VigilEagle04

NJ, I agree with your post except I would recommend going to someone in the district. I tend to go Commissioner, but that's just me. Maybe finding out who the Unit Commissioner is (if there is one) and seeing if they know about the goings on. If they don't talk to them about it, they should bring it up with others. If they do and haven't done anything, then seek out someone else. Even if you're doing it on your wait out the door, you're at least looking out for other parents who may have found themselves in the same situation you were in.

Mike F wrote: "Senior staff tents in same area as SM Staff, eats with SM Staff, etc." I've seen it done this way, and I partially agree. But that's not the only route to take. Someone else mentioned the Leadership Corps. There can be a "patrol" of the troop youth leadership. This depends on how big your troop is. We used to have the rule that if you had a troop POR, you were in this patrol. One of the reasons for this was so a Scout would not have their POR responsibilities interfere with their patrol responsibilities. The biggest exception to this was the Troop Guide, who was in the new

NJ, Interesting, had never seen it in that setting. Nor did I know it was the name of a director/producer. Apparently pop culture less than 100 years old escapes me, lol.(This message has been edited by VigilEagle04)

Merlyn, Most likely it wasn't just Eratosthenes either. Some of the monuments of antiquity and the way they relate to the moon, the sun, and the stars, they almost certainly had to have a knowledge about the earth that surpasses what we often give them credit for. By the way, I must complement the name, and not only an avid reader and fan of the Arthurian legends, but also as a Celtic spiritualist. You may not connect it to the man of legend, but it stuck out to me, lol.

"As a parent I do not want my children taught that being gay is natural and therefore an appropriate life style. As I don't believe that being gay is natural, in fact I believe it defies all of nature." We have observed homosexuality in the animal kingdom though. Anyway, regardless of how people view it, or how a CO views it, there is a moral standard that stands above all of that that is talked about in both the BSA and those COs. I am of course referring to the golden rule, the silver rule, one of the two greatest commandments, the Wiccan rede, however you want to look at it. Love

Forgive me, I was just using the word in post 1. Some people seem to think that being homosexual=being a molester/rapist.

NJCSer, The thing is, that many people think that for some reason, being gay=being a pedophile. The evidence is in the opening post of this thread with the quotation marks around the word different.

Your statement is correct Beavah. Honestly, those that have abused Scouts though, most didn't proclaim to be homosexuals. I'm not even sure if I know of any that have, even after the fact. Maybe it's not the openly gay people we should worry about.

I like it, but I'm also partial to green and not a fan of red, so yeah.

A pedophile is going to be a pedophile, whether homosexual or heterosexual. Women are allowed to be unit leaders, be on outings with boys, the whole nine yards. In venturing there is the co-ed issue, and there are co-ed leaders. If we allow this, I don't see why allowing homosexuals is any different. Now, I don't know much about the abuse cases in other areas, I do know of two in this area, and both were committed by heterosexual, married men with no reason to see it as otherwise. The wive's had no idea, no hint as to this stuff occurring. I've known homosexuals that were involved as Sco

NJCubScouter, In 2005 I believe, there was an x-ray system set up that at least the trucks went through, not sure about anything/anyone else.

Eagle92, You're right, we will drop in numbers initially. Some will be picked back up, especially if the local option, or outright allowance, goes for co-ed units as well. There are three Spiral Scouts units in this area (if you don't know what it is, don't worry, most people don't) who all know me. As a Celtic spiritualist, these are people I tend to connect to a lot (most are Earth-based religion types). Anyway, I've acted as a reference for the leaders that started these units, and many of them were former Scouters and/or Scouts. The youth and the adults have all said they would really

Bah, clem. All I where on my right pocket is my Founders Award device usually. I hate changing up those temporary patches, lol.

John, I must say, thanks for the laugh to get me started this morning. As for the rest of the thread, yeah, BDU pants are something I have found to be much more durable than the Scout pants. That being said, if I'm just at a meeting, I will be wearing the Scout pants. Going for an outing? BDUs. Service project? BDUs. There are just some things they work better for. I actually wear a green boonie as well. The front has the world crest on it, the back has my troop numerals (for those who had them in the service, it's in place of the cat eyes), and I have different pins on the loops. I

To tack onto shortridge's, it is not widely known that temporary patches can also be worn on the back of the MB sash.

