Rip Van Scouter

I have seen it mentioned in other posts that the "official" red wool jac-shirt is limited to only a few patches, so it is not appropriate as a display medium for a patch collection. However, I am curious as to what IS allowed, and what document is the basis of this claim? I saw nothing on the Jac-shirt on the official uniform inspection guide which is available at the BSA scoutstuff.org website.

I remember back when I was a Boy Scout, besides the BSA scout emblem, many a Jac-shirt displayed the Philmont Bull black felt patch above the left pocket, as well as OA lodge patches, both on the right pocket flap and larger patches on the back. Sometimes you would occasionly see council strips, troop numbers and even Badges of office (e.g. Scoutmaster, etc.) on the sleeves as well. Nowadays, I would think the US flag patch would be appropriate as well, since it is now standard on the shirt.

What is the official word?

I was at out official council Scout Shop today with the very same question. As a new Cub Scout ACM, it did not seem appropriate to wear a hat that said Tiger, Wolf, Bear, or Webelos. Indeed, the uniform inspection guide has not kept up with the changes. A good example is the specification of the Olive Green leader tie, when it is no longer available.

There is a Blue "Aussie" hat shown on the Scoutstuff.org website and I saw one at the Scout Shop. It has a generic Cub Scout logo, however, as a male leader, I have an aversion to its design because it is identical to ones sported by US Air Force FEMALE Training Instructors. (Male USAF TI's, like their Army and Marine Corps Drill Instructor counterparts, wear a "Smoke Bear" style Campaign hat, but in dark blue instead of Brown). When I asked a staffer at the shop about the "Aussie" hat, they did not know if it was a female hat or not.

Since the "old style" Blue and Gold Cub Scout hat is not longer stocked at the Scout Shop, nor available through Scoutstuff.org my remaining option seems to be the "Indiana Jones" Expedition hat, which looks great and works well for outdoor activities, but would not seem to be appropriate to wear to Pack meetings, Training, and Roundtables, etc.

Interestingly, the Scout Shop carries a "Bungee Cord" B-Ball cap with an embroidered Universal emblem, in dark blue with Gold embroidery. I think I will wear that even though it is not "official".

I WAS a 6-year old, 2nd grade, Cub Scout, although briefly. My birthday is in October, and, technically, I had missed the cut-off age for public schools. So, for whatever reason they had, I was never sure, and now they have passed away, but I never gave it much thought before, my parents had me in a private pre-school and Kindergarten. The private school was not bound by the public school rules and being a large boy, it seemed appropriate to them to start me in pre-school at age 3. When at 5 (not to turn 6 for another two months)and having completed Kindergarten already, my parents enrolled me in the public school system, I was started in Kindergarten, as the rules required. However, after observing me for two weeks, the principal made an executive decision and moved me up to 1st grade, at age 5 still!

Back then Cubs started in 2nd grade, and you earned your Wolf rank that year. So I was 6 when I started Cubs. I would imagine this situation could still happen. It is a mixed blessing. Some would say I got a head start on life. On the other hand, always being the youngest in your grade can be extremely difficult at times.

The new Outdoor Activity Award flap patch sounds great, but it seems there is a possible uniforming conflict.

The latest version of the official unform insignia guide and inspection sheet shows the Summertime Pack Award pin mounted on the right pocket flap, just above the button. Can this pin be worn in the same location over the OAA flap patch, or does the Cub forego wearing his pin on the uniform if he elects to earn and wear the OAA patch?

My younger son, who jealously watched his older brother participate in Tigers and Cubs for two years, was so proud when he got to wear his new blue Tiger uniform. I asked if he wanted an orange Tiger T-shirt, as an activity shirt or to wear under the blue shirt, and he refused wanting only the blue shirt. Knowing that he would be joining the pack, I got his uniform ready early and the other leaders were pleased as punch that he wore it to the SNFS recruiting meeting to show the other prospecitve Tigers and their parents. The only problem was that he could not have a Den patch, since the CM had not assigned the new Tiger Den numbers until they knew how many Tigers they would have! He is thrilled to be a "real Cub Scout" and kept pestering me to get a "brag vest" too, since we have already started accumulating activity patches. So we headed out to the local Scout Shop to pick that up, too.

I wonder why the BSA does not just make the "Brag Vest" an official, if optional part of the Cubs and Boy Scout uniforms, since all the Scout Shops sell them, yet, technically, they are not allowed to wear them for ceremonies which require "official uniform" only.

