Venturer2002

Yes, my troop wears them to PLC's. A good way to encourage them to wear their uniforms is to have surprise inspections at each PLC. Competition between patrols will probably develop, and help them to stick together, the whole espirit de corps type thing.

I despise that official BSA ballcap. It has the worst styling imaginable. The way that they are made really doesn't look sharp. No, give me the beret or field cap (those flat hats, waaayyy before my time)!

"Think about this baby-boy, by taking your shots at me, you are showing that you and I are the same." I'm terribly sorry, and apologize to all. The comment I made was in anger, and the tone and wording reflect that. I have dealt with mediocrity all my life, mediocre school officials, mediocre scouters, and mediocre people. I'm sorry that I lowered myself to their level, as I know the only way to combat such mediocrity is to rise above it in words and actions. Yaworski, I don't feel that attacking me was constructive or helped your arguments, and I'm not snot-nosed, I use Kleenex

The khaki green uniform material from the 70's, the new style shirt though (with epaulettes) bring back the beret and field cap, make neckerchiefs a compulsory item. Change the pants to cotton duck material (like the venturing ones, holds up much better) official scout-endorsed shoes.

Sounds like a Troop Commit decision to me. If what this all boils down to is petty politics within your Troop than you should make the other Commitee members aware of these abuses, as they are to act as an impartial check on the Scoutmaster's power. You might ask them to consider the Scout law while they make this decision, as the chap serving as SM doesn't sound like he's living up to the ideals of Scouting.

Old Gray Eagle & Bob White, I didn't ever think that I'd hear myself saying this, but I agree with you guys entirely. I would have thought that a group of scouts, young and old, could have a grown-up and civilized debate without resorting to personal attacks. Maybe Yaworski should re-evaluate his participation in ANY aspect of scouting, as the comments he has made show that he has reaped very little from it. Are you seeing a therapist Yaworski? If not, I highly reccomend that you do so before your next Troop meeting. (This message has been edited by Venturer2

You're right Bob White, that Troop didn't even use the Patrol Method, that's partly why I left them for greener pastures ;-)

Yaworski, I believe you are in error. In 1998 when Venturing BSA was formed Scouter magazine stated that people outside of the Crew level would wear the tan shirt with green loops. This has changed. Now anyone involved in Venturing, Nationwide, wears (or should be wearing) the green shirt. I've seen many Council employees (without Crew Numbers) wearing silver loops, and if given an opportunity I think we'd see National wearing them too. If anyone knows differently, please tell me, I hate being ignorant on any subject.

I don't have a story, but what I do know is that right after the fall of the Soviet Union the various scout movements that erupted asked for help on their handbook. From the Boy Scouts of America. It's nice to see that old advesaries could put aside differences to help boys all over the world

Old Gray Eagle, I didn't say that Venturing is a program without morals, what I did state was that Boy Scouting relies more heavily on morals than I perceive venturing to. Venturing, a great program, seems to focus more on ethics. While in years past I would have agreed that the popular definitions of these words were the same, but today I simply cannot. More recently ethics have been plucked up by secular humanists as their guiding philosophy. As a BSA program Venturing of course incorporates religious awards, etc. so it of course is not without any moral standing, rather it f

"I've interviewed a number of Cad/Sr girls about the things that aggravate them or why they are thinking of dropping out, and hear over and over again that their leaders won't let them choose direction for the troop." It's funny you said that, because that exactly was the problem in my old Troop, the Scoutmaster was a former Cub Leader, and so whenever we'd plan something he'd dumb it down, so instead of a survival camping trip (no sleeping bags, rationed food, minimal adult participation) he turned into more of a family camping event with siblings running rampant. The patrol method is th

Personally, I think it is because our world just doesn't like programs that have a moral backing. The battle versus homosexuals in the Supreme court, as well as with Atheists, shows me that we're in a moral downturn. Most likely activities that focus on being "morally straight" wouldn't be popular in such an atmosphere. The high adventure focus of Venturing seems to be working, as Venturing is one of the fastest growing programs of the BSA. Because Venturing isn't quite as morally-focused as Scouting (it focuses heavily on ethics) it's an easier pill to swallow for some.

