Twocubdad

Sorry, Beav, I don't believe in werewolf lawyers. Badger lawyers, on the other hand, scare the begeebers out of me.

BuffSkip -- it was the jamboree SM who fouled that up. The boys should give the blue sheets to their home troop. Ask the jambo SM if he will please forward the blue sheets to you. I spoke with an ASM from a nearby troop which was strongly encouraging their Scouts to earn at least 5 MBs at jamboree. They were even offering merit badges in the campsite taught by the adult leaders. To me that's just as wrong-headed as the troops which tell their boys not to earn any MBs at jambo because they can earn them at home. Truth is, just about everything at jamboree can be done at home. Difference is everything at jamboree is bigger and better. Like trading patches? There were a lifetime of patches to trade. Mountain Boarding? Did anyone get to go boarding with Shawn White? Is there a Scout camp anywhere that doesn't offer Woodcarving MB? But did you stick your head in that tent? The people teaching woodcarving were incredible. I heard a rumor that THE administrator of NASA helped as the Space Exploration tent. I know there were astronauts there during the jambo. Five years ago my son earned Aviation MB from one of the Blue Angles. Our only advice to the boys was not to spend ALL their time on any one thing. While we had boys earn 5 or 6 MBs, we also had boys who went fishing just about everyday and others who spent hours and hours trading patches. If they had fun, who's to complain?

I spent a fair bit of time at the midway and would agree with your observations. Several adults commented to me that they thought some of the MBs advertising "earn this merit badge in two hours" (or whatever) was a bit distasteful and encouraged boys to go out and earn "cheap" merit badges. I'd suggest those adults sit through the American Business merit badge. Free Markets at work! If a Scout wants to maximize his opportunities and earn three MBs in the same time he may get a partial on one, then good for him! I believe my economics professor called that "enlightened self interest." In case some folks haven't heard, there are some merit badges which are easier than others.

It's THEIR jamboree. We made sure the boys were aware of various opportunities. At meals I would always get the boys to talk about the cool stuff they had done and and asked what their plans were. But unlike most troops, we didn't require participation in anything. Especially later in the jambo, sometimes we would have a handful of guys sleep in or come back early for a nap. Just as likely we had juys who left camp at 4:45am to get to Fishhook Lake when it opened (yes it was that far). Everyone had a great time, everyone got their money's worth and everyone did what the wanted.

CPAMom -- You don't say what your position is in the pack, but if the Cubmaster isn't behind you, trying to get this through as a pack-wide change is going to be tough. Fix what you can. If you are a den leader, sell the boys and their parents in your den on why it is important to wear the FULL uniform -- proper hat, neckerchief and slide for the rank, uniform shirt with the correct insignia, scout pants and scout socks. If your only sphere of influence is as a parent, make sure your sons are in full uniform. Or just make sure you are in full uniform. None of this "blue jeans look okay" malarkey. A big selling point of this is pride -- THEN SHOW SOME PRIDE! (Yes, Eagle92, I'm yelling.) I'll assume you're a den leader and decide to get you den in full uniform. First thing you do is generate some excitement among the boys. Call the nearest Marine reserve unit and ask if there is someone nearby who would do a den program for you. Ask them to come in full dress blues and talk about what their uniform means to them. (Any branch of the service will do, even local fire or police, but the Marines really do this up right. For an activity that night, have the whole den go through magazines and clip photos of people in uniform. Make one big collage of them. You have to be enthuasiatic. You're selling the method of uniforming to the boys and you have to get them excited. Concurrently, you have to sell the parents. The first pitch is right out of leader training. Uniforming builds pride and self-confidence in boys. It gives them a place to visably display their accomplishments. It gives them an oppoutunity to learn when and why it is important to dress up and put their best foot forward. It gives them pride in ownership. Here's a chance to teach your son how to do laundry, or at least to hang up his uniform after a den meeting so it's ready to go next week. The whole issue of affordability is a red herring. I just searched 'cub scout uniform' on eBay and got 352 hits. One seller, midmcmmod, has mutiple, new, unhemmed CS pants for $10. They even advertise to "get the parents together and outfit the entire troop." If money is really that tight, get the boys together and wash cars with the proceeds going for uniforms. And I'm willing to bet there is someone in your community who, if asked, would step up and help a boy with the cost of a uniform. Once you have most of the den reasonably well uniformed, start reinforcing it. Have uniform inspections once a month or so with some gizmo for the boys in full uniform (our troop uses Klondike bars for prizes.) When it's snack time, the boys in full uniform go to the front of the line. Choosing sides for a ball game? Two boys in full uniform get to be captains. Next, use your den to set an example for the rest of the pack. At the next pack meeting, let THE BOYS talk about their visit from the Marine and display their uniform collage. When you're giving out belt loops and stuff, announce the names of the boys who were 100% during the den uniform inspection. But don't push it on the pack, simply lead by example. At the leaders' meeting let everyone know you found a great resource for cheap uniforms on eBay and leave it at that. It's going to take a while to turn around the whole pack. You have a lot of institutional momentum to overcome. And until you have a Cubmaster committed to having a uniformed pack, you'll always have resistance. But at some point the balance will tip and the Scouts and leaders in uniform will outnumber those not.