Oh, yeah. St. Louis Area Council (now Greater St. Louis Area Council)had officially sanctioned hiking trail patch awards in quarter sections, so that up to four could fit together, however it did not make a true "pie" because the outside arc at the top of the patch had a smaller radius than the whole "pie", thus giving it more of a four-leaf clover effect, but not quite. If you hiked the trail again you got a small "foot" patch with the number, 2,3,4, etc.

Basically, if you were in Scouts for many years and went on many Council trails you could accumbulate a nice collection of pie sections and footprints going around the pie, which made an interesting centerpiece for the back of the "Brag Vest".

I do not know if the GSLAC still does that since I have not seen the patches at the Scout Shop, but they may be special order only. Besides, my kids are only in Cubs, so I won't see those hiking patches for a couple more years.

The only segmented patches I have seen in St. Louis (GSLAC) is the Scouting for Food patch, which is round, and each year the Scout participates he gets a short arc-shaped patch with that year. I think there is room for 5-6 years around the circle.

When I was a Boy Scout we had Summer Camp patches that had a "D" or half circle shape. Each camp in the council had its own arc-shaped small patch to go around the half-circle (I think 3-4 could fit on top) and if you camped more than that you got to wear a "Veteran Camper" bar underneath.

Thanks for the replies.

The Red Berets came in just as I was going out in the early '70's. Our troop elected to keep the Overseas cap, since that was still an option. Our Philmont Crew (1971) wore hunter camoflage "Jones" caps, being more practical. What I like to wear in the boonies today is the Desert Storm ("Chocolate Chip") version of the Viet Nam Jungle hat. I like the pattern better than the newer desert camo because it has more character!

I do like the new "expedition hat" that the Scout Shop has. I might give it a try. Getting back to Philmont and the Jones cap, some of you may remember the "Mountain Man" camp wear you get to shoot Black Powder rifles. Well, we were instructed to place our hats on a fallen tree if we wanted a target and a souvenir hole. One our guys made the mistake of telling us "be sure not to fire at my hat, I only want ONE HOLE!" Of course, we all shot up his hat, but he wore the shredded thing anyway the rest of the trip!

I chose my Username to reflect how I feel, coming back to Scouting after, hmmmm, well.., uhhh...., let's just say over 30 years!

I was a Cub Scout and Webelo (when they said it stood for the Cub Scout Ranks of Wolf, Bear, and Lion, hence W-B-L became WeBeLo). Also, back then Bobcat was just a pin you wore until you earned your Wolf Badge. Also, the Mom's got a version of the Bobcat pin also, and did the pinning onto the Cub's uniform. Thye used to say, wear the pin upside down until you do a good deed. I can still remember my Mom's proud face beaming down at her little new Cub Scout.

Anyway, I moved on to Boy Scouts, became a Den Chief when my Mom was the Den Mother for my little brother's Den. Then progressed through the ranks to Star, but got stymied by a few of the Merit Badges required for Life and Eagle. Besides, I had become a Patrol Leader, attended JLTC, then ASPL and SPL, trekked through Philmont, and even took on a task as PL for a special patrol the Scoutmaster created for all the "troublemakers" in the Troop, before "retiring" to the role of Explorer in a newly created Post intended to keep us "Senior" scouts involved. I always regretted not making Eagle, but never the fun of hiking and camping and the challenge of leadership roles in Scouting.

So, I got busy with my education, career, marriage, and family and now, what! Back in Scouting after 30 years. Just like in the old story about Rip Van Winkle, who fell asleep before the Revolution, then woke up to find the American colonies had become the new United States along with many other changes. It took a while to get used to the "new" tan/olive uniforms of the leaders and Boy Scouts. Fortunately, Cubs still wore blue, but wait, what were those First Graders in Orange Shirts? Tiger Cubs? What's that? And those boys in tan and olive are surely some Boy Scouts here to help as Den Chiefs. No? Those are Webelos? And now Cub Scouts are camping?

Man, I have a lot of catching up to do. Thank goodness I found Scouting.com!

Those setscrew pinbacks look pretty solid, although perhaps uncomfortable for wearing on shirts for items like nametags and service stars. There is another alternative. Some of the new souvenir pins are supplied with a soft plastic injection-molded pinback that seems to rely more on adhesion than the mechanical holding force of the old brass pinbacks.

Unfortunately, I have not yet found a source for these newer plastic pinbacks. I have used the tie-tack holders also. While better than the cheap brass pinbacks, they also can slip off. This is because they are usually made for the longer tie-tack pins that must pierce several thick layers of tie.

For hat pins, those setscrew units look really reliable and at roughly $.50 per each would be well worth the money to protect a valuable or prized collectable pin. The only problem could be with all that weight in your hat (if you have a lot of pins) you might become top-heavy!