The reason green loops are worn on a Venturing shirt is the same as why Troops wear red--to distinguish themselves from Council and National people. The Tiger cub program now is part of the Cub scout program, so they will be able to wear the blue shirt, etc. Because it is now fully integrated, tiger cub years are now going to be Cub Scout years. Making varsity backings orange would confuse it with cub scouts probably. The color green has always been used for Boy Scout service star backings. And if you think about it, we didn't gain the shoulder loops for quite awhile into our histo

ASM7, "First Class, First Year" didn't happen for me because I was having too much fun in the program to let advancement get in the way. The push to advance as I got older? came from knowing in my heart that I wanted eagle, and you obviously had to get higher then tenderfoot to get it :-) I was more than active in all of the Troop activities, I just wasn't ready to advance.

Sorry, my last post should have read "the only authorized change is the little "venture strip" that is located above the Boy Scouts of America and Interpreter's strip."

It was the belief of Lord Robert Baden Powell that no person can be complete without a firm belief system of some sort, of their choosing. It also is the stated policy of the BSA that atheists aren't welcome, a policy that I firmly stand behind. I have dealt with many kids like him, they're disturbed, and a holistic approach to this situation should be taken. You can treat the mind and psyche of a person, but unless their soul is also bandaged up in the process than it will all come to naught. Believe me, I do accept that psychiatry works to some degree in some instances, but you're

KoreaScouter, If you want to strengthen the pre-existing Troop then make a Venture Patrol. I've been part of both a Crew and patrol. The formal Venture Patrol route is the easiest to implement, and works well in my Troop (I'm dually-registered as a Venturer and Scout). I don't think that doing it unofficially is good , while the example that the other chap gave is esentially what a Venture Patrol is all about, we should always try to operate within the parameters of BSA programming. Espirit de corps is a little hard to gain with just a name, no strip or medallion to signify a d

You also might want to look at the whole "first class first year" mentality. When I joined my Troop we had a terrible scoutmaster, someone who put off signing my requirements for scout, although I knew them from a long time ago (i got the arrow of light, all stuff covered in the scout badge is in there). Finally we got a new Scoutmaster, but leadership changed hands once more...this time we ended up with a great guy, USAF vet who let kids progress as they wanted. From Scout on it was a personal struggle to go to the next rank, overall I used up 3 years before getting first class. An

I'm a guy, so I've never known what Girl Scouting was (apart from what my mom said to me, but that was 30+ yrs ago) and am thinking. How is girl scouting today? I know alot of girls who are girl scout drop-outs because of lack of program etc., who came into my Venture Crew right after they got their gold award, or they just quit right then. Is this common? P.S. The cookies are great!

Why doesn't the Venturing uniform have a long-sleeve option? I know the old Exploring uniforms came in both long and short sleeved varieties. I know Venturers are outdoors, and the short sleeved is great for that, but when I get awarded something or are going for a Board of Review I'd like something with sleeves! I personally have two uniforms for Boy Scout activities,and I know how valuable they can be. The short-sleeved shirt with religious knot for meetings, etc. And a long-sleeved with my medals and service stars for Courts of Honor, Boards of Review, etc. (the stars get in the way an

My Crew is the most active in council, and all because of two main things: I. We let the Venturers run the Crew II. We do something at least once per month Just recently our crew hiked in Hawaii, Philmont awhile back, and have our sights set on the Chilkoot Trail in Alaska for 2004. Aside from the bigger trips we have canoeing, backpacking, etc. scheduled with our sister Troop. Having a sister Troop really does help the Crew out a lot, as once the boys get older they (and their sisters :-) ) can't wait to wear that green shirt. If you follow the two cardinal rules you can't g

Schools maintain a list of home-schooled children (at least at mine) and have their addresses, names, etc. They won't be able to give you this list, but they might distribute something to them for you.

What kind of church involvement does this boy have? (or synagogue or temple, etc.) I know that in this great big book I once read from, this one guy said "Hate the sin, love the sinner". This seems to work in the presented context. I would strongly advise a referral to a place of worship, because as the BSA recognizes, no person can grow to become the right kind of citizen without serving his duty to .

Thanks for all the replies...I kinda thought along those lines.

I'm no carpentry genius, but in my Technology class at school we made a swivel ottoman with no plans,guides,etc. We had one original ottoman that we reverse-engineered and made plans from. Maybe, if one of the old boxes is still around, you could try that.