Trevorum

"Scouts has been watered down enough ..."

Ah yes, for the good old days when we could trench our tents! When our tents were two leaky canvas shelter halves! When Birdwatching was an Eagle required merit badge! When backpacks didn't have belly bands! When we used open trenches for latrines! When Morse Code was required for 1st Class! When OA membership required a Y chromosome!

Of great interest regarding this topic may be the 2002 report by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press.

http://www.pewforum.org/publications/reports/poll2002.pdf

In direct contrast to BSA's official position, 50% of Amercans say that belief in God is not necessary to be moral; 84% say that one can be a good American without religious faith.

We just elected new PLs and one patrol also voted to become the Primordial Soup Kitchen Patrol.

I can't wait to see their new flag ...

We're canoeing down the Buffalo River as soon as school's out and then later doing SCUBA diving, deep sea fishing, surfing, etc. on South Padre Island. Gonna be a great summer!

The scouts call me "Mr. T." but my sons call me "Faja".

(... too much Austin Powers, I think.)

"... and then he could have appealed the verdict. He most likely would have been vindicated and he would have helped the unit/patrol to turn a bad policy into things of the 21st century."

Yes, that's the way it's supposed to work in theory. In practice however, the folks on the district and council appeals board may well have the same bias as the unit scouter and/or be buddies with him.

In another thread I have recounted the story of the 13 year old Eagle candidate who had completed all requirements but failed his EBoR because of added requirements; he appealed to council and was denied. He decided not to appeal to National and is now working on a SECOND Eagle project, when the first, IMO, was perfectly acceptable for a 13 year old.

My father was also a Navy Corpsman serving with the Marines. He was on Bougainville.

He never talked much about his experiences during the war. But I clearly remember one time, I must have been around 9 or 10, when the neighborhood guys and I were playing war. After I came back into the house that evening, my dad took me into the study and pulled a big book off the shelf. He had me read a poem about WWI by Wilfred Owens. I don't think I ever played war again.

DULCE ET DECORUM EST

Bent double, like old beggars under sacks,

Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge,

Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs

And towards our distant rest began to trudge.

Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots

But limped on, blood-shod. All went lame; all blind;

Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots

Of tired, outstripped Five-Nines that dropped behind.

Gas! Gas! Quick, boys! An ecstasy of fumbling,

Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time;

But someone still was yelling out and stumbling,

And flound'ring like a man in fire or lime . . .

Dim, through the misty panes and thick green light,

As under a green sea, I saw him drowning.

In all my dreams, before my helpless sight,

He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning.

If in some smothering dreams you too could pace

Behind the wagon that we flung him in,

And watch the white eyes writhing in his face,

His hanging face, like a devil's sick of sin;

If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood

Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs,

Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud

Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues,

My friend, you would not tell with such high zest

To children ardent for some desperate glory,

The old Lie; Dulce et Decorum est

Pro patria mori

I'm glad you're not in a mood to wax poetic.

In our troop, more than 95% of all ScoutBucks are used to pay for summer camp. If a scout wants to purchase equipment, he tells the Committee what he wants and gets their approval in advance. Most camping and hiking related items are approved (a scout would need to have his Totin Chip to purchase a knife or axe). He then submits a reciept for the item and gets reimbursed. I imagine that if a scout proposed to buy a $200 tent, we would contact his parents first.

Semper, please don't start again. None of us can hold a candle to you, but it just won't wash this time.

jd,

let's be clear here - pagans (neo-pagans, etc.)currently ARE very welcome in BSA. There are thousands of pagan scouts across the country. As you point out, pagans fit the religious criteria for membership in BSA, believing in a god(s) and/or goddess(es) and acknowledging their duty to be Reverent.

The so-called "Rule of 25" refers only to BSA's internal administration of religious emblem programs. Small faith groups (with fewer than 25 chartering organizations nationwide) are not eligible at this time for a separate religious emblem to be recognized by BSA.

Blade and Eamonn, please don't get me wrong. Our local professionals are fine folks and I know they have the boys best interests at heart. It's just that I didn't particularly enjoy the accounting aspect of Scouting at the district level. I'm happy to be back working with the Scouts.

