing will be accomplished for these badges. As a boy I hate
  3. "I personally couldn't care less about the awards we hand adult scouters. If you didn't achieve what you could have as a boy, it's over. Don't try to compensate for those omissions as an adult leader because it's not about adults. It's about giving boys the opportunities to experience some of the things we experienced and to earn whatever ranks they choose to pursue. The program has changed. Society has changed. But spirit has not. I guess I'm just a curmudgeon." It is often discussed and lamented the lack of outdoor skills volunteer adults bring to the program. But at the same time we exp
  4. It does not matter if the highest rank is 1st class or Eagle. Whatever the program declares is the highest rank, will be the one with recognition. Some will strive to the hightest rank just because it is the highest. Others will "fall into" the rank through years of being active. Others will finally wrap up the last few requirements because an adult coaxes, the lad wakes up and realizes he will turn 18 in a short while, or some other reason. Earning a college degree is just a list of requirements. It takes years of sitting in hard chairs listening to boring professors, long nights s
  5. Tenderfoot requirement must use the EDGE method to teach someone else how to tie a Square Knot. Granted there is no requirement specifically stating you must be able to tie the Square Knot, only be able to teach it to someone else. Presumably in order to teach someone how to tie the knot, you would have to be able to tie the knot yourself.
  6. Sorry Skeptic, I forgot the forum is about whinning how national is killing everything. The lads in the troop I serve don't receive the releases from national and only know that there is a campout this month that is going to be fun. They get to hang out with their friends and play in the woods, paddle the waters, climb the rocks or other challenging stuff. The SPL and PLC plan a cooking contest every campout. Yes, every campout not just a once a year thing. Past menu items have included salmon cooked on cedar planks, Chinese from scratch, using box and dutch ovens, and other similar skil
  7. My son and his patrol will probably skew the statistics. Son turns 18 in April. High school senior sending out college applications this month. Finished project and all other requirements about 6 months ago. Turns out one teacher never sent in their letter. Tracked down the missing letter and had SM conference this week. Gay issue and cooking MB have no play in the matter. Been in scouting since Wolf. 11 years of scouting. He is last guy in his patrol to finish up his Eagle. In the last 4 months, three patrol mates also wrapped up their final requirements. All turn 18 within 6 month
  8. Write something...There were two dens of the same age boys in the Pack when my son was in Cub Scouts. Son joined as a Wolf while some had joined as Tigers. 12 of the 16 joined the same troop as my son. They attended five different summer camps, three high adventure bases and 7 years later, six lads are still in the program having earned the rank of Eagle. They all will turn 18 shortly head off to university in the fall. From age 7 to age 17, they have all matured and grown into fine young men. The last decade has flown by. I sure am glad I was there to watch.
  9. It is often said the scout uniform is too fragile for outdoor activies. I have worn my uniform to every scout event I attended for the last 9 years. Yes, every den meeting, Pack meeting, patrol meeting, troop meeting, COH, BOR, campout, service project, summer camp and even High Adventure. Yes, I wore my scout pants all day, every day for the 7 days I paddled the back waters during my Northern tier trek. During campouts, the adults in our troop can be seen wearing their full uniform from when we leave the parking lot Friday afternoon until Sunday afternoon when we return. Cooking, hiking,
  10. "...Someone mentioned the merit badges don't prove a thing that they're just checkmarks on a list... they do actually... commitment, and mommy and daddy cannot buy them a badge, they have to be earned... I'm thinking that perhaps just Orienteering and First Aid though.... This is not too much to ask of my current scouts to complete in 1.5 years... I dont' care if it's at camp this year or merit badge colleges, or on their own that they earn the badges... I want them to be committed to the trek with something other than having the money to attend... that's also why I want to make the training t
  11. Son went 2 years ago first week of July. He took a fleece blanket/bag. I believe he said he slept on top of it most nights. I think he said one night he was chilly. I took a 3lb poly fill bag back in '76. Sweated most nights. Depends on the weather. 20 degree bag seems like overkill to me.
  12. My sons troop attends Northern Tier, Philmont and Florida Sea Base on a rotating basis. Troop of about 40 boys. They are able to send a crew of 10 boys and 2 adults to one of the bases each summer. The trip of the year is announced. Those interested attend an informational meeting where the approximate costs are outlined, list of gear provided, and a list of tasks that need to be accomplished reviewed. Two attendees must take and past Wilderness First Aid, first aid kit needs to be developed, someone has to make travel plans, someone has to be crew leader/asst crew leader, crew chaplin, pa
  13. Ask the general public what Boy Scouts do or excell at. First Aid, Knots, Camping, helping old ladies across the street. Tying knots is a requirement of the first four ranks, not an elective merit badge. The square knot is the second most used symbol of scouting. It is an easily demonstrable skill in a interior setting unlike say following a compass heading. To me knot tying is a fundamental skill that transcends camping and outdoors. It is a skill that is used throughout your lifetime. Please offer a single demonstrable skill that more better examplifies something Boy Scouts know
  14. What I have seen it is one of the few places that is away from all other influences. The scouts are free and unencombered by parents, bullies, and other well meaning but controlling people. The scout must do it or it get doesn't get done. He has the opportunity to make decisions and live by the consequences. If he cannot cook, he will be hungry. If he does not bring his raingear, he still must complete the hike. He learns by doing instead of just reading about, watching a video or being lectured at. He finds out that he must rely on others to help him. He learns how to conjole others t
  15. Our troop generally does not attend the council camp. Nice enough camp with a lot of new very expensive facilities added. ust happens to be in a very hot dry part of the state. Troop culture is to rotate through about 5-6 camps across the state and neighboring state. Each camp has its pros and cons. One is up in the mountains so a little bit cooler weather. Lots of up and down walking everywhere. Another camp is at the coast so very flat and all the areas are close to one another. One is a little smaller so less crowds. One has a good program but the food is lousy. You get the idea.
