VigilEagle04

I'd have to ask how many troops were there from your council? If there were more troops, did they give them to those troops as well? If this isn't the case, then it sounds like the Commissioner goofed.

I did a Google search on it to make sure and saw them on eBay. They were listed there as the 6 segments and an adult rocker, so I'm guessing it is the same as I said earlier. I saw the difference in arc on there as well, so I saw what you're saying about the fit.

So I've kind of held off in my response for a bit, but I'm going to give it now. One of the biggest things that comes to mind when I think of the OA is the old adage "work hard, play hard."

Indeed, there is plenty of service involved, as that is what it is really all about. Serving others is the premise of the OA (I almost quoted a ceremonies line here, lol). I know here in my lodge, we have at least three weekends of service at the local camp, we have our yearly One Day of Service, which is a day of service to the community, ArrowCorps (which luckily, one of those locations is within our council, and we are heavily involved), and several chapter projects throughout the year. We've often done things like taking charge of the Cub Scouts program for a council camporee as well. The last part of this is our special projects. We've done fundraising and construction of certain specific things for the council as well. Both additions to our dining hall, the handicap fishing platform, two campsites, all have had the bill footed for them, and the service to build them, by the OA at Camp Shenandoah.

Aside from the service aspect though, it allows the Arrowman to interact with others like him. Often, a Scout in a troop will mostly have interaction with those in his troop. At district/council camping events, he may talk to a few other Scouts that are there, but it's not as in depth. When it comes to the OA, you are interacting with other Scouts from all over the district and council on a regular basis. It helps you network more with your fellow Arrowman, often older Scouts who are committed to Scouting like he is. This, to me, is one of the greatest retention aspects of the OA. An older Scout in a troop can get stuck in a rut, this is something new.

There are the fun events. The section conclave is an absolute blast. Scouts from all over your section (which, not knowing where you are, I do not know what region that includes)come together for some training sessions (one of my favorites we have is "How to pick up a girl in a Scout uniform"), competitions, and general fun. NOAC is the same, though on the national level and held every two years. Absolutely wonderful time to meet fellow Arrowmen from across the country that, to me, is a bit more fun than Jambo. The numbers are lower, but I've met more at NOAC than Jambo hands down. There are other events we've been having lately, like Indian Summer and such, that offset the funky schedule created by the centennial celebrations of the BSA and the OA (which will be in 2015).

We promote camping like no other. We do a yearly push that our lodge calls CP/UE. This is Camping Promotion and Unit Elections. When we go around to do unit elections, we often talk with the troop about the local Scout camp, we discuss different camping opportunities in the area, and encourage Scout troops to utilize these as much as possible.

The extra training is awesome as well. Not just what is offered at the Conclave, NOAC or Indian Summer and such, but most lodges hold their own Leadership Development Conference. It helps add to what has already been taught. The pinnacle of it, though, is National Leadership Seminar. This is a lot like Wood Badge, but available to youth. The lessons learned that weekend will stick with an Arrowman through life. I've had classes on management and leadership as I'm a business major, and the stuff taught at NLS is always brought up in these classes. It is often seen as one of the premier leadership training courses in the BSA.

And lastly, leadership itself. The OA provides further opportunities for leadership for the youth. As a youth in the Boy Scouts, if interested, he will most likely serve as an officer in the chapter or lodge, possibly even the Lodge Chief. As Lodge Chief, you often serve on the executive Board of the Council, and are responsible for the OA program in the entire lodge/council. About the time a Scout reaches college age, they will be looking at Section office, which can lead to being a Regional or National officer even.

Anyway, I know I've thrown out a lot of stuff here, and most likely stuff that some people have already said, and some that some may not agree with. As an Arrowman who jumped in excitedly right away, these are just my experiences. I left out the high adventure stuff and the Service Corps as we've already talked about those fairly well. I just wanted to elaborate on everything else a bit more.(This message has been edited by VigilEagle04)

If it's what I'm thinking, I believe someone was mistaken in what they told you. The youth earn the individual rockers, but the adults get a "5 for 5" (what it was called at the 2005 Jambo, I guess this year it would be "6 for 6") piece for encouraging a certain percentage of the Scouts to complete the segments. It's kind of like a quality unit thing for Jambo. I have one of these on my Jambo uniform from 2005, when I went as a 3rd ASM.

