Twocubdad

Big hats no one can see around, a hat-check person by the door (I always get them confused with the cigarette girl). FOG, you're living in a Bogart movie! Current caps don't fold to fit in a pocket, although the old field cap and barets tucked nicely under the belt. I've also been told to tuck the bill of the hat in the back of your pants, but I find it uncomfortable to sit like that and it squashes the hat. And if the bill of my hat is in your way, you're too dang close!

Insignia Guide 2002-2003, Special Regulations, Headgear (page 3): Official headgear may be worn while the unit or individual is participating in an indoor formal ceremony or service duty, except in religious institutions where custom forbids. Typical indoor activities of this type are flag ceremonies, inspections, orderly duty, or ushering service. In any informal indoor activity where no official ceremony is involved, the headgear is removed as when in street clothes." Personally, I think the rule of ettiquette that says a gentleman must doff his hat when he enters a building is out of date and should be retired -- come to think of it, the word "doff" should probably go with it. What is the purpose of removing one's hat? Courtesy? Respect? I agree that for the Pledge of Allegience or a prayer, removing one's hat shows deference and/or respect to the flag or the Almighty. But to whom are we showing respect when we enter a building? The best reason for keeping your hat on is practical. What do you do with it when you take it off? If we required all our Cub Scouts to take their hats off and keep track of them for the duration of a pack meeting, I guarantee we would have a 20% loss rate at every meeting. Back in the day, every building and home had a hat rack inside the door. How many of you have sufficient spaces for every boy to hang their hat in your meeting space? If you got 'em, wear 'em.

The hat is part of the Cub Scout uniform. In my opinion, for a Cub Scout to be in full uniform, he needs to wear the correct hat. (Note that using the word "required" here will get you into a semantic debate which will run 50 or 60 post.) As to the second part of the question, it is proper for a Scout to keep his hat on in all those situations. Scouts need to understand that there is a difference in wearing a hat as part of a uniform and just wearing any old hat.

Hang in there, brother. It's always a sellers' market for quality. I know you'll land on your feet soon.

Does anyone believe judicial candidated aren't asked the very same questions by the administration prior to being nominated to the Senate? Of course these questions have the convenience of being behind closed doors.

Zahnada; Next year ask for world peace. The odds are better.

Given the constraints of our two virtural troops, Troop A obviously needs some help. But in a real-world situation, I'd need more information. We no nothing about how the two troops are meeting the aims of Scouting. Except that Troop A isn't up to speed on advancement, we don't know how either troop is applying the methods of Scouting, either. Secondly, I'd want to know what the trends are. The info we have is a snapshot of what is happening in the units. Are they improving or declining from there? Is Troop A still in a tail spin, or have do they have their act together awaiting a new crop of Webelos? The opposite could be true of Troop B. Are they coasting along on their past successes? I'm not a commissioner but I would hope that much of what one learns at commissioner training is how to evaluate what is really going on with at unit, not just looking at what the ScoutNet reports tell him. I would hope a good commissioner would do as he has been trained.(This message has been edited by Twocubdad)

Never watched a minute of any of the Survivor shows, so I don't really know the specifics of how the game is played. But if lying, cheating and stealing are part of the game, is it really lying, cheating and stealing? We would never tolerate physical violence among our scouts, but if they are playing football, that's just part of the game. Granted, tackle football isn't a Scout activity, but we don't consider our boys who play to be "unscout-like" when they make a great tackle. Given the circumstances of how she ended up wearing her uniform for the entire show, I can only imagine that she would have been uncomfortable being forced "represent" the BSA in this situation. But it could have been worse. If she were like the rest of the scumbags on the show, she would have finished the series topless.

I got fleas just looking at his picture in the paper. Don't you know that army doctor is still in the shower scrubbing!

My old camp was sold when the council merged and is now an condo development. Camp Wenasa, an old Cherokee word that roughly translates as "stinky latrine."