Our trip was $1400 and included bus transportation (>500 miles), jamboree fee, tents (the jambo committee threw in with the council and bought canvas wall tents which will now be used at summer camp), one 10x20 canopy per patrol, patrol kitchens including nice stoves and the recommended set of cooking gear, a folding dining table, two nice t-shirts, and three council patches and troop numerals per Scout. In addition, my sons' troop (and I think most others) collected $100 per Scout for misc. stuff through the troop including gateway materials, materials to build benches, one additional t-shirt, custom troop and patrol patches, a two battery laterns per patrol, and lots of little miscellaneous stuff. Our council did away with side trips to DC several years ago. Our guys are close enough that most and have already done the nickel tour of Washington. I figure another $250 per kid for an extra uniform, additional gear, extra patches for trading and the obligatory souveniers.

From the cheap seats, I heard/saw only one Scout boo the video. Someone stepped in front of him and confronted him about it. A fine demonstration of the Freedom of Speech all around. I will also add that I and quite a few Scouts and Scouters around me chose not to stand up for the video, despite being instructed to do so by the PA announcer. That was primarily due to having just walked four miles to the arena and only recently gotten comfortable in my Crazy Creek. Secondly, I don't generally stand up for the TV. I have to admit when the National Anthem is played before a game on TV I sit through that too. When at the game I stand, remove my hat, place my hand over my heart and sing along. Had BHO actually been at the show, I would have stood and shown proper respect for the president. I wonder how many View viewers stood up while watching Obama on TV?

The age requirement was lowered prior to the '05 jamboree when the decision was made to delay the next one to 2010 to coincide with centennial. If they had stuck to the old ages, this time there would have been no Scouts with previous jamboree experience. As is, we had a few 17-year-olds who were there in '05 and served as SPLs and other leadership positions. Although I know one of our contingent troops had some real problems with homesick kids, our 12 year olds did great. We had more problems with a couple patrol leaders -- including one Eagle scout -- who had absolutely no leadership ability. We also had issues with several boys from particular troop where the adults do all the cooking and cleaning on campouts. That they were responsible to their patrols for cooking, cleaning, getting food and water was a foreigh concept to them. Entitlement? Honor? Privilege? None of the above. The requirements are what they are.

You really want to be disgusted? Look on eBay. Day One Patch of the Day is going for almost $150. Instead of relying on gimmicks, maybe supply division should try having decent merchandise for sale to draw customers into the trading posts. You usually have to go to a state fair to find products of similar value and quality. How many throw-away LED noise makers do you really need? I really tried to spend money there, but the only thing which interested me were the on-site "laurel" jamboree patches and hiking staff medallions. Hint -- a selection of nice gifts to take home to mom would be a big seller. Although I have a small patch collection (which I started as a youth) I'm not much of a trader. I didn't trade a single patch at jambo (although I gave away quite a few), I did trade for one of the Blues Brothers t-shirts. Consequently, I wasn't involved in trading enough to see the problems Skeptic and Bando described. I can tell you that most of the boys in my troop had never been involved in trading prior to the jamboree and most really got into it and enjoyed it. Just based on the buzz in the campsite, many of them would probably say trading patches was one of the things they enjoyed most about jamboree. I would hate to see that curtailed. I don't think any of the boys see patch trading as a prelude to making friends and meeting people. It's all about the hunt and thrill of the chase, driven largely by the desire to assemble the cool sets or "halos." (For the uninitiated, halos are sets of patches where the shoulder strips are arranged in a circle around and/or into a central patch.) One of the really hot halos was a set of surfboard patches from Orange Co., CA. Once you collected the full set, you went to the troops' campsite and they gave you the center patch. I thought that was pretty cool. One of the "rules" regarding patches this year was that they weren't supposed to include trademarks or copyrighted material, even with permission from the owners. Of course that was routinely ignored. Some of the hottest patches included commercial products. Say what you will, it was those "hot" sets which created the buzz and interest in trading and attracted a lot of newbie traders into the action. And truthfully, after dinner, there wasn't much going on besides trading. My son had an interesting insight that he didn't like trading with the guys with blankets set up on the side of the road. He thought they were too cutthroat. He hung around and traded with the guys walking around talking to the guys with the blankets.

