Trevorum

Welcome, Bobanon! The official BSA policy is always worth repeating: "BSA does not define what constitutes belief in God or the practice of religion."

Kudu, excellent suggestions! If our troop was lucky enough to have an EMT trained parent, I would encourage them to wear a patch on their sleeve, even if it was non-BSA and despite the groans from the Unform Police.

From Scouts-L: "Some years ago, the Red Cross rectangular "Emergency First Aid" patch was authorized for wear on the Scout Uniform on the right sleeve below the positions for the flag and region/local emblems (position 3 in current insignia guide parlance). This emblem is no longer available from the Red Cross, however. I agree that there should be a BSA emblem of similar design available for use in this position which indicates such credentials for those who have have either first responder or emergency medical technician/paramedic pre-hospital care training. Moreover, similar emblems could/should be created for physician and registered nurse. This would replace the current round "physician" patch which is worn in position 2 or 3 on the left sleeve, if memory serves. This would be preferable to the current round emblem, since these folks often hold unit staff positions as well. Such an emblem would also preclude wearing the "quality unit" emblem now currently worn in position 3 on the right sleeve, however. Perhaps a "generic" "emergency medical services" emblem could be created if it is too difficult to provide specific training/licensure designations as noted above. Some control would need to be maintained to ensure that only those with specified and current training credentials (e.g., physician, nurse, emt, paramedic, or first responder) would be allowed to obtain/wear the insignia. An application form could be used to register those individuals with the local council which would also create a data base of such qualified individuals for resources when needed for events such as day camps, summer camps, etc." (Bob Amick, Mon, 20 Jul 1998 08:42:07 -0600)

A BoR should never "fail" a candidate. Rather, if there are problems, the board may elect to adjourn to a later date. The candidate should be told explicitly what the problem is and what he needs to do to resolve it. Upon resolution, the candidate requests the board to reconvene, whereupon they continue where they left off.

Welcome Cindy!

Scouting should be fun. We're not the military.

At a recent CoH, someone mentioned to me the idea of having annual troop pictures. Sort of like picture day at school. We'd have everyone in full uniform, in front of the church maybe, with a professional photographer (or maybe just a very good parent) behind the lens. The 8x10 glossys would be available to all parents and would make a nice memory wall in the meeting room. Do any other units do this?

Way back when I was a newly minted Den Leader, I used fabric glue to attach patches to my brand new uniform shirt. Of course I glued the DL insignia to the wrong sleeve! After removing the patch, the glue left a splotchy stain advertising the fact that I was an idiot. Not wishing to ruin the surprise for those who didn't yet know me well, I was able to successfully remove the glue by carefully dissolving it with non-acetone fingernail polish remover and scraping the scum up with a dull knife.

This follow-up to VP Cheneys hunting accident... "The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD)issued a statement today saying Vice President Cheney broke no law by shooting a lawyer instead of a quail, over the weekend. A TPWD spokesman noted that in Texas, lawyers are not considered game creatures, but are listed as vermin, and are thus NOT subject to seasonal limitations or bag limits. However, it was further noted that lawyer hunting was strongly encouraged as the state is overrun with the pesky creatures. A local food critic said that, contrary to popular rumor most lawyers do not taste like chicken, but rather like bovine excrement which is a major component of their basic composition. " (of course, my apologies to NJCubScouter, Lisabob and others!)

Thank you! This will be my next SM minute.

(jr56, I think you mean "Irving", not "Austin"...)

Our troop allows any Scout who is First Class or above to sign off on any requirement for Tenderfoot, 2nd Class, or 1st Class. However, before requesting a SM conference, the candidate must meet with an instructor who verifies his knowledge and skills.

In the past, our troop has been accused of unfair "poaching" into the territory of neighboring troops. We have one pack across the street (our "territory", I suppose) and 5 or 6 more with a few miles radius. Webelos who "should have" gone to other troops joined ours instead. Other than always putting on a good Webelos Woods effort, we have never actively "recruited". Our scouts serve as Den Chiefs for 3 diifferent packs and our OA brothers provide AoL ceremonies for any pack that wants one. When Webelos make the circuit of visiting various troops, they see an active, fun, boy-run troop and we always welcome them warmly. That's the best recruiting there is.

As a LNT certified trainer, I'd like to remind everyone that LNT is not a set of hard and fast rules (no "thou shalt not use soap!") but rather is a set of guidelines that are adopted for the circumstances. What is appropriate in the Philmont backcountry for experienced backpackers is not necessarily the case for a group of Tenderfoot scouts at a State Park campground. Or vice versa. It's important to understand this. I've had people tell me they will NEVER use LNT in their troop because they refuse to "poop in a tube". Someone had evidently told them that LNT includes this practice but didn't bother to say that it only applies to camping in caves, arctic, constricted canyons and the like.

Good question. We always let the Scouts decide for themselves. However, we use the NSP (new scout patrol) system and so it generally is not an issue. Now that I think for a moment, it's amazing the number of brothers we have in our troop. We have ten pairs of brothers! No twins though, who might want to be in the same patrol...

Howdy from Texas!

Fred, you are of course correct. But as long as the Scout is not violating any BSA policies or breaking any laws, the SM has no authority over his political views. The SM's responsibility would be limited to discussing such behavior to make sure it was an honest statement of beliefs. Withholding advancement because the SM did not agree with the Scout's political views would be un-American and an abuse of authority.

The thing that struck me was the Senator's so baldly disagreeing with the Constitution with regards to certain truths being self evident. Makes me wonder what other parts of the Constitution he disagrees with ...

The thing that struck me was the Senator's so baldly disagreeing with the Constitution with regards to certain truths being self evident. Makes me wonder what other parts of the Constitution he disagrees with ...

Brent poses a scenario in which a scout (presumably not in uniform and not at a scouting activity) engages in a behavior that is not against BSA policy, is not illegal and does not injure anyone. The behavior is politically symbolic and the scout is clearly exercising his right to free speech. However, the behavior is viscerally offensive to most of the community and to the troop leadership. How should the troop respond? Your answer will likely depend on where you are along the continuum of free speech vs. censorship. To me, the parallels are striking between this hypothetical scenario and the current uproar about the Danish cartoons about the Prophet Mohammed (p.b.u.h.). In neither case was the behavior intended to be offensive to anyone but rather was intended to stimulate debate. Nonetheless, the behavior is/are inflammatory and highly offensive to a segment of the population who do not support free speech. There is no 'right' answer to either situation. However, I think that people who value freedom of expression are more likely to support the Scout and the Danish press, while people who value social order are more likely to support censuring the Scout and censoring the press.

OK, but no royalties.

oooh, that's a dynamite idea! How about Terry's Scouter Network logo with the compass rose? We could have a patch with a black border for 100 posts, red border for 500 posts, gold mylar for 1,000 posts, and silver mylar for 4,000 posts!

wow! congratulations to your son! I know his parents are pretty darn proud of him! I'm not an authority on these matters (where is old BW when we need him?), but I would think your idea is a fine one. This should be a solemn occasion in which the scout's achievements are duly recognized in front of his peers and the community. Our council has an annual awards recognition ceremony in which these achievements are formally recognized a second time, along with Silver Beavers and the like.

Why Lisabob, I'd never fling mud of ANY color at a fellow Bob White!

What kind of "conniption fit" and where? In a Pack meeting, or in a committee meeting, or privately to other adults? Regardless, the CM has no authority in this matter. He can not demand participation in the Pledge from anyone, just as he can not demand participation in a particular prayer.