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I heard that red berets are still available for purchase in Canada, but getting the BSA insignia on them is a different story.

Remember, the "official" field uniform (what most of us call Class A's) is what is in the Insignia Control Guide. Older "official" uniforms are still acceptable. Apparently specialized headwear is acceptable also, but it is not "official" and should not be worn if your group is representing the BSA at an official function -- such as a community flag ceremony or if your guys are training. In that case, they should wear only the "official" uniform.

Our district maintains an extensive list of approved merit badge counselors. MB counselors must register with the district (no registration fee) and must demonstrate on the form some expertise in the MB area -- either as a profession or avocation. Only MB counselors on the approved list can sign off on a boy's merit badge card. MB records are checked by district advancement committee, especially when reviewing an Eagle package, and if a MB earned in our council is not signed by an approved counselor, there can be problems. Some parents from our troop are registered and MB counsellors can restrict their services to one troop only, but this is not encouraged.

As two the requirement requiring 2 boys to work on a MB, that may be the troop's attempt to deal with the 2 deep leadership requirement. Remember no Scout and MB counselor can meet together with just each other. There must always be a third person, either another scout or adult. We solve that problem by asking the parent to come with the Scout when meeting with the MB counselor.

I'll bet most troops do some MB work as part of troop meetings and some outside of troop meetings on their own depending on the MB. Whatever works best in a given situation should be done to help the boys earn MBs.

To fill out the answer, almost as soon as troops started forming in the U.S., the national leadership was asked to deal with the "younger boy problem." Younger boys were meeting informally with troops and in addition to troops for some time, but it was also clear from the beginning that different activities were required. The national BSA leadership did not deal with the problem until the 1920's. As previously stated, experimental programs were created by professionals and experts and tested in 1928 and 1929. Cub Scouting became an official program of the BSA in 1930.

Check the BSA publication on the History of Cub Scouting for detailed information (if it is still available). My edition is somewhat dated now (published in the 1980s), but still has good information on the formation and early days of Cub Scouting.

Scoutmom: The answer to your question regarding the roles of the Pack committee can be found in the Cub Scout Leader Book. There is a chapter that explains in detail the role of each member of the Pack leadership. Also, take part in CS training which will demonstrate the various roles of the pack leadership in an ideal situation. In reality, some packs have a very strong committee and some packs have a strong Cubmaster, who pretty much runs the show. As with a troop, an effective Pack committee takes care of the administrative and background stuff so the Cubmaster can focus on working with the den leadership to deliver an effective program.

eisely: Your first post implies that the troop committee is not part of the unit leadership -- meaning, I assume, the SM and ASMs. This is not true. Troop committee members are as much a part of the unit leadership as any other. Committee members can be trained for their positions and are welcome to wear uniforms. I have always worn a uniform in my committee membership roles.

Same holds true for a Cub Scout pack. The COR is the only person who can hold dual registration in the same unit.

All the others that do so much are officially registered in only one position, even though they may functioning in more that one position.

Once again we have gotten a little off track with this discussion, from proper technique for saluting the flag to whether or not BSA is a paramilitary organization.

I am not aware that the Scout salute over the heart is an "official" Scout salute. I believe it is a long-standing tradition for many of us, but has no official standing and is not part of any official policy. It is merely an act, like many of the things that we do in Scouting, that is traditional to certain units and certain councils.

Whether it is correct flag etiquette or not is another issue.

At our recently completed WoodBadge we were told that there are only certain flags that require a salute. Some of the older historical flags are not saluted, but there is at least one, in addition, to our current flag, that is saluted. It is all in the Wood Badge syllabus. What does the national flag code say?

I don't think I agree with the statement that Activity badges may be worn on the cap. I was told that NO pins may be worn on the caps for safety reasons. At one point, back in the 90's when I had Webelos, pins could be worn on the caps and there was a special backing on the Webelos cap to protect the wearers head from the pins. I know that the colors/cap/colors thing has gone back and forth, but what does the Uniform Guide say now?

The outing in training will not be forgotten, just moved to a new course. I, for one, and I said so in another thread, think the new Wood Badge is great. It does not neglect the outdoor experience. And just because leaders are being taught effective leadership skills means we have to ignore the whole what of conducting our den, pack and troop meetings. We can just do it better.

