Eagle94-A1

12 hours ago, Tron said:

Siblings and parents have carveouts under the new program. Siblings of the same sex can tent and buddy system regardless of age now (since last summer). There is also an "accommodation" for parents to tent with scouts as well (since last fall). 

We're in a whole new world scouters.

Serious question, can you show me where the new rule is at? I can find the parent of the same gender, but not siblings. This is the info I am finding.  https://www.scouting.org/health-and-safety/gss/gss01/

12 hours ago, Tron said:

Cash is king