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OGE - great idea! Afterall, scouting should be boy-run right?

ItsMe - I'm Staying Aliiiiivvvve

BW - The parenthetical language of section IX says paintball is included as firearm only with respect to the restriction of pointing it at someone. The same parenthetical language was not added in Section VIII. If they wanted to restrict target shooting with paintball guns they could have very easily done so by adding the parenthetical language to the Section VIII discussion. But they did not. So that leaves it a matter of interpretation until BSA chooses to clarify.

Shooting a target with a paintball gun (under proper supervision) is not prohibited by the BSA. The BSA only retricts pointing a paintball gun at someone (and presumably shooting someone with it) since that is all G2SS states.

Is paintball target shooting boring? Don't know since I've never done it.

Mark - we charge $100 dues and do four fundraisers a year. Scout gets to keep all the money they fundraise and can apply it to their own dues, own camping costs, own equipment purchases, etc. For years, we had lower dues and the fundraising would always be a challenge - one boy raises $400 while another raises nothing for any number of reasons - mostly just did not want to be bothered. The straw that broke the camels back was a fundraiser in which only 25% participated. The feedback from the parents was pretty much split - half wanted to fundraise, the other half just wanted to stroke checks. Given that, we have made all happy...those that fundrais are not out-of-pocket and 'the scout pays his own way' in the fine traditions of scouting and those that choose not to fundraise are not bothered and can just write their check (it is always available to them) The $100 is a little on the highside - we will probably knock it down to $75 after the new trailer is paid for (the committee decided not to do a special fundraiser for the trailer but rather build it into the dues).

I have seen that alot, especially with scouts that change position every 6 months. But...your just putting off the inevitable, if the shirt is more than a year old go buy a new shirt for your ASM patch and retire that old stinky thing to your Commish patch. If the new position doesn't work out you still have a servicable fieldshirt for camping and keep the new one for indoor wear.

sorry packsaddle - I only have eight fingers - I am looking forward to Christmas though

BW - page reference please. Always follow the rules...its my curse in life.

Fabreze pads built into the underarms would be nice. Zip off pants are now all the rage. Its been 20 years since the last design change - I think its time for a little updating. Those that say the uniform is perfect as is and should not be updated probably said the same thing in 1981 when the last change was made. Besides then I might consider tossing out my white disco suit, flower print nylon shirts, 4" belts and bozo-sized ties.

Make it a rule that people should sing when they find an item...that way it will find its way back to owner much faster. FALALALALALALALA!!!!

Submit through another district? Is that possible? Would we then have to use the other district for the BOR chair? If we used our district BOR chair...he may have some big questions as to why we did not go through our own district's project coordinator. I can hear the poor scout explaining that to him.

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Deut. 23:13

OGE - where did I say the pop-up targets were to be anything other than circles? I will bet you a penny that twenty years from now, Scout Camps will have paintball walk-through target ranges. Its like the skateboard ramps you are now finding popping up at camps. Our troop does not do paintball (because it is prohibited) but it only comes up about..oh..a dozen times a year. Of course there are a million other great scouting activities other than paintball. Can we have a water balloon fight with dyed water?

We charge $100 ($25 per quarter) - covers scout and adult registration, boys life, awards, misc supplies. Used to charge less with difference made up through fundraising. People got tired of the age old issue of covering those who refused to fundraise. Now everyone pays $100 and 100% of the profits from our multiple fundraisers go into the individual scout accounts based on their individual production. That way, those who don't want to come out of pocket can fundraise and those who prefer just to write a check can do so. For big equipment outlays we do special fundraisers with proceeds going to the troop.

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Deut. 23:13

BW - please set me straight...where is a "paintball gun" referenced in Section VIII of G2SS? Are you interpreting it to be a "firearm" which is prohibited except for law enforcement? At best it is an "airgun" - see first paragraph of Section VIII which the G2SS section does not really define and then goes on to say virtually nothing about - except for reference to "air rifle". Or is it a "handgun" which again is not defined although the G2SS discussion goes on to talk about "pistols" - (I presume this is your contention because of your reference to Venturing)? Most paintball guns require too hands and I haven't heard anyone being arrested or having to get a permit to carry one. Paintball is growing in popularity and the BSA hasn't really caught on yet. It is not specifically addressed at all in Section VIII of G2SS - they only categorized "paintball" as a prohibited activity along with laser tag - which would lead me to believe they don't want weapons or simulated weapons being pointed at others...and...that paintball does not reach the level of a firearm discussed in G2SS (otherwise they would have addressed it there). Now I am dead set against kids shooting at each other (or pretending to). But saying a paintball gun is covered under Section VIII when it is not at all referenced is like saying a rubber-band gun is covered as well. I think the BSA needs to provide a little more direction on this one...otherwise we are all left to our own interpretation.

I know the G2SS says no paintballing...but how about paintball target shooting. Set up a cool cityscape that the scout works his way through with pop-up targets (much like in an old Dirty Harry movie - the one with the bad cops). You could have a police officer come to talk about the split second decisions that need to be made, offer hints, give scouts a glimpse of law enforcement work, maybe expand to Crime Prevention merit badge. I would interpret the G2SS that BSA doesn't want people pointing 'simulated weapons' at each other...but what would be wrong with a cool target round - scouts can certainly fire real weapons at a target (assuming appropriate rules are followed).

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Deut. 23:13

Gettysburg...we do it every other year...we are 2 hours away...I'm a Civil War nut. For young kids, the 3 mile Johnny Reb trail will knock them out, I would not attemp the 10 mile Billy Yank trail - thats an all day thing and you miss so much more. Better to do the shorter hike and then drive to the hotspots along the tour route - Devil's den and a hike up Round top. Definitely want to do the visitor center, electric map and cyclorama. The Eisenhower house tour is pretty good and takes about 1.5 hours. The wax museum is a good stop and it is just behind the visitor center across the street. Make sure you schedule a ghost tour at night - they have different options and providers in town. The kids always act cool at the beginning and then you see the terror in their eyes. Consider watching the Gettysburg movie as a troop before going - they will get more out of the visit and will recognize names and features better. After Gettysburg...you will surely want to make another trip down and check out Antietam (Sharpsburg for you rebs out there).

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WOW! New to the forum...you guys (and gals) are really committed (or should be?!?). Turned over my SM role a few months ago and now taking it easy being an ASM, MBC, OA guy, Eagle Advisor, etc. etc. Plenty of time to surf the net now too. Anyway, from starting a new troop from scratch 4 years ago (now up to 45 scouts) we have 8-10 who are just getting into their Eagle projects. In our district there is one 'Eagle Project Coordinator' who is the only door for project approval. He has been doing it since the great flood, a nice guy and seems to go out of his way to help the scouts. But with a district of 5,000+ he has his hands full. It is not uncommon for scouts to wait a long time (months) to get meetings and workbook reviews. The District Advancement Committee has at least 20 people on it - it seems that there could be more than one district 'EPC' to help things move along at a faster pace. My questions - Is having only one man as the District Eagle Project Coordinator standard? Even for larger districts? Is their BSA policy on this? Is this just a control issue?There was an outcry about the situation in the past year (that project approval was moving at a snail's pace) and there was supposed to be a big district meeting to discuss - I wasn't able to attend but from what I heard, nothing is changing. It does seem from reading the Council list of new Eagles that our district lags behind others. I apologize if this has been discussed already. Your comments would be appreciated.

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