21st Century Wood Badge course C-24-01 is over and the participants returned home last night to mull over their tickets! As a first time staffer on a first time course, I say thank you BSA for bringing executive level training to the volunteer ranks!! We did have a few bumps though, including the continuing attitude that all there ever was before was the old Boy Scout Wood Badge and some old timers trying to fit the new curriculum into the old format. My question is this: When staff development began last March, all we had to work with was a reading draft of the final syllabus. An updated draft arrived in the hands of our course director about 1 month before the course was to begin. Some of the supporting visuals never arrived. What did other councils do this summer for Wood Badge material? Were we the only council that did not receive a complete syllabus? It certainly made life stressful for the new staffers. We felt pretty unsure about our role and how to counsel the candidates about their tickets.

Anyway, I'd like to hear input from other staffers. Thanks.

Yes, thank you for stating my position so clearly.

Sorry, but I don't see that what the Minuteman Council has done is against National policy. The National policy is "avowed homosexuals" are excluded from membership. I interpret this to mean that no one is going to start quizzing youth and leaders about their sexual orientation at the beginning of each meeting or gathering. Homosexuality in Scouts only becomes an issue when the individual himself makes it publicly known that he is homosexual, by announcing it to someone else or a group, by being active in gay-lesbian rights groups and public about it, or by openly and publicly living with a homosexual partner. The "don't ask-don't tell" policy works well here. We could have homosexual boys or leaders in our troop right now for all I know, but I'm not going to go and interrogate anyone. Unless the individual himself chooses to make his sexual orientation known, for whatever reason, it is not up to me to judge anyone's fitness to be a member of this great organization!

My husband and older son did a Philmont trek in summer 1998 and my husband and younger son made a trek in summer 2000. Both times they returned home talking about trail food. In summary it was basic nutrition, lacking presentation, flavor or quantity. My husband said he was alway hungry (he's a fairly high burner). My older son can be described as a picky eater, but he got down most of what was offered just because he got so hungry. They burn a lot of energy! "Spreadables" was a staple for both groups. The kids complained a lot about the food, but there were never any left overs, because my husband always volunteered to eat what was left!! Sorry, these threads always seem to drift off topic. I should have started a new thread changing from inappropriate behavior from female ranger to trail food.

My husband and older son did a Philmont trek in summer 1998 and my husband and younger son made a trek in summer 2000. Both times they returned home talking about trail food. In summary it was basic nutrition, lacking presentation, flavor or quantity. My husband said he was alway hungry (he's a fairly high burner). My older son can be described as a picky eater, but he got down most of what was offered just because he got so hungry. They burn a lot of energy! "Spreadables" was a staple for both groups. The kids complained a lot about the food, but there were never any left overs, because my husband always volunteered to eat what was left!! Sorry, these threads always seem to drift off topic. I should have started a new thread changing from inappropriate behavior from female ranger to trail food.

My response isn't so much about cost, but that is a problem. It is my understanding the pocket on a pocket style on the pants was a stupid attempt to resurrect the beloved cargo pocket when so many of us protested the cargo pocket's demise. "The cargo pocket is back as you requested!" was advertised but what you got was that stupid little pocket on a pocket that was in a ridiculous location. You mentioned that most women don't like the yellow shirt, but from talking to my women Scouter friends, that is because of the color, not the style.

The program in question is being shown in my area tonight (June 20) and I look forward to viewing it. It will be followed by a 30 minute presentation on scouting in our local area. I am really anxious to see how that turns out! Local print media preview the program as an exploration of how different viewpoints are dealt with in today's society and the action that one young man and one older man have taken when an organization they love (Boy Scouts) establishes a policy they feel is at odds with values being taught by Scouting -- that is, respect and honor vs. discrimination against a specific group. Like I said, I am looking forward to seeing the program. I imagine it will be a topic of discussion at our council board of directors meeting on Thursday night.

I have only attended CS Trainers WB about 10 years ago and my husband attended BS WB about 3 years ago. Now we are both serving on the staff of the first "new" WB course in our Council. We have not received the final syllabus and material from National yet, which makes staff orientation a little frustrating. Nevertheless, I am really looking forward to this opportunity. I think the new course, when it is finalized, will be a real asset to the BSA training continuum. The topics covered are relevant to our whole life, not just Scouting. Things like leadership, communication, conflict management and diversity are all important parts of dealing with today's world. Most of the beloved WB traditions remain, which give the new course a specific link with Scouting.

My only concern so far is the continued emphasis on Boy Scouting as the be all and end all of the Scouting program. Even though the new program is supposed to reach out to all Scout leaders at all program levels, the majority of the course is conducted in a troop format. Participants experience Cub Scouting for less than an hour on the first morning when they participate in a cross-over ceremony and become part of a troop. The emphasis on outdoor skills, packing a backpack, camping out in a remote area that are still part of the new course have only marginal relevance to Cub Scouting and may possibly turn off a few attendees. When will National realize that there are about three times as many Cub Scouts as Boy Scouts in this country and successful Cub Scouting is the foundation to successful Boy Scouting? Oh well, this is a battle that I am not going to win.