View from the cheap seats: Don't know, we couldn't see a thing. For some reason, many staff and visitors were allowed in the arena early. All that was left for our Scouts was an area designated as "visitor overflow seating." We were hosed to the extent that the program staff arranged a video feed for us to watch the show Monday night in our subcamp. And please don't take this wrong, Mike, but if your son was in row 15, he was taking a seat designated for the Southern Region. Not that it was his fault -- things were just that screwed up. Overall, however, (and based largely on watching the video) the Saturday night show was 100% better than the Wednesday morning show. Gates was great Wednesday, but that show was obvious produced by a bunch of old farts to give Mazooka & Co. lots of face time. Saturday was designed to entertain the troops. It worked. Our guys who saw the show (we told our Scouts to buddy-up and go scalp seats where they could see) raved about it. Everyone, however, thought the video game was lame, but figured it was just a filler to reset the stage for the band. The live show wasn't nearly as commercial as the video feed. There were differences between the two, the AT&T logo on the bottom of the screen, for example. AT&T had a strong presence at the Jamboree, but the overall impression was that they were there working their butts off to provide tech services, not some cheesy commercial plug. Telephone signals were great although Wifi less so (no Internet in my campsite, but good at the subcamp HQ). There were several AT&T stations around the Jambo, including one in our subcamp, providing phone and computer service as well as charging stations for individuals' devices.

His speech was excellent and definitely the highlight of the arena show. Unfortunately, it was one of too many speeches. Not much sizzle. And who were those bimbos and the idiot pretending to be a drill instructor, Sgt. somebody? The closing was very cool -- William Tell Overture by the Army Herald Trumpets, backed by the jamboree band, including appropriately-timed live artillery fire in the last stanza. WAY COOL!

Hi guys, posting here from Southern Region HQ. The rumor mill is that the Secret Service returned to FAPH today, after leaving Wednesday when Robert Gates left. Hmmmmm Also, at the opening there was a big, portable security observation tower in the arena which was removed Wednesday afternoon. They passed me with it this afternoon hauling it back into the arena. I'm sure they went to the trouble of taking is down and setting up back up because the needed the practice. Hmmmmmm I said a couple weeks ago if you wanted the POTUS to come without all the security hassles of '05, the way to do it would be to make it a stealth visit, like going into Baghdad. If the knuckleheads don't know he's going to be somewhere, they can plan for it. OTHERWISE ..... bad storms this afternoon in the eastern part of the site. Hot and muggy otherwise. We've had black-flag head conditions yesterday and today. Right now, however, 8:00pm Thursday, it's very cool and pleasant. The boys are all having a ball, although yesterday's early start (5am) and march to the arena and back, (8 miles on the GPS) took a lot out of them and we had a good crowd hanging back in the campsite until after lunch. I guess a half day to rest up isn't a bad thing. I'll try to post more later.

Car's loaded. Shutting down the computer. We leave in about 45 minutes for the bus. Depending on Wifi I'll try to check in with you guys maybe Monday night or Tuesday.

