Speedy's DAD

I am a relatively new Scoutmaster and a very new Ordeal Member so this may seem like a silly question. I have two Assistant Scoutmasters that I think would make good candidates for membership. I was given a nomination form to fill out for them and I am having a hard time answering the questions about abilities. As I understand it the main function of Adults is to drive and faclilitate and stay out of the Youth leaders way. What abilities are needed for adults to "perform the necessary functions"? What skills and abilities "fulfill the purpose of the Order of the Arrow"

So, if your troop doesn't have an official troop headgear or they have voted not to have a hat, are you not allowed to wear a hat at all?

Well this discussion has really gone in a totally different direction than I expected it to go. While the example I posted at the beginning is a true to life example, my questions were really intended to be more general in nature and certainly in reference to more serious behavior. I would also say that my fellow Scouters responses have once again made me rethink my position on the issue. In terms of the actual example I gave I certainly did not mean to imply that the issue would necessarily affect a Scouts advancement. Just that a general discussion of honesty and the long term ef

Thank you. That was exactly what I was looking for. It also answered a number of other questions my Troops parents had.

I have a number of younger Scouts that are under 60 inches tall. Is the Doctor's assesment, that the Scout's weight is proportionally appropriate, acceptable or is a body fat percentage measurement required since he isn't on the chart? This is for Summer Camp but we want the forms to be acceptable for any activity. (We don't currently do any high adventure.)

I originally posted this in the Scouting the Web Forum. Almost all social media, including email, have an age limit to set up an account. When you sign up for an account the sites generally ask for your birthdate and age and will deny you an account if you are under age. Their Terms of Use specifically prohibit use by anyone under the age of 13. (including almost all email services, Facebook, Twitter, IM, Chat, etc.) So, if a Scout is under the age of 13 he is violating their terms of service when he signs up for the account and is continuing to violate it every time he uses th

Almost all social media, including email, have an age limit to set up an account. When you sign up for an account the sites generally ask for your birthdate and age and will deny you an account if you are under age. Their terms of use specifically prohibit use by anyone under the age of 13. So, if a Scout is under the age of 13 he is violating their terms of service when he signs up for the account and is continuing to violate it every time he uses the site. He had to lie to get the account. He is therefore also violating the Scout Oath and Law. And by knowing that he is under the ag

Our Pack and Troop put together a cookout last weekend to feed the people in one of the areas damaged by the storms that came through Raleigh, NC on the 16th. What started out as a Wolf Den making a few sandwiches turned into about 80+ Scouts and Scouters from across our district (Neuse River district) feeding over 200 families over 2 days with grilled chicken, hamburgers and hot dogs, ham sandwiches and various side dishes all donated by local businesses and individuals. I was amazed at the outpouring of so many. So many have lost so much. The fury of those storms cannot be fathomed unle

I am interested in building a members only forum for our troop website. I would like to set up something with the same look and feel of the SCOUTER Forums but it needs to be something somewhat easy to build and maintain. Any ideas of not too expensive forum software that is not too difficult for people who are not highly computer literate? We are currently using Google Sites for our website and Google Groups for our discussion board. Google groups just does not work for what we are trying to do. A former Adult member of our troop suggested Concrete 5 but it seems a little over our heads

Ok, I know we changed the Boy Scout shoulder loops to green with the Centennial Uniform, but the online Insignia Guide at scouting.org says red loops. Have they changed back to Red loops or have they just not bothered to update the Online Insignia Guide for several years now? The inspection sheet from 2008 shows green loops. I do wish they would be consistant and update everything when they make changes.

Well, I think it just generally goes along with the direction of society in general that we have to have a rule for everything to protect us from ourselves. Somewhere along the line society began to believe that we must take the risk out of life. And many of those who do take a risk, whether intentionally or without thinking it through, have been convinced that if something goes wrong it is someone elses fault and someone owes them something for taking that risk. There is no such thing in our society as an "accident" or natural consequences any more. IMHO life is for living and that mean

You know, The real basics of the matter is that if the uniform was less expensive or more reasonably affordable, most of the other arguments about uniforms would go away. National needs to find a uniform that is more reasonably priced. Now, my troop is a fully uniformed troop and I and my son both have multiple full uniforms. But to be honest, I can see that in these economic times when many are making hard choices about what to spend money on it is difficult to justify spending $50 on a pair of pants when you already have a $10 or $15 pair of jeans he can wear. I mean sure you may be able to