  16. Went in 2010. 7 day loop trip. 100 miles paddling, 4 miles portage. There were times the first 2 and last day we saw so many people, I felt I was on the local waterski lake at home. Yahoos everywhere. Middle of the trip we finally got away some and only saw 1 or 2 other parties per day. I have heard the Canadian trips are much more remote. Been to Philmont, NT and Seabase. All offer different amounts of wilderness. It depends on your trek, time of season, distrance traveled during trek, etc. My son went to NT first, Philmont the following year and Seabase this coming summer. Hi
  17. Busy families is a lame excuse. It is about priorities. Either the family wants to particpate and thinks scouting is important or they dont. Sports, Band, Karate, Swimming, etc. are all choices. Scouting is a choice. Coaches dont allow partial participation. Why should Scouts act any differently? If the scouts and their families can not complete all the requirements only meeting once a month, than meet more often like the program is designed. If den meeting night conflicts with sports,band,etc, then the family either has to decide to choose a different den/pack that meets on a night th
  18. Sons pack was about 60 scouts plus registered adults. Camped twice a year, entertaining and engaging Pack meetings. Summer program of at least 6-8 events. We happened to have all male den leaders. We made money selling popcorn and spent it. $35k one year. Bought a new whiz bang pinewood derby track, software, and projector. Hosted the district Pinewood derby. Pack bought and maintained tools and held at least 3 workshops prior to derby. Big B&G banquet. Mostly it was the leaders. Cubmaster moved on after 7 years along with 4 den leaders who had been activitly planning and managi
  19. Why do we need girls in BOY scouts? There is no place for a boy just to be a boy without some meddling woman or girl around to tell him he is doing it wrong. There is already Girl Scouts. If girls/women don't like what their organization offers, change Girl Scouts. Women have a lot to offer. But boys and young men need some time to be boys and young men. Females generally disapprove of boys behaving like boys. Boys and young men need some time to run around, be rough and tumble, and hang out with other guys, and discuss how to get along with females without females interfearing.
  20. Pack gave nothing. I collected money from the parents to pay for materials to make AOL plaques and custom arrows. I carved a neckercheif slide for each scout in my den.
  21. During my sons ECOH they asked him what he would change/improve about scouting. His reply was to offer some social classes. He felt that too many of the scouts were too geeky and nerdy and did not fit in socially. He felt if they could be taught some social interaction skills it would help them. Of course is could also help the image of scouting in general. He did not join scouts until age 15. He had been an athlete. He did not advertise his scouting but would not deny it if questioned. He had enough confidence and social clout at that point that it did not matter. Interestingly once
  22. There are rules about making your own patrol patches. Wadda suprise! I believe it is limited to 3 colors. You may notice on the Class B website it lists some as officially acceptable and some not. The only difference is the number of colors. We have had Flaming Burritos, Rabid Chickens, and The Chairs just to name a few. SM is in advertising and gets his art department to design patches and then the troop pays to have the patches made. The uniform police may cite patrol patches with more than 3 colors but I would guess than most scouts and scouters would never know that the
  23. Theres an app for that... BSA-on-the-Go lists all the requirements for all the scout ranks, and badges. You can check off the requirements. I supply baseball trading card plastic sleeves to my sons. Office Max Depot Staples sells pages of plastic sleeves that hold 12 cards. After each COH, they just slip the blue cards in the page. Each son has a 1 inch ring binder with all their blue cards, rank advancement cards, membership cards, etc. Couple of full sheet page protectors for 1st class certificate, COH programs, page of patrol names, troop numbers, patrol members, scoutmaster na
  24. I was a den leader for 4 years and then an ASM for 2 years. My oldest son had no interest in scouting during all that time. Sports was his thing. One day at lunch in High School, his buddies asked him how he was planning on getting into college. He responded sports. They laughed and replied; No really how are planning on getting into college? He joined scouts the next week 3 months before his 15th birthday. He decided having Eagle on his application would help him get into college. 3 years 1 month later he earned the rank of Eagle. He continued to play sports, have a girlfriend, a
  25. Troop rule is no Hot Dogs, No Pop-Tarts, and No Ramin Noodles unless as a side dish or component of meal option. Saturday evening meal always has a theme chosen during PLC. It has taken the form of ethnic: meal must be loosely based on the declared theme of Mexican, Italian, Asian, etc., or food group: ie: Seafood, or cooking style used during the prepration, ie: Box Oven, Open Fire, Dutch Oven, Utensiless, etc. First couple of campouts the scouts were not completely sold on the idea. SM and ASMs would wander by and taste a spoonful from each patrol. The boys quickly advanced to
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