Xyzzy

Food for thought: Taken from the Scoutmaster's Handbook, 5th edition, 1959. "While Scouters may wear the insignia to which they are entitled, a 'total display' may not be in the best taste if the uniform looks overdecorated. Unauthorized insignia or incorrect wearing of authorized insignia is always wrong. Scouters must set the example for Scouts in this matter. The Scoutmaster who wears only his Scoutmaster emblem, council or community strip, troop numeral, and service star on his uniform is never guilty of poor taste."

Buy one compass and use it for the rest of your life. Suunto M3-G http://www.thecompassstore.com/51m3gl.html The Scout Store where I live carries them, although they charge a bit too much for them. Make sure you get a "G" and not a "D".

http://www.scouting.org/scoutsource/Media/InsigniaGuide/10L.aspx

"Also is it just me, but do the bellows pockets and smokes pocket add to the cluttered look? I look my centennial uniform and it looks cluttered and messy, but when I look at my ODL, which has all the same stuff except unit numbers, it looks very neat." I have the pockets sewn down. I also split and resew the tabs so they fit exactly and are fixed at the outermost position. The flap is sewn through the shirt so that it hugs the curvature of the chest and does not curl up. The position patch and the trained tab is sewn through the shirt. Downside? No pockets. But I do not use them any

Since it is possible to log in and update the info associated with a PLB (travel plans, participants, time schedule, phone numbers, whatever) you would think it would make sense for councils to buy a few PLBs to loan out to units for when they are going someplace where the extra security is warranted.

The Spot is GPS only. Will you always get a GPS fix? http://www.equipped.org/406_beacon_test_background.htm#GPS On a PLB the GPS part is optional.

> OK news, is always good news. Maybe, if you can guarantee that it works. Read up on the Spot for a while and you will see that is is far from reliable. You don't even have to search out the hard core outdoor forums. Just look at the Amazon reviews. Let's say you tell your wife you will send her an "Okay" message every night. Then, one night your Spot fails to send the message or you cannot get coverage. What does your wife do? In all 3 of your posted scenarios, if you do not receive an "okay" message, what will you do? Have you investigated the cost difference between

I have an ACR PLB. http://www.acrelectronics.net/microfix/microfix.htm

I appreciate the replies. The information about the older uniforms is interesting. I know the old days were not as perfect as they seem in the Norman Rockwell paintings, but I know in my mind that I associate the old days with those images. Posted by OldGreyEagle: "On the other hand, if you want to draw attention to yourself and how you feel and what you have done, this is a perfect way to do it, but be honest, you want a celebration of yourself pure and simple." I'm not sure how to reply to that statement. Certainly, my goal is to not draw attention to myself. I wai

Posted by FScouter: "Now if you have a boy or adult that removed the flag from his uniform, you might get some discussion from this forum about that issue if you ask." We do have an adult (me) who does not wear the flag. Hardly anyone ever notices but when someone does the usual reaction I get is that I am not patriotic or that I hate my country. Neither is true. I have served two combat tours (as a medic) and I am very thankful that I live here, but I have several objections to wearing the flag on my uniform. 1) I feel that it is inappropriate and disrespectful to wear a fla

Without getting into why someone would choose to not wear the flag on their uniform, is there an official BSA publication or scouting.org reference that says that wearing the flag is optional? The BSA's Insignia Guide (#33066) doesn't clarify this issue. My exhaustive search thus far has only turned up these links and quotes: From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uniform_and_insignia_of_the_Boy_Scouts_of_America "Official uniforms come with the US flag sewn to the top of the sleeve. Wear of the flag is optional Scouts whose religion, tradition, or personal beliefs prevent t