By the way, a pet peeve. There is no such thing as "Cubbers" and "Cubbing". We are Cub Scouts and Cub Scouters and we do Cub Scouting. It's kinda like a Trekker vs Trekkie or hacker vs cracker thing. So I'm off my soapbox for this morning!!

Thanks for your responses. I believe that I will be wearing headgear as described by jmcquillan, that is, the BSA ballcap for the first part of the course and the campaign hat for the final weekend. Our SM also said we wouldn't have to buy a campaign hat if don't already own one; that a loaner would be obtained.

But again, my real question is: is the campaign hat authorized head gear for female Scouters? Apparently it is, since those of you who are a lot more experienced than I say they've seen women wearing a campaign hat. I never have.

Our Wood Badge SM has declared that all staff will wear campaign hats, including the female staffers (currently I am the only female Scouter on staff). I always thought the campaign hat was NOT authorized for women, but I've been mistaken once or twice in the past :-). Does anyone have any thoughts on this. Is there a definitive resource, such as the Insignia Control Guide, Uniform Inspection Sheet, Scoutmaster's Manual, etc. that states one way or the other whether or not female Scouters wear the campaign hat? Should I contact National? As you may have gathered, I am not real happy with the idea of wearing the campaign hat.

Our Wood Badge SM has declared that all staff will wear campaign hats, including the female staffers (currently I am the only female Scouter on staff). I always thought the campaign hat was NOT authorized for women, but I've been mistaken once or twice in the past :-). Does anyone have any thoughts on this. Is there a definitive resource, such as the Insignia Control Guide, Uniform Inspection Sheet, Scoutmaster's Manual, etc. that states one way or the other whether or not female Scouters wear the campaign hat? Should I contact National? As you may have gathered, I am not real happy with the idea of wearing the campaign hat.

Our troop has a majority of young scouts, so we have not been on a hike longer than 5 miles. What our SM has done to accomodate slower hikers (both scouts and scouters) is develop a route that may start in different places, but ends up at the same campsite. The younger/slower scouts and their leaders may leave from one trailhead that gives them a 1 to 3 mile hike or pack in and the older/faster scouts and their leaders leave from a different trailhead giving them a 5 mile or more hike. I don't think you would want to rely on this system all the time, though. Just once or twice to get the younger scouts used to backpacking.

I think the different opinions on use of electronic gadgets very interesting. I suspect the majority would come down on the side that some form of wireless communication is good for safety and crowd control, when properly used. But Mike's comment on electronic equipment becoming a substitute for proper preparation and training is a point well-taken.

Our troop has a majority of young scouts, so we have not been on a hike longer than 5 miles. What our SM has done to accomodate slower hikers (both scouts and scouters) is develop a route that may start in different places, but ends up at the same campsite. The younger/slower scouts and their leaders may leave from one trailhead that gives them a 1 to 3 mile hike or pack in and the older/faster scouts and their leaders leave from a different trailhead giving them a 5 mile or more hike. I don't think you would want to rely on this system all the time, though. Just once or twice to get the younger scouts used to backpacking.

I think the different opinions on use of electronic gadgets very interesting. I suspect the majority would come down on the side that some form of wireless communication is good for safety and crowd control, when properly used. But Mike's comment on electronic equipment becoming a substitute for proper preparation and training is a point well-taken.

About ten years ago when I took it in the Transatlantic Council, Train the Trainer was a pre-requisite for taking Cub Scout Trainers Wood Badge. I found that it was fun, but just more of Cub Scout Trainers Wood Badge. In my current council, Train the Trainer is offered almost every year. It is open to everyone, but especially to those who are trainers. To the best of my knowledge, Train the Trainer in our Council is not a prerequisite to anything, whether a trainer or an attendee. It is considered supplemental training.

Your advice on backpacks for younger Scouts is very timely. We just bridged over six Webelos last night and expect at least six more in the near future. Our troop is definitely loaded with 12 and under Scouts.

I am looking for a video that might serve as a good introduction to backpacking for these young scouts. Our April outing will be a short (I mean less than five mile) trip with a one night stay. I wanted to get these kids fired up about backpacking with a video and then the rest of the meetings will involve the older scouts teaching the younger scouts about packing a pack, footwear and other gear, cooking, etc. I already have the Philmont Trek orientation tape. Any other suggestions? Thanks