shortridge

"I'm sorry, I don't mean to be a smart aleck. I'm just amazed how many haven't ever read the handbook. Given, that a high percentage of scouters have had children involved in scouts, presumably they have one in the house." No smart aleckiness taken, sir. I, too, have been amazed at how high that number is. Almost every outdoor skill you need is in there somewhere, and yet many adults don't even crack it.

"How does a scouter know to use the established fire pit, and not to make a new one, unless he has been taught this." Well, he could just read the Boy Scout Handbook...

Top patrol gets to shave/dye the SM's head/beard, if applicable. To make this more entertaining, have the shaving/dying be done in public at the next district camporee. Top patrol gets to be the first to go on an independent, no-adult patrol trek. Top patrol gets to plan, organize and run the next troop camping trip, with no interference from adults. And finally ... Don't sell popcorn.

I'm of multiple minds and several thoughts about the ad-hoc patrol problem. First, there's a difference between "ringer" groups and an 8-person ad-hoc patrol formed because only four Scouts from each patrol attend. That happened quite frequently in one of the troops from my youth - we were fairly small and often had attendance issues. So for camporees, we quite often merged two half-patrols into one just so we could compete. Should we have been penalized? Second, to address the "ringer" problem head-on, make it known in advance that all patrols must be "natural" patrols, all members must have the same patrol emblem on their uniforms and they must carry their patrol flag with them to the events - and demonstrate their patrol cheer or yell, loudly, at each station. Third, ranking boys by rank won't solve the problem. I've known quite a few First Class Scouts who could tie many an Eagle in knots. Under a "handicapping" system, though, that First Class Scout wouldn't "count" as much as an Eagle whose skills have become rusty because he's been bored out of his skull working on Citizenships. Fourth, the best way to beat the hypothetical "Screaming Eagle Patrol" would be, as others have said, to study up and whup their butts next time around. Or how about doing an inter-troop patrol challenge, independently of any district event? Take them on, head-on, for bragging rights. Fifth, if stacked, ad-hoc, ringer patrols really is a huge problem, and informal sit-downs with the SPL, PLs and SM, appealing to the "trustworthy" part of the Scout Law, haven't solved it, drop the competition! A camporee doesn't have to have points and stations and awards. It could just be a fun campout with lots of people all learning about the same thing and sharing an experience. A Wilderness Survival camporee, for example, where everyone prepares a shoebox survival kit and heads out into the woods to spend Saturday night in a shelter. Or a Waterfront camporee, where you rent a lake and spend the day paddling and sailing around, with fun races and skills demonstrations. Or a Pioneering camporee, where you build gateways and towers and bridges and just go around Saturday afternoon ooohing and aaahhhing at what others have done - no scoring system involved.

Not to go off-topic, but if you don't use the names or titles, how are they still the principals? Then, to the audience, they're just generic people in regalia.

The ceremony which appears to be the most popular (based on a Google search) uses two of the principals, and identifies them by name to the audience. That's what caught my eye.

I'd never heard of it, either. While well-intentioned, it disturbs me slightly that some of the homemade ceremonies out there use the principals in roles outside the actual ceremonies of the Order. That's supposed to be a no-no. A simple remembrance, without the hoopla of a ceremony, would certainly suffice in my book.

If I were in the shoes of a tech-savvy Eagle candidate in that council, I'd be inclined to do as they ask ... and encrypt the entire file.

Beavah - But until National shows us their insurance contract, all we have to go by is their guidance, right? And something tells me no one in Irving is going to post that contract on the intertubes. And at any rate, we all promise to carry out the policies and programs of the Boy Scouts of America. That includes avoiding unauthorized activities. It shouldn't matter if it's an actual CYA move for insurance, or just because some junior assistant chief scout executive was horrified and shocked by a blown-out-of-proportion news report.

Sounds like something out of a Pullman novel.

Top patrol gets to be the first to go on an independent, no-adult patrol trek. Top patrol gets to shave/dye the SM's head/beard. Top patrol gets to plan, organize and run the next troop camping trip, with no interference from adults.

The makeup of an audience does not heighten or lessen security concerns. Security and protection professionals analyze and study a situation based on objective criteria. It's not an insult to Scouts that the President travels with his Secret Service detail, just as it's not an insult to the military. Consider this. The Jamboree is a public event, which Scouting and non-Scouting visitors can both attend. Even if the specific event at which the President were to speak were fenced in and all entrants had to go through metal detectors, that doesn't erase the potential danger from thousands of unscreened, un-checked visitors in the area around it. All it takes is one crazy person with some homemade explosives, or a long-distance weapon, or a remote-controlled device, or a backpack with canisters of some sort of chemical agent. The president could be surrounded by a crowd of a thousand Boy Scouts, and he still could be a target. The khaki uniform - which can be bought from any one of hundreds of stores or online - is just as easily used as a disguise. All it takes is one determined half-intelligent nut. In my view, the Secret Service can't be too careful.