"The flag is tucked away in the corner collapsed into a drape. The uniform is out in public and reminds the scout who is providing a lot of the resources and accepting the risk. It announces to the public the charity support the organization is providing to youths in the community." That's the difference here. When I was a Scout, if we were out doing something, the flag was there, along with our patrol flags. Service project somewhere? The flags would be nearby for all to see. Scouting for Food? They would be there. If we were anywhere as a unit, that flag was there. People knew where we

John, Yeah, don't get me started on the different utility uniform stuff. Every branch has their own, with the Marines having two, and the Navy having three. Why the Navy couldn't have stuck with the MARPAT is beyond me. Even the USCG has their own variation (actually two, if you count the tri-color desert still in use for overseas deployment by them). Then there is Multi-Cam, which is in use by several Spec Ops units (and thanks to Congress, will most likely be required for all soldiers heading to Afghanistan). It bugs me just a little. I understand there are different jobs being per

I kind of agree with Oak Tree on this one (maybe it's the name, I'm partial to oaks, lol). I think if anything, a strip above, or below, the unit numbers (I'm thinking above) would be about the most I would go, if anything. That being said, if the CO gave each Scout a temporary patch, that'd be fine in my book. The Scouts don't have to wear it, but they could. There are many options, maybe have the Scouts sew it on the back of their merit badge sashes (I think this would be a neat display, especially if the troop wears their sashes regularly). If the troop does those custom neckerchiefs,

E92, I have actually made up some temporary sewing kits for stuff like this. Essentially, some thin cardboard cut into strips. Enough tan thread wrapped around it to get any patch done twice over (you never know how they will do, lol) and a needle and two pins stuck into it. I have probably 50 of these made up for uniform inspections at stuff like that, works great. I try not to be the uniform police too often, but when people want a uniform inspection done, I don't mind lending my services. I'm a bit OCD when it comes to stuff like that. Now, I don't go around with a ruler or anythi

When I was a Scout, I as also a JROTC cadet. We were a fortunate BN that got a good bit of gear, and I often wore my BDU pants on camping trips, and often took my M65 with me (and later my Gore-Tex once I got one). My ruck was often in use, and I'd wear my boots if the hiking wasn't going to be too rough or the weather not too cold (they weren't the best boots for sure). Now, I never took the BDU shirt along, it wasn't necessary, but the pants, especially older ones that had gotten ripped up or what have you (our BN was pretty active, and pretty rough on uniforms) were perfect for Scouting.

Ah, a thread that hits home. I used to be a volunteer paramedic (back when I actually had free time to do volunteer work) and worked as the camp medic here for a summer. I must say that the additions described in the original post are very spot on, with Beavah's addition of nitro tabs. Part of my job as medic was to teach FAMB at camp. I just made sure I had the requirements covered, but the kids got so much more. They did learn about epi-pens, inhalers, AEDs (before they were added) and nitro tabs. They learned about scene safety (I even taught them the Haz-Mat rule of thumb ) and prope

Clem, I do a bit of the same thing, I tend to keep the patch on my uniform from my last year on camp staff. That was my last thing as a youth, so it's just one of those things these days. As for the uniform police, if it was once official, it is still official. As for the '73 Jambo patch, keep it on there. I know my '05 is still on mine. I've seen members of National and Regional wearing '97 patches as recently as last week, so I doubt there is an issue.

"Also, I always viewed foreign jamborees as the same as a BSA jamboree, and that you could wear them above the right pocket. Its a "national jamboree", right?" The insignia guide is ambiguous about it. I'm not really sure after looking at it.

Moxie, I believe that technically, a CJ patch is only supposed to be worn as a temporary on the BSA uniform, and doesn't go where the World or National Jamboree patch would go. At least that was my understanding about my CJ '01 patch.

It's good to bring up safety concerns, and as far as I know, you are correct on all points but one. You'd still be covered by BSA insurance whether or not the guidelines are followed. I may be wrong on that, but I think you'd be covered regardless.