sierracharliescouter

In my experience, advancement is only a "black hole" if advancement is a high priority of the troop. Some troop push advancement more than others. Ours does not. I'd like to think we do a pretty good job at being boy-led. That means we sometimes end up with a 3rd year scout who is still tenderfoot. We had one of those a few years ago, yet he still managed to finish Eagle (it was a heart-attack Eagle, but he did finish!). It has to be up to the scout, and to some extent the parents of course, on how important advancement is for them. Or at the least look for a troop that doesn't push advancement if that isn't likely going to work out well for the scout. 

They all mature at different rates and have different priorities and interests. The program is flexible enough to recognize that, when used properly.

15 hours ago, mrjohns2 said:

Unless you have “all green” and pay by echelon/cc. Then it is set in stone. 

Even in these cases, the registrar should be able cancel it after the fact and issue a credit to the unit's account.

We use troopwebhost for our roster/communication/planning, but use Internet Advancement 2.0 (which is really just a different front end for Scoutbook) for all advancement. 

The mobile app for troopwebhost is bizarre, it needs to load all of the roster data every time you start it, so it is rather slow. 

The calendar and email features from a desktop/laptop are pretty solid, even though the interface is rather dated.

Transitioning a unit from one platform to another is a giant PIA, so do all the research you need to be happy with your choice. There will be at least a few months of transition pain no matter what you do.

1 hour ago, 5thGenTexan said:

Being a leader with Cub Scouts is good experience...  Makes one an excellent cat herder.

I agree, wrangling Cub Scout parents is excellent training for herding cats.

A rather simple solution/exclusion to this rule could be written, to allow *continued* (not new) one-on-one contact *outside of scouts* between 18-19 year olds and their friends within 2 years age with whom they previously were youth-in-common as scouts. Add to that a permission waiver for the parents of the under 18 youth, specifically naming the 18/19 year olds with whom they can maintain one-on-one contact with *outside of scouts*.

The frustrating part of G2SS for me is that it remains inconsistent with well known risks in other parts of the program. I work in an industry that has many, highly regulated, safety risks. Just because something is risky doesn't mean you never do it, it means you teach awareness of the risks and how to minimize them. That is a far better life lesson to kids than cutting activities and sitting around and playing computer games all day (which has it's own physical and mental health risks). Yes, they are teenagers and a lot of it doesn't stick the first few times you tell them, but you keep the message going rather than not do the activity.

Think of all the physical risks posed at Philmont or Northern Tier. We're willing to trust 14 year-olds to not fall/jump off a cliff, not drown in a lake in the middle of nowhere, make a .30-06 round and fire it, but can't trust them to play dodgeball or laser tag? What message does this send, other than "adults are inconsistent and the rules don't make sense". 

The problem I find with many large organizations is they aren't willing to tell their lawyers "no". Lawyers get paid to make up rules, they won't stop doing this until you tell them "enough". CEOs and Boards of Directors, most of whom have very little true understanding of risk management, believe that if they ever say "no" to a lawyer or an insurance company that wants to impose new restrictions, they are responsible for anything bad that happens afterward. What they fail to understand is all the bad things that happen when they agree to new rules/restrictions.

Feminine hygiene products were available at the trading posts both at Philmont and our local Council camp this summer.

The issue really isn't the $s, it is the last minute change announcement. If they announced this back in July or August, it wouldn't have had any big blow-back. Realistically, this is one or two cups of coffee per month difference for parents. Maybe 3 or 4 cups if they have multiple kids in the program. Go to the local donut shop for a cup instead of Starbucks. The donut shop has better coffee anyway.

National continues to demonstrate they have no change management skills.

Our troop budgets an average of $4 per meal per scout (or adult). One person in each patrol is usually responsible for buying for the entire campout, based on a (hopefully) detailed menu agreed to by the Patrol.  Scout or adult submits to the treasurer for reimbursement based on actual costs. Seems to average out pretty well. Patrols share some common items, like condiments, or will share something like a head of lettuce to cover 2 or 3 patrols for sandwiches, so there isn't as much waste.

On 8/7/2019 at 9:46 PM, awanatech said:

That wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing.

Yes, it would, because I very much doubt that most (or maybe any) councils have the appropriate level of expertise or resources to appropriately evaluate the risks for every Eagle project, and it should be up to the beneficiary to determine if the risks are acceptable to them.

1 hour ago, Jameson76 said:

Not downplaying the severity of the charges or impact on the BSA and Eagle Scouts; wonder if he earned Entrepreneurship, American Business, or Truck Transportation Merit Badges?  Also assume he got to see the essential elements of Fingerprinting Merit Badge up close and personal.

You forgot Chemistry and Salesmanship.

The problem with rescinding an Eagle is who decides what crime rises to the level of losing the award? Shoplifting? Embezzlement? Selling a dime-bag on the street? DUI? DUI that results in vehicular homicide?