No doubt Eagle. I couldn't count the number of times I was getting to a meeting, a COH, or some other function where I was changing once I got there. I still do it, including last night for a Roundtable. I had a final exam to take for a class, it went up to 6:30, and the meeting was at 7.

No doubt about the OATC at Philmont. My friend's Facebook status is currently set to "after 260 miles of trail hiked, maybe a 1,000 ft of trail built, 3 rockwalls, 30 participants, 2 ukuleles, 100's of cups of coffee, and 20 peaks, I still can't grow a beard . . ." He's 22 or 23 now, and not sure if he actually went as staff or not, but he does the OATC most every summer these days.

When I was a Cub, it was the uniform, period. Like in NJEM's case though, baseball season had instances where things were allowed to slip by. We always wore our uniforms for meetings though. That being said, neither my pack nor my troop ever had a unit t-shirt. Had we, that may have changed things. All that being said, this was nearly 20 years ago that I started in Cub Scouts, so things may have changed in that unit since then.

By the way, nice to see a fellow bean counter around.

I actually have three sashes at this point, though one doesn't get much use anymore since I am no longer a youth. One for ceremonies, one for meetings/formal, and one for my usual activities. My ceremonies one has a certain "illegal" patch on it. Never used it to remind myself, just thought it was a nice touch, and I never wear it outside of the ceremonies ring.

Eagle,

Unless it's an LEC meeting or some sort of formal function. We clean up fairly well sometimes, lol!

Those of you who traveled from a good distance away, glad to see you all got to take in some sights on the way. I hope you enjoyed it.

I can't remember how much Jambo cost for us, but it wasn't as much as what you all are throwing out. That being said, it must be taken into consideration my council is only about three hours away driving distance.

Oh man, can't believe I dug this one up. Good ol' Robert trying to drag us SR-7A types out of the woodworks.

Haven't read through all the answers here, but hey, I figure I'll say my piece.

An adult leader ages 18-20 must meet the same eligibility requirements as a Scout, including the First Class requirement. I've been asked this question many times being a former Camp Promotion/Unit Elections chairman for the lodge. Only when an adult leader is above the age of 21 does the First Class requirement not become necessary. Those that are 18-20 must go through the same election process as a youth.

Last little bit, once an Arrowman, always an Arrowman. Once you go through the Ordeal, you are a member of the Wimantendienk for life.

I've never been to a camp in the states where there was patrol method cooking. Although the option was available (the dining hall staff would pass you the stuff you needed if requested), my troop never took that option. In a way, summer camp was our vacation camp. Sure, we did service projects during down time and did all the extra activities and such, but it was nice not having all the typical stuff to concern ourselves with.

Now, at Haliburton Scout Reserve in Canada, there was patrol based cooking. That was definitely a good time. Each day, someone would motor (the camp was on a lake, you had to canoe/kayak/row/motor boat everywhere you went) over to the grocery store on camp and pick up food for the day. While I can say it was a great experience and a lot of fun, the camp was so much different than U.S. camps I've been too, I can't say for sure if it would have cut into the program.

By the way, if anyone wants to do a special summer camp trip, Haliburton is an awesome time. I just recommend also taking a trip to your local camp for those that need advancement.

The patch trading does indeed get out of hand, and it is insane how many patches some councils make. My council usually has only 3 patches for Jambo. Two JSPs of different border colors (one limited to participants and in limited quantities, and one sold to anyone in the council until they run out) and the patrol patch (which we use the one with all four patrols on it, and whichever is turned up is the patrol the Scout is in). Our lodge has only produced a Jambo flap once, when I was lodge chief in 2005. I guess it didn't go over so well as they didn't do one for this Jambo. In 2005, it was a one piece deal, no restrictions, only one style. For NOAC, we do a restricted two piece, and an unrestricted two piece.

