scoutldr

You'd be amazed at the number of scouts who appear at their Eagle BOR and can't recite the Scout Oath and Law. Nervousness? I hope so. Yeah, that must be it...nervousness.

I'm not talking about adults, I'm talking about 11 year olds calling mommy in the middle of the night. At our camp, every program area has a 2-way radio. If there's an emergency, help is 5 minutes away by radio. If someone calls 911, the nearest help is more than 30 minutes away, and no one else in camp knows the call was made.

Whoa! Thanks, Backpacker...I needed that.

Your District Advancement Chair is the one who has cognizance over these matters. If the troop is not using registered MB counsellors, then those MB earned are invalid.

http://www.scottsbt.com/acb_sbt/webpage.cfm?WebPage_ID=15&DID=8

In case I was not clear, my opinion is the same as Bob's. If there is a need for new insignia, then let National know our wishes and hope that they agree. There is a precedent, since there is a square knot for those who have won awards in their fraternal organization or military (MOVSM). I have also seen a knot being sold on ebay for BSA Lifeguard. Since I am a BSALG and BSALG Counselor, it is tempting, but I do not wear one because it is not authorized. What I especially disagree with is creating patches and awards and other for-profit materials using BSA logos and trademarks without permission.

What you are describing is fodder for a Venture crew...they can design their own kilt-bedecked uniforms and pretend they are Scots all they want. Boy Scouts, however, are Boy Scouts, and their uniforms and program are proscribed.

Why don't we just make a rule that no adult leader may come within 10 feet of a youth. IF this is indeed a new national "policy", then we will just say that parents must make their own arrangements to get their son to the activity site.

If there is anything out there that will help increase recruiting and retention, then I say go for it. If the lady Venturers want a square knot, where's the harm? Are the guys just jealous that there will be a knot that they can't have?

Since we just returned from camp yesterday, I am resurrecting this thread. Another reason for scouts not to have phones at camp: Several of our first-years had personal cell phones (unbeknownst to us). Little Johnny calls parents who are out on a "date" for the evening, so he leaves a cryptic message on the answering machine, garbled by bad reception and his general inability to speak in complete sentences. Mom returns home late and finds the message, and immediately starts calling everyone she can...Leaders have their phones off for the night, since it is after Taps, and to conserve battery. Finally, the camp emergency number is called and the Camp Director had to come to the site to tell us that Mrs. Jones needs to talk to her son right away. We wake up Johnny (who has not been having any obvious problems), and calls Mom. Bottom line, there was no problem or emergency...he just wanted to say "hello". We wanted to throttle him. Next year there will be a definite policy. Personal freedom is one thing...until it inconveniences others for no reason.

There is no difference. Neither jeans nor kilt is an approved uniform item.

I agree, American cars suck. Now which "foreign" car should I buy...the Jaguar or Volvo built by Ford, the Ford built by Mazda, the Nissan built in Tennessee, the Honda built in Kentucky, the Chevrolet built in Canada, or the BMW built in SC? How about the VW built in Mexico...that would be pretty safe.

In my experience, scouts are actively discouraged from "walking around, enjoying the surroundings and, generally hanging out." (to paraphrase) Only group free time is scheduled (reminds me of the poster who said she actually scheduled time to be spontaneous!) I think the prevailing opinion is, that "idle hands are the devil's workshop" and if scouts aren't 100% scheduled, they will think up things to do that have nothing to do with scouting.

When neckerchiefs were bigger (the "full square"), they were actually useful. Now they are seen as hot and an unnecessary adornment...like a necktie.

Probably nothing, Ed. Fifty years ago, things like obesity, alcoholism, drug addiction, ADHD, tobacco use, weren't considered medical issues, either. They were weaknesses of character. ADHD was cured by a good paddling from the Prinicipal. Mental illness used to be caused by evil spirits (or masturbation, according to B-P). Bi-polar was just "moody". Now it's a "chemical imbalance". There is a fine, blurry line between normal variations in human physiology and bona fide illness. Fifty years from now, being addicted to Scouting will probably have a DSM IV code and be treatable with medication and attendance at "Scouters Anonymous" (to recognize the things we cannot change!). We can only hope.

But then WHERE would we put all of our square knots????? This simply won't do.

Welcome, Matt. I'm sure your opinions will be treated with respect and we hope you will show us the same courtesy. Contrary to some on this forum, it is possible to disagree without being disagreeable. However, in your blog, you state, "The Justice Department spends more than six to seven million dollars every four years in funding for the Scouts." I'm sure you meant to say "Defense Department".

Oooohhh...you mean there's an elephant in the living room? You've hit a hot button, madkins. Like my previous post on the Eagle Board...as long as the Scout is not an avowed atheist or homosexual, we don't care what his lifestyle is. I believe that in the San Diego case, the BSA admitted it is a religious organization. Now we're upset about the Jamboree ruling. Can't have it both ways. While I am saddened that the Army can no longer provide support, I understand it. What if every other organization demands equal access and wants the same support? Who would be left to fight the war? As a taxpayer, I am paying soldiers to defend our country and win wars...not to empty porta potties for a bunch of Boy Scouts. I don't have a problem with allowing BSA to use vacant land, but it should be at no cost to the government, and no soldier should be diverted from his/her duties to provide support, unless they volunteer to do so on their own time. As govt employee, that's what I have to do.

Back in the day, when I was a Cubmaster, one of my biggest headaches was trying to establish dens after a school night. The district guy would show up, give a wonderful pitch, collect the money and apps and then leave. Then my phone would start ringing..."we paid our money, when are the meetings going to start?" My reply, "they won't start until we find a den leader...what night would be good for them to meet at your house?" The one that got me was the lady who, in all seriousness, replied, "Oh, I couldn't possibly be a Scout leader...I WORK full time!" Then there was the lady who thought that being a Cubmaster was my full time job and demanded to speak to my supervisor. So I put my wife on the phone.

We went through this a couple of years ago. Our large, very successful district with a long history was dissolved and split into 3. THere was no discussion. It was "National Guidelines". To be honest, a district camporee with 1200 attendees was not much fun and a logistical nightmare. There were a few disgruntled units and most of the active Commissioners and District committee people ended up in one district and the other two had to start from scratch. Many district positions are still unfilled and we have no commissioner corps to speak of. It's hard and it takes years to build the infrastructure back up. As to OA, we also automatically had 3 new chapters to match the new districts.

"The National Jamboree offers the Army an opportunity to sharpen the skills of its Regular, Reserve, and National Guard troops in a major operation containing vast logistical challenges ranging from building roads to installing water, sewer, electrical, and telephone systems for a tent city of 35,000 inhabitants." Without choosing sides, I find this argument to be ludicrous. The last time the Army needed a tent city, it was built by Halliburton, Inc. and Brown & Root.

What a great idea! I'm stealing it!

You were right to call the Dad...only I think I would have done it sooner. I sympathize with parents who have mentally ill children, but for them to place them in a Scout troop without informing the leadership as to their disability is unfair both to the Scout and the leader. A Scoutmaster deserves a chance to decide if he wants to take on that responsibility...we are not trained psychologists! I thank God that I had two normal, healthy sons, whose only flaws were an occasional dose of too much self esteem and laziness when it came to making Eagle!

I agree, Lynda. Broken arms, scrapes, bug bites and poison ivy are one thing and are a part of a normal boy's growing up. Coming home with Scouts in body bags is quite another.

We are looking at it at this point as a freak accident. This young man was just in the wrong place at the wrong time." And I imagine the Sr DE arrived at this conclusion after doing a thorough root cause analysis? Bullfeathers!