A good lodge or chapter should also be involved in program beyond its own borders, including ... - Serving as instructors or organizers at council or district events. - Taking charge of the council's camp promotions activities - conducting unit visits, creating brochures, shooting a video. - Staffing summer camp and Cub Scout day camp. There's also a lot that goes on behind the scenes. Your son could get involved in unit elections and ceremonies, assist with the inductions process as a guide, help as a service project leader. One of the fringe benefits is meeting people beyond your troop and district. Perhaps unfortunately, some lodges tend to focus more on the inductions and ceremonial side of things. That's all well and good - we wouldn't have an Order without that element - but the OA doesn't simply exist to perpetuate itself. Visibility is absolutely essential, and visibility through program is the absolute best way to achieve that. The OA, along with staffing summer camp, kept me interested and focused on Scouting at a time when others dropped out of my troop. The greatest thing about it, in my mind, was and is that youth really, truly do run the show. Adults have no vote. They advise, they offer suggestions, they serve, but both the macro and micro decisions are made by the youth. I started out as an elangomat (inductions guide), got into unit elections, served as chapter chief and moved up to elected positions at the lodge level, where I was working with the camp rangers to organize and lead service projects for 150+ people. It gave me leadership and organizational experience on a large scale that wouldn't have been possible in the confines of my small troop.

Further reflection ... If I were the parent of a boy in this troop, and I heard my son tell me about how the top youth leader ... - swore loudly in public - loudly threatened adult leaders - stormed off, was missing for an hour, and had to be searched for ... then I would be asking the Scoutmaster just why the boy is still in charge, why he or she condones this type of temper-tantrum-like behavior, and whether it's SOP for youth to have to search for a fellow Scout.

I wasn't able to find any reference to sleeping "off the ground" at long-term camp. The applicable standard for tenting appears to be: Each camper is provided with a minimum of 30 square feet of sheltered space for sleeping and storing personal gear. This does not apply to outpost or off-camp camping or unit-supplied tentage. All camp-provided and unit-provided tentage used in the camp meets or exceeds fire-retardant specifications by the manufacturer (CPAI-84) and no flames in tent is marked on, or adjacent to, each tent. All campers have clean quarters reasonably safe from inclement weather, and comfortable bedding. - Standard M-45 (Mandatory) http://nerbsa.org/filestore/regions/neregion/program/campschool/visitation/2010_Resident_Camp_Standards.pdf

On a more basic level, of course a company can sponsor a unit. It's called being a chartered organization!

Membership in the OA represents something different for adults who join as adults versus adults who joined as youth, though neither should be interpreted to mean that a Scouter is "not involved" sufficiently in Scouting. Prospective adult members of the Order are selected - you note correctly that they can't just "join" - based on their potential for service in the future, not as recognition for past deeds. There are plenty of darn good reasons why an active, involved, dedicated Scouter would not be a member of the Order. I'm sorry if you've experienced anything to make you feel like the OA has an "elitist" attitude. That shouldn't be the case - such a viewpoint goes against the very principles that we work towards.

moosetracker, I believe you may be wrong in your statement that the administration has halted the flights of the Blue Angels. They're definitely still flying - it appears that they recently went to a two-year schedule to allow sites more time for advertising, planning, etc. You can check out their appearances for 2010 and 2011 at http://www.blueangels.navy.mil/schedules.htm Congrats on getting a local show - it's difficult, and competition is stiff. From their website: "How do you determine where to hold an air show? Each September the Department of Defense receives hundreds of requests to hold air shows featuring the Navy Blue Angels. After the Department of Defense screens requests for basic eligibility, requests are forwarded to the Blue Angels Commanding Officer. The squadron reviews each air show request, considering input from the Chief of Naval Information and Navy Recruiting Command. In December, the Blue Angels' Events Coordinator, along with Navy and Department of Defense officials, meet at a scheduling conference in Washington, D. C. for final considerations and approval."

Eagle92, Thanks! That explains it ... just before my time. I remember the older Scouts grumbling about the lack of skill awards, but had not heard anything about the time element.

What two-months-as-a-Scout requirement for Tenderfoot? That must have been dropped by the '90s ...

Is it possible that the thieves may have been adults? The most hard-core, cutthroat patch traders and collectors I've known have all been adults, allegedly. Just a thought.

Groan. Double groan.

Public and political incivility is nothing new, and certainly can't be laid at the feet of American youth in the 1960s. American leaders in the 1860s? Well, they physically attacked each other on the floor of Congress. So I guess you could say just booing is an improvement. For background on heckling in politics, see http://www.oregonlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2009/09/heckling_of_president_is_rare.html

Question A. Yes, he can. Only he'll be a youth member in the eyes of the OA. Anyone 20 and under is a youth in the Order. Question B. He doesn't have to be re-elected as an adult. He's a youth in the eyes of the OA. Drawing on my hazy memories, prospective members elected or selected have up to a year to complete the Ordeal - at least that's the way it was done in my home lodge. We had only three inductions weekends a year, so it was likely that a candidate might not be able to attend the first one after election or selection.(This message has been edited by shortridge)

Has anyone ever had their artistic Scouts "tag" their trailers on purpose? I mean doing a fancy "BSA" or "Troop 193" or outdoors scenes on the side, instead of the standard flat white. Would definitely be a way to make it stand out.