So, when I go to national events and see the insane amount of patches out there, it amazes me. I think when councils do that type of thing, and make the huge sets and elaborate patches, they help facilitate the monster that patch trading has become. If I like a patch, I will trade with someone. I will always do one-for-one though, and don't care about the set. I just do it for the interaction and because it looks neat. I am glad to say that is the vast majority of the kids in our council. The patch trading bug has hit very few in this area.

In 2005 we supplied our kids with hydration packs for the event. We're a little more used to the temps at Jambo (as we are Virginians ourselves)but when a lot of your walking is done on asphalt it ups the ante.

Our troop had the added bonus though of a pediatrician as 1st ASM, and myself, a medic, as 3rd ASM. We were constantly checking up on the kids, every evening asking them how they were feeling, asking about how much water they had, etc. The doctor is the camp doctor, and I had been the camp medic several times, so we are accustomed to this stuff. The best you can do is remind them, check on them, and when they're in camp, make sure they drink.

That wasn't Mazzuca who went down. My DE was backstage at the show and snapped some photos, one was of the guy who actually rappeled down the tower.

As for pros partying pretty hard, yeah, I can attest to that. The past three DEs we've had have been some pretty fun guys.

Welcome to the board!

I may have spent my Scouting career in Virginia, but I have to give props to the Westmoreland-Fayette Council, which is where I would have been a scout were it not for my parents moving when I was pre-Tiger age.

Welcome to the forum, always good to see fellow staffers.

I wish I could have seen this stuff. One of our council members is on staff at the Sea Scouts exhibit. It looked excellent.

Indeed, Bear does do the job.

As for the show overall, I thought it was a good show for the boys. Like many of you, very pleased with Mike Rowe. I don't think he's the CSE type, but I think it would do good to have him on the board somewhere, and keep him involved. He provides a great message to the youth, and is rather no nonsense with them as well (if you've ever read his letters to Scouts, you know what I mean).

The AT&T bit was overdone, but when they spent $3 million on the stuff, you have to give them placement. They made a lot of the celebration possible.

There is extra security for the POTUS visit. I remember in 2005, with metal detectors at the entrance and snipers posted in various places. The road the motorcade traveled from the helipad to the arena was lined with military personnel. But, that was the only real step up in security, otherwise it was not felt by the contingency.

I must say, I am glad we have the professional staff we have here at SJAC. I don't know much about our new SE as he just got here. But overall, our executive staff does an excellent job working to supplement our volunteers. They understand the value of volunteers and are there to do nothing but support them and handle the day to day functions of the council.

I've got an Army OD green boonie that has a WOSM emblem on front, troop numerals on back, and a variety of pins on the loops around the hat. It may not be official, but it looks good and serves its purpose.

I must say, the patch trading at NOAC is insane, but it is at Jambo as well. I like collecting patches, but like to focus primarily on stuff from my council/lodge. I'd love to have a full set of lodge flaps and CSPs from here, and thankfully, that isn't too hard, lol. Yeah, we put out NOAC flaps, but we don't go to the extreme like some, and that's nice. It seems like more and more our area is falling into the trend with patches though, I guess anniversaries will do that.

I'm kind of amazed at some of the attitudes in here, not very Scout-like. It's one thing to correct someone, or shine a new light on a situation, but some of the comments haven't been very kind.

I have many different slides. I have the new three-hole design ones (OA, Jambo 2005, and Eagle), I have a couple wooden ones, about a half dozen woggles, a couple Canadian style ones, several event specific ones, and my three standards.

If you want an "official" slide for Cub Scouting, that would be a good one for a leader, look for the older Cub Scout slide. When I went through, the slide was the same for Wolf and Bear, it was just the Cub Scout emblem on the gold colored slide. Not sure how easy they are to find, but if you want uniformity with the uniforms, it's an idea.