I posted this in another thread, but here seems a more appropriate place to post it. I must admit that I have often been accused of over using logic, but here goes. "Avoid large sheath knives. They are heavy and awkward to carry, and unnecessary for most camp chores except for cleaning fish." It clearly indicates that there are legitimate Scouting uses for sheath knives. It says "Avoid" them not 'Don't Carry them'. The Boy Scout Motto says "Be Prepared". How else can a Scout be prepared unless he has it with him when it is needed? "We believe we have a duty to instill in ou

I must admit that I have often been accused of over using logic, but here goes. "Avoid large sheath knives. They are heavy and awkward to carry, and unnecessary for most camp chores except for cleaning fish." It clearly indicates that there are legitimate Scouting uses for sheath knives. It says "Avoid" them not 'Don't Carry them'. The Boy Scout Motto says "Be Prepared". How else can a Scout be prepared unless he has it with him when it is needed? "We believe we have a duty to instill in our members, youth and adult, the knowledge of how to use, handle, and store legally owned k

Yeah, Eagle92, my troop has been to Camp Charles a few times and we are having our Bridging Ceremony there the weekend of the 19th of March. We are Bridging up about 14 Scouts from our pack. We do like Camp Charles. Our troop likes the variety. A major factor for us would be the age and experience level of our Scouts. Right now we have about 90 percent new Scouts. They have not had much experience camping period, much less camping in extremes. And given the rarity of extreme cold and large amounts of snow it is not likely that they will ever get much experience around here. Now that is no

For those of you who live in areas that regularly have extreme temperatures and snow, I would expect that you would have the experience and be prepared for (as the OP put it) "weather being too extreme". I don't know where the OP is located but as for my area (central NC) extreme cold and ice/snow are so rare that we don't have the equipment for it. So if we had a trip planned and were suddenly expecting "extreme" weather I can assure you that we would consider our limitations and cancel the trip. And it would not have anything to do with not being properly prepared but would be exercisi

I have to agree with Twocubdad on the issue of matching the scouts with instruction on the requirements they need. Most boys will have bridged up around the March timeframe and any good troop will have immersed their scouts in the T-2-1 requirements by June/July when they go to summer camp. At a summer camp that my troop attended last year all of our first year scouts were placed in a patrol together in the FYS Program and the staff patrol guide was given (in advance) a list of the requirements the boys had already completed with assurances that they would work on other requirements in ad

Yep, got that one too. Also a flashlight app.

I would like to see more of the publications, forms, pamphlets, booklets, cards etc. in a format specifically for the Android and Ipod/Iphone, to make it easier to take with you. PDF format would work but making it specifically for the small form factor phones and searchable would be better. Even the handbooks for leaders to use for reference.

I started to say I wish someone would make some more apps for the Android platform. But then I started looking on my Droid 2 and I have the Dutch Oven calculator app, the G2SS in Adobe format and of course a compass app, a gps app, a maps app and a KnotsGuide app, The US Army Survival Guide and a First Aid App, a CPR app, the Geocaching.com app, the US Army Bugle Calls app, Google calendar, an alarm clock app, a Kindle app, an Air Horn app, a camera, an emergency kit organizer app, a ham radio EchoLink app, a stop watch and timer app, a Weather Radar app,............. and just in case a Star T

I will be attending Wood Badge starting this weekend, and I am trying to make sure my uniform is correct and will pass inspection. I was looking at the Adult Leader Uniform Inspection Sheet and on the right sleeve the Quality Unit Award is shown at 4 inches from the shoulder seam to the bottom of the QU Patch. It does not show location or space for a Wood Badge Patrol emblem patch. On the Boy Scout Uniform Inspection Sheet it shows the Patrol Patch and the QU Patch is 4 inches from the shoulder seam to the top of the patch. In the notes on both sheets it does not say specifically 4 inches

I know there are a lot of pre-made first aid kits available but they don't have some things and often have things not needed. We are trying to build a kit for our troop for about 10 to 20 scouts for weekend camping and hiking trips. If you were building a kit from scratch, what would you put in it?

Thanks alot, I will contact the Scout Shop tomorrow.

Does any one know where to buy the swim tags like they use at most summer camps. Our local Scout store does not have them and neither does scoutstuff.org. We are making our own buddy tag board and the scouts who went to summer camp have their tags but those who are taking their test locally do not. We would like to have them all match to make it easier to see who has passed the test and who has not yet passed.

OK, I've seen several posts about this issue but not a lot of discussion. If a Scout has earned his Whittling Chip as a Webelo and then bridges to Boy Scouts, shouldn't he continue to have the privilege to carry a knife (only) as a Boy Scout, as long as he carries his whittling chip card and uses it properly, until such time as he earns his Totin Chip and is permitted to handle all wood tools? It is hard to justify telling a Scout that just because he has gotten older and moved up he has suddenly lost his privilege to carry his knife even though he has not done anything to warrant lo