The awarding of the MB is a done deal. Once the signatures are on the cards, you don't have much to do with it. But from a safety standpoint, you and your troop don't have to accept the MB of proof of the boys' swimming ability. Because BSA uses Swimming MB as an automatic gateway for a lot of things, it does mean you have to keep up with what aquatics activities these boys are into for awhile -- at least until they can demonstrate their swimming proficiency to you. I suppose this is one good reason swim checks are done annually. For example, next summer they all want to take canoeing MB. As SM you can decline to sign a blue card authorizing them to do so. The troop is going on a whitewater trip and Swimming MB is a requesite for going. Mysteriously the requirement changes from having the MB to "demonstrate your swimming proficiency" which gives you some wiggle room. Of course the best outcome will be, as J-K-C notes, be for the troop to plan some swimming programs so the boys can work on their skills and get up to speed. While you may have to award the MB you don't have to bury your head in the sand in regards to these boys' ability.

Sure, there's always some apple-polisher in the crowd trying to make everyone else look bad. I've seen it get out of hand, therefore my suggestion that someone on staff spread the word that it is unnecessary. I got a little hand-made leather "certificate" one of the patrol members made with the totem and everyone's name. It's kinda nice and more than a sufficient token from the patrol.

Yeah, maybe if were the Four-Score and Seven Council folks would catch the reference. Now that I mention it, Four-Score and Seven Council rolls off the tounge a lot easier than The New Birth Of Freedom Council.

Either go with what's in the syllabus or at least coordinate with the other troop guides. Some folks with too much time and/or money tend to go nuts with this stuff. I agree with j that it should be consistent for the whole course. Same with the patrols. The ASM-TG should whisper in the patrols ear that they shouldn't feel obligated to give gifts to their TG or anyone on staff. OR that it is expected that all participants kick in $50 each toward TG gifts. OR perhaps something in the middle. Some courses have a tradition that the TG is presented the patrol flag at the end of the course. But the SM or ASM-TG should put the word out one way or the other. It's tacky when one patrol does something for their TG and the others patrols just stare at the ground. It's not as if they can run out and get something. If someone really feels the need to do something for either the participants or staff, it's best done individually and off-line.

Three years ago we had a couple guys go to World Jamboree. Everywhere else in the world the one piece of ubiquitous Scouting gear is the necker. At world you would see kids in cut-off jeans, an ABBA t-shirt and their contingent neckerchief. Our guys got the bug and came home wearing neckerchiefs for everything which soon caught on with the rest of the troop. Amazing what setting a good example will do.

Of course, 20 years from now the picnic tables my son built could collapse when someone sits down at them. A product defect or lack of maintenance by the beneficiary organizations? While BD probably has the practical advice, the real answer is to ask the beneficiary organization. What sort of insurance do they have? Like the BSA, most volunteer groups have insurance which covers their volunteers. Do they -- and you -- understand that the Eagle candidate and his helpers are working for the beneficiary, not the troop or the BSA? It's also a question you can ask your own insurance agent.

We've been assured that photo IDs are not required of the Scouts, only the adults. They've asked the troop to have digital photos of all the boys (to print on milk cartons and wanted posters, I assume), but not necessarily actual IDs. I am, however, dreading Monday morning.

I also hear that the staff barracks have AC and the ticks are really bad. Already issues with dehydration, so tell all your Scouts to start drinking water NOW and don't wait until they arrive Monday.

Officially, we all have one year term limits. When I was appointed SM (now 6 years ago) the committee chairman commented in passing that it would be a good idea to consider SM appointments to be for two years, renewable annually thereafter. Two years later, I mentioned to the committee that I was agreeable to serving another year and they all looked at me like I was nuts. Neither I nor the committee has mentioned since.

Ditto resqman. One reason I pushed hard for neckers in the troop is that homemade slides are such a neat old Scouting tradition. Google "Whittlin' Jim" and you can find all the old slide plans from Boy's Life. I printed all the plans and have them in a binder we take to summer camp.

Ah, frat files. You guys really have enough manpower in your troops to track such things? Impressive. I'm darn well happy just to have someone keeping up with the completed MBs.

Which is why the Scoutmaster is involved in the process. He or she should know both the Scout and the MBC and help guide both into a good fit. If the MBC doesn't want to work with 11 year olds, the SM shouldn't send an 11-year-old Scout to him in the first place. If the SM disagrees with with the MBC's age restrictions, the troop needs to find another counselor for that MB. But preferably the SM and MBC are working together and are in agreement regarding age appropriateness.