VigilEagle04

Same here Eagle92 , I have one of those for my Klean Kanteen insulated. Absolutely love it.

JB, that's pretty funny right there!

My favorite bow experience was at a section conclave (SR-7A All the way!). The host lodge (I believe it was Nawakwa, Heart of Virginia Council) told us of their secret event, that we wouldn't know the details of until we got there. I was Lodge Chief that year, and our theme for the spirit competition was Robin Hood. Naturally, I was Prince John. So we had these short bows cut out and regular string with dowel rod arrows and such for the merry men (not meant to shoot, just look good really), and all sorts of costuming from knights to monks to the merry men.

Anyway, when we go to the competition meeting, they hand us this packet. Inside is a bowstring, fletching feathers, and glue. The challenge was to make a bow and arrow, and your Lodge Chief had to shoot three arrows into a target in competition with the other chiefs. Needless to say, the other chiefs were not happy when I showed up with my bow, as they mostly had tree limbs and such. I couldn't help but think back to the tales of how John was a great archer, so obviously, I showed up in costume, as did the rest of my lodge.

I won that competition, but to be fair, I showed them that I could shoot fairly well with one of the contraptions that the other lodges had come up with as well. I still have that bow and the arrows though, it's a fond memory of my days as a youth.(This message has been edited by VigilEagle04)

Every ECOH I've been to has been separate, including mine. The only really big ones I went to were those of three brothers. These guys were like the Kennedy's of the local OA lodge (every one of them was a Chapter Chief, Lodge Chief, and a Section Officer), their dad owned a car dealership, and they were well known and liked by everyone in the council.

When I was a youth, the SM changed fairly often. About 6 years in the troop (I was an older kid in my class, and I left at 18 due to differences of opinion) and there were 4 different SMs during that time frame.

JB,

Sound like my kind of person, lol! I tend to use recurve more when hunting, just because it provides some extra umph to it, but never a compound. I shot a compound only once. Went through a quiver, handed it back to the guy and said "not for me".

"As for shotguns, only the merit badge requirement of shooting a single target is the driver for loading only one shell at a time, the G2SS doesnt say you cant load two. Range rules usually dictate loading no more then two rounds. If a Scout is a natural shotgun shooter, Ill spice it up a bit and throw doubles (if on a skeet field), once they find the grove on those out-goers, its a waste of ammo and targets so why not ratchet it up a notch, they may just want to pick up the sport"

All of my long guns, save my antiques, are break-opens (or rolling block in the case of my Rugers). I always laugh at the reaction when I would have two clays thrown out and hit both using my single shot 20 ga.

I'm a bit of a traditionalist when it comes to shooting sports, so I won't chime in too much. I'll just say that to me, a recurve is a lot more fun, and a much better bow.

But I'm the type that doesn't use compound bows, and for muzzle loader, no percussion caps, only flint. I actually have a short bow that I like to use, no recurve or anything. But again, I tend to be a bit old school.

My thoughts on this:

1. Call the other SM, and at least get a grasp on the kind of program they have. If this is going to be an every year thing, it's also good to have a good communication flow there.

2. For the ranks, if you're going to be the one to hand them over, there is nothing wrong with holding your own SMC and BoR. If they ask why, just simply tell them that you want to insure that any rank you hand out is being handed out properly, that you want to see what they've learned.

I have no idea about the merit badges. I have not looked at the requirements for any of the historical ones, so I'm on unfamiliar grounds there. For canoeing, I forget who said it, but they were right about it taking little to no time. I did my canoeing MB in an afternoon when I worked on camp staff.

What I'm curious about the the whole Member ID issue. If these scouts are going to have two sets of records throughout their scouting days. It seems a bit odd to me, and I would just make sure if it is a separate ID, that the one for your council is updated with the advancements as well. I could see a serious SNAFU situation occurring in this instance.(This message has been edited by VigilEagle04)

I heard about that loss,it was a sad day. Being a brother here in SR-7A, the loss of Michael struck us close to home.

Glad to hear they did it proper for him.

For Boy Scouts, .22 caliber modern rifles only (though air rifles work as well). Muzzle loaders are allowed, though I have never understood the reasoning behind that due to their size. When I ran the rifle range at the local camp, I had one around, but no one but me ever fired it. Usually it was young scouts taking the MB, and it would've bowled them over.

For both shotguns and rifles, they are only allowed to load one shot at a time, no matter the style. We used a variety of styles of shotguns that could hold up to 7 rounds, but only one at a time could be loaded. Our rifles were bolt actions that could hold 5 rounds if I remember correctly, but the shells were loaded individually as they shot.

So lots of good stuff being thrown around here.