Our patrol grubmasters collect $10 per scout for a weekend campout. The patrol sets the menu and it is the responsibility of the grubmaster to make sure he stays within the budget. If any money is left over (not often), the patrols can save it up for new gear (frying pans etc,) or divide it back among themselves.

EagleInKY, I don't think Merlyn wants to "kill the cub scout program" anywhere. He's been pretty straightforward about his objectives. My understanding is that he wants either (1) governmental bodies to stop subsidizing a self admitted religious organization, or (2) the BSA to stop discriminating membership on the basis of religion or lack thereof.

My understanding is that Merlyn would be satisfied with either of these outcomes, regardless of whether BSA membership changes up or down.

Keep your son in scouting! That's the bottom line.

The SM is well meaning I am sure, but he is stuck in a rut, he needs new training, and he needs to losen the reins and let other folks participate in leading the troop. Whether any of those things will happen is doubtful, as it sounds like he likes having the control and is good buddies with all the district and council honchos.

My advice is that scout accounts are not worth falling on your sword. Pick your battles with this SM. Start out with convincing the CC to have committee meetings more frequently. One a month is ideal, but try to start with every other month. Have a written meeting agenda. Assign action points. Have the committee get control of the troop finances (if not already).

Why don't YOU volunteer for the position of training chairman. You can then take the responsibility of nagging everyone to get trained (very important: has everyone working with scouts had Youth Protection within the last 2 years?). With adult training comes slow change in the troop leadership culture as the lightbulbs start to click on. This will be a slow process. Don't give up!

Good luck!

FSCouter, did you ever see "A Few Good Men"?

The explanation of Class A and Class B uniforms is found on the same page as the instructions on how to get to the mess hall.

Toribug - ... and one of our assistant Scoutmasters periodically dyes his beard green, while another has been known to dye his hair blue.

Lettuce stop, please!

BSATroop1- welcome to the forum!

Don't let Semper dog you. He is often frank.

"The Scouting Professionals seemed to only focus on numbers of youth and units and not program quality."

That is what I really disliked about participating on the district commitee. At the level of paid employees (ie. "professionals"), Scouting becomes a business with the inevitable emphasis on finances and the bottom line. Scouts are viewed as corporate resources.

The Scoutmaster has no business dealing with fundraisers or troop finances or Scout Accounts or subsidies. Those are responsibilities of the troop committee.

Welcome to the forum! We're glad you're here, and we'll be happy to give advice.

First, I would say: Be confident in yourself! You'll do just fine and will have a great time. Do you have any friends on the crew who will support you? Get them behind you.

Second, you need to meet with your crew. Get to know them (and vice versa) on a shakedown backpacker or two if possible.

Third, make sure everyone has their med forms done and their gear in line. Download and distribute a suggested equipment list and have all the crew use it to check off their gear. Figure out tent sharing and who is carrying what crew gear. Make sure your crew has good orienteering skills. A GPS is nice but map and compass are essential.

Once you get to Philmont, the great staff will walk you through everything.

Good luck - you will have a blast!

On the trail, the rain will end as soon as you stop, unhook, put on your rain gear and pack cover, hook up again, and start off. Corollary: The rain will START as soon as you put away your rain gear.

In camp, as soon as the bear bag is lifted and secured, you will discover one more smellable.

I think you should make a distinction between so-called "Eagle mills" and troops that have a long history of providing an excellent Scouting program (which may result in many scouts earning Eagle). Advancement is only ONE of the BSA methods. I recommend looking for signs of a healthy program that integrates all 8 methods.

When visiting troop meetings (rather than just counting eagles), look for signs of a boy-led unit. Do scouts run the meeting, or adults? Does the SM sit up front or in back?

Ask about patrols. Do they camp and cook together? Do they have patrol hikes and activities? How often does the troop hold JLT? How often are PLC's? Who decides on the next years activities?

Ask about the outdoor activities. Do they have monthly campouts? Do they camp regardless of the weather? Does the troop attend Summer camp every year? Is there sufficient variety in the activity schedule to keep the boys interested?

I went through COPE this last weekend and all I can say is WOW!

This terrific weekend focuses on team building and personal growth and should be experienced by all Venture Crews and their advisors.

If you haven't done COPE yet, sign up! You will thoroughly enjoy it!