Our past district commissioner used to make a big deal out of having a district uniform (silver loops, district committee or comissioner position patch and NO unit numerals) for district functions and another unit uniform (blue or red loops, unit position patch and numerals) when working with the your home unit. That makes sense if you spend enough time in both functions to justify two uniforms. I could see it if you are a district or council commissioner.

If you want to make attendance part of the selection process, fine. I don't remember what's on the youth application, but the staff app for adults has a space for the local council to evaluate the applicant on things like attitude and uniforming. I suppose attendance could be a factor, too. But that has nothing to do with my suggestion which is to create a method which removes poor communication as a reason some boys may miss an opportunity.

This won't help your situation, Eamonn, but since folks read these threads for advice long after they are written, I'll offer this suggestion: Instead of doing things on a first-come, first-serve basis, set two deadlines for registering, especially for events with limited spaces available. Everyone who meets the first deadline is placed on equal footing to be selected. Once the first deadline passes, if you're over booked, fill the slots based on whatever selection criteria you are using (merit, lottery, enny-meeny-miney-moe, whatever). The second deadline is the absolute registration deadline (Feb. 1, in the case of Jamboree). If you register after the first deadline, but before the second, your name goes on the list in the order in which it was received. Communication through Scouting isn't a perfect science. If your Scoutmaster missed Roundtable that month, or you missed the troop meeting that week, you may not get the word as soon as everyone else. This system levels the playing field for those who may not get the word as quickly as others. Although it may be absolutely fairly administered, first-come, first-served can have the appearance that those with "inside information" have a leg up.

Here's another one: "Hey, y'all, watch this!" roughly translates as "Someone call 911!"

This one is a good idea, for all the reasons Barry mentions. In addition to maps and written directions. We make sure someone who knows where they are going leaves last. Drivers are told that if they are unsure of a turn to stop and wait for this last person to catch up with them. Of course, if they make a wrong turn and drive 20 miles out of the way, they're just lost. Back to the original question about 16-year-old drivers and where these ideas come from. When I took BSA Health and Safety a year ago, we were taught that drivers under age 18 could not drive themselves -- even alone -- to council or district activities, including summer camp. Several folks in the class questioned the policy and it was repeated, so I'm sure I heard it correctly. Personally, I don't have a problem with local units or councils making health and safety requirements more restrictive.

Huh? That doesn't even make sense. If the pack is so small, I would think they would want the Tigers to to participate. Could it be that he meant that because the meeting space is too small? I'd go to the Cubmaster and pack committee and remind them that the Tigers are fully member of the pack and need to be included. Take an extra parent or two with you. Ask what you need to do to make it happen. Be positive, not confrontational and offer solutions.

I just ordered two of the Slumberjack bags red feather mentioned from Campmor for $60. Sounded like a great deal to me.

I just ordered two Slumberjack Quallofil 0-degree sleeping bags for my boy from Campmor for $60. Seems like a great deal.

Welcome to the campfire, Mollie. You and little Duke can help yourselves to the cocoa and marshmallows. Probably the two largest areas of patch collecting are council shoulder strips (CSPs) and Order of the Arrow flaps. I think both are popular because you can collect them on many different levels. As a beginning collector, your son may want to collect current CSPs from places he has visited. (When I was a Scout, we would go on vacation and I'd try to find the local scout shop.) He can also trade with scouts from other areas on a penpal-like basis. You will sometimes see folks advertise to trade patches one for one here. Nowdays, your local scout shop may carry a selection of CSPs from other councils, too. BSA publishes a guide to current CSPs which is available at the scout shop. Most of the current CSPs cost only $4 or $5. As he gets older, he may want to specialize. In addition to the current issue CSPs, many people try to collect older patches. I collect CSPs from all the councils in my home state. Since CSPs were first issued in the early 70's, there have been about 120 CSPs issued by the councils here. I have probably 90 of them. Some of the more rare ones are worth $100-$200. Collecting OA flaps has similar ins and outs. Of course the easiest collection is that of patches for events he has been to. From there, things get really esoteric. Some people collect Jamboree patches. Mint patches from the first Jamboree can cost hundreds of dollars. Some collect international memorabilia. As far as the storage goes, notebooks and sleeves is probably the best way to go. Make sure you get archival quality sleeves. The cheap vinyl one can bleed oil over time and ruin the patches. Good luck and have fun!