I mainly want to comment about the whole DE situation. This isn't an issue for the DE at this point. Right now, this is something for the Commissioner staff if you do want to discuss it outside the unit. Specifically the UC. I'm not necessarily advocating going to a commish, but that's the better route to go. Their job is to work with units to keep them healthy, which is what it appears this unit might be needing.

I've been in your position before, though not with my own child. I have no kids at this point, but I went right in to being an ASM when I turned 18. In fact, my Outdoor Leader Fundamentals was done on the weekend of my Eagle ceremony (long story as to why the ceremony was that late). I was part of a dysfunctional troop, and tried to help it along. Some troops just won't let you though. I even went the UC route, then eventually the DC route. This was 6 years ago, and I still get parents from that troop who know me, complaining about things in that troop. My only advice now is to find another troop, and I give my recommendations.

The scientific method is the method used for all scientific studies, though in various forms. anyway, in its simplest form it is:

Observe

Form a hypotheses

Make predictions

Perform an experiment

At least that's what I remember from classes in high school.

For lower ranks, you may have been able to progress without camping, but how long has the camping MB been Eagle required? Has the requirement of 20 days and nights camping changed over those years? If camping has always been required, and that requirement has been there the whole time, then you could not get Eagle without going camping.

Well, to the Arrowmen present, they will recognize who they are. To those who are not familiar with it, they will see it as a ceremony for something they are not familiar with, but which the other person was a part of.

You can still convey an excellent OA-like message in this manner. AoL and Crossover ceremonies are a bit different, but I've had many comments about how much they enjoyed them, and we get lots of questions. For those, it's awesome, because it sparks that intrigue early on. For the Broken Arrow thing, it's not as much for the audience as it is for the person being remembered.

Eale is right about the use outside of the official ceremonies. We have Arrow of Light and Crossover ceremonies written up in case a troop in the Council wants that kind of thing. National has known about it in the past, and there were no issues.(This message has been edited by vigileagle04)

Extremely far fetched considering Scouts who took video at the show and posted it on YouTube said they were booing Obama, and you can tell those taking the videos were booing themselves.

"In fact, our Lodge Chief was the SPL of our Jambo Troop and he chose not to go so someone lese could go. Actually, a number of our older scouts and Arrowmen did the same."

Interestingly enough, I was thinking that this would be my position on it were I a youth during this event. I think it's important for the younger Scouts to go through if it's limited like that. It give a great exposure to the OA, and it will seem a bit more special to them. I think it shows great character that the older Scouts with you decided to take that route. The next time you see that young Lodge Chief, you can tell him a former Lodge Chief commends him on his actions.

As for that specific rocker, as freely as some of these things were given out, I would honestly have given it to every Scout, whether they went through or not. Those who volunteered to not go would definitely get it. At the end of the week, those who had tried the long lines and didn't make it in would have gotten it as well. Just my opinion on it. Holding back an achievement because of forces outside their control is not fair as I see it.

Re boomer:

Ah, hadn't thought about the lack of hardwood. Living in an area with many trees, I tend to forget that some places are not so lucky in that regard.

People use charcoal for the Dutch Ovens? I've never seen that.

I've never even thought of that, lol.

The exclusion was that the leader's guide said Scouts. It didn't make the overall statement of participants, and it didn't say Scouts and Scouters. Scouts only refers to the youth.

I take it for what it is, entertainment value. There are some genuine survival skills thrown in (note I said some), but overall it is a different type of show than say, Survivorman.

As for him representing the UK Scouts? I could take it or leave it. From what I remember, there is not any mention of that on his show, so I don't know how much crossover there is overseas.

Eagle92:

I've been known to just not care and wear everything but the shirt (though often I will have a Scout related t-shirt on)to work, whether it be BS or Venturing pants/shorts. I have a very casual work environment (gotta love an accounting department where everyone is wearing jeans usually)so it poses no problems. I almost always have a Scout shirt in my truck regardless (I have been called last minute for a FOS presentation far too many times)so that is not so much of an issue.

Bando-

I agree, they should have specifically stated they were for youth only, but sometimes with BSA materials you have to take exclusion to meaning those not mentioned can not participate.

Being the individual rockers don't fit on the adult patch, I don't believe they are intended for adults to earn. Especially since one of the rockers was completely unavailable to adults, and in the leader guide it specifically states the rockers are for Scouts to earn, not participants, not Scouts and Scouters, just Scouts.

I can't find anything about the 100% rocker on any official site, only on those selling it all describing it as the adult rocker.

Aside from that, my experience with the one from 2005 tells me that's the case.(This message has been edited by VigilEagle04)