The reality is that Eagle hopefully represents what a person was at a particular point in their life, though we all know there is a wide range of actual knowledge that a Scout can have and behaviors that they may exhibit and still earn Eagle. Also, just because someone does something wrong at some point in their life doesn't mean that bad action has to forever define who they are for their remaining days. The act of taking away recognition of an Eagle award could have a negative effect on hope of rehabilitation from criminal acts.

Who handled internet advancement for your pack? They should have completed advancement of the kids in June or earlier. You'll need to find someone who has access to your online advancement records. If you're having trouble finding that person, contact your unit commissioner or district executive, and if you don't know who that is, call your council office for help.

As for the Tigers, just start working on stuff and don't worry about whether their records are updated or not. You can catch up with the paperwork later, just keep the program moving along.

I'm hearing reports that due to an insufficient number of buses, Western Region USA scouts are being bused out early, before or during Closing Ceremony, and will have to spend the night in the airport. This is a pretty stunning level of logistical incompetence.

I cannot see a reason for a Den Chief to enter a Cub tent or adult tent (except family). Even as an adult I would not do this without another adult present, even if the tents are known to be empty.

See the earlier post that links to descriptions and the purpose and role of the Den Chief.

I don't recommend having a sibling of Cub Scout in the Den as the Den Chief, unless there is an exceptionally good sibling relationship. I also wouldn't have a Den Chief that is less than three years older than Cubs in the Den. The purpose is to have someone to help lead, not another participant. It can work, I've seen it work reasonably well, but the older Scout needs to take it seriously.

We may be dancing over semantics on this, but the new requirements for AOL makes it functionally a separate rank now. It used to be that a 5th grader could not join the program and get the AOL patch without having gone through the Webelos requirements. You basically could not join Cub Scouts in 5th grade and earn AOL. That was the major point of the change, to enable newly-joined 5th grade Cub Scouts to earn AOL and be able to bridge to Boy Scouts before they turned 11. Saying that AOL is *not* a separate rank now is a distinction without much of a difference. 

Our tradition is that the 5th graders (aka AOL-rank scouts, not Webelos anymore, thanks BSA for making this confusing) bridging to Scouts BSA receive their AOL patch at our Blue and Gold Dinner in February, and are received by their respective troops as their "cross the bridge". We invite the whole pack (50+ families) to the Blue and Gold Dinner, but only the AOLs are recognized, so maybe a third of the rest of the Pack attends, usually the families of the Scouters plus a few more.

We do our lower ranks bridging ceremony as a big pot-luck dinner in mid-May, where all of the other Cubs "bridge" to their next rank.

Yeah, I've done a bunch of Google searches, none definitively list the width for the inflatable track. Best I can figure is 3 inch width should work.

we have a dad who is willing to cut boats from a high density foam, which is why i'm looking for the spec width.

Quick question. What is the correct boat width for an inflatable track raingutter regatta boat?

2 hours ago, Stosh said:

.... and from outside the box, why was a too-small site selected in the first place?

If it is a medium-large pack, it can be difficult to find suitable group-site campgrounds or get reservations at adjoining smaller camp sites. This is a problem for our pack of ~50 boys, where often nearly half the pack would want to go - resulting in 100+ folks who want to go to a campground that may only allow 70. We do it first-come first-served, and maintain a waiting list in case of cancellations. Finding campgrounds near us with sufficient parking for large groups is also a problem. I think they plan some of these site assuming there are a few 15 passengers vans being used for transport.

Sure would be nice if cubs in 2018 meant January or June or September...Make a big difference to folks on the front lines who may already be fielding questions about when their daughter can join

I have already pointed out to my Council that by not starting the girls program on June 1, with the rest of the Cubs, the girls can't go to Day Camp, and therefore can't earn the Outdoor Activity Award their first year. We do other advancement activities during the summer as well as a Pack and Dens. I will be fighting to get the effective date June 1, or BSA's effort at gender equality will start out with inequality...

To those of you who are opposed to girls joining BSA, I have to ask:

Which of these do not apply equally to what we hope for girls to become as well as boys?

Trustworthy, Loyal, Helpful, Friendly, Courteous, Kind, Obedient, Cheerful, Thrifty, Brave, Clean and Reverent.

At the Cub level, the worst that I could see happening is the boys acting a little more mature when they're around the girls. With proper supervision, that is hopefully what would happen at the Boy Scout level too.

Some of the "let the boys be boys" attitude is what is has resulted in a bunch of other ugly headlines in the news in the last few days.

 

What I find interesting is that girls will be admitted to Cub Scouts in the "2018 program year" (question: Does the "program year" start in January, or September?) 

For traditional units (don't know about how LDS handles this), the Cub program year runs June 1 - May 31.