Thanks for the info, Dave. I can see how the phone calls would catch an out-and-out fictious unit, but in Eamonn situation or the one I'm familiar with, the CO would just say thanks for the call, with no clue that there was much more than they had been led to believe. And I do trust you, Dave, implicitly -- at least until you give me a reason not to. I'd say Eamonn's FD (The Twit, I believe he calls him) has shown that he does not merit that same trust.

I really like requirement 8: "Define the universe. Give three examples."

I hear what Dave is saying loud and clear. I certainly wouldn't want you to do or say anything that would put the Scouting program in a bad light -- and I know you wouldn't. Unfortunately, your professional staff has done that for you. But this CO has been hoodwinked. Does anyone think the CO has been given a clear understanding of what their responsibilies are? Do they really understand that they are responsible for recruiting leadership? Or have they been told that the DE will run things until a parent or teacher happens to come along. Eamonn, since you have a pre-existing relationship with the CO, I think it highly appropriate for you to provide them with a clear understand of their responsibilities. If they decide to move forward with the program on that basis, great. If the truth throws a wrench in the works, so be it. We had a very similar situation here a couple years back. Without going into all the gory details, the DE tried to play both the CO and pack leaders against the middle, trying to get them to start a new troop at the CO. When the CO and pack leaders finally compared notes, the whole sorry deal blew up. As a result, the new troop never came about. The pack leaders actively distrust the professional staff. The CO has a with a sour taste for Scouting and a potential troop that may never come to be. Some may want to lay the blame for that on the pack leaders who went to the CO blew the whistle on the deal, but I place it squarely on the shoulders of those whe cooked up. I asked before but never got an answer, where are the checks and balances in this? Is there no one who follows up on this process to see that there is more than paperwork behind a new unit? If I show up at the council office with a charter, the minimal number of applications and a check for the rigistration fees, doesn't anyone ask questions?

Creating a paper unit without a committee or leadership, registering youth without their parent's consent, diverting resources (the DE's time) to artificially keep the unit going, knowingly placing youth in a unit with little expectation of being provided a real Scout program, Lord only knows with the CO was told to get them to sign the charter -- all for the purpose of puffing numbers. How is this not unethical behavior? Can you say "Enron"? Eamonn, aren't you the District Chairman? How does the FD and/or SE "not have time" to meet with a District Chairman? Where are the checks and balances in this system? I would guess the regional office would be your next stop.(This message has been edited by Twocubdad)

1) Probably the best bit of advice I received when I first volunteered as a den leader was, "If you wait for permission, nothing will ever get done. If you see something that need doing, do it. No one will ever complain about it." 2) The best training you can have right now is to read through your son's Tiger Book. If you will do the things in the book, you're probably 90% there. But by all means, do as the others have suggested and contact your council office for a list of training dates. 3) About the wild indians (Is that PC? Can we still say that?); Cub Scouts normally operate at a very high level of chaos. Learn to block it out. Two years from now you will amaze yourself by being able to quietly read a book while swarms of boys play capture the flag all around. I am of the opinion that one of the most important things we do is to create a safe enviroment where eight year old boys can behave like eight year old boys. As long as they are safe, let 'em have fun.

Our district doesn't use strict criteria for awards, other than tenure. However people making nominations are told that for their nominee to have a good chance at the award, that they should include specific examples of the nominee's contributions to their unit and district. Non-Scouting community service is also considered. We do quite a few awards than you do and we also present more than one of each award. At each level -- Cubs, Boy Scouts and Venturing -- we give "Pacesetter" awards (sort of a Rookie of the Year award) for leaders with less than two years tenure. Also at each level we give Scouter of the Year awards to those with more than two years tenure and greater contributions to the program. In addition to those, there is a lifetime service award for more than 10 years (only one of those) and the District Award of Merit. I believe that based on our membership we can award only three DAMs. Using that number, we award up to three each of the other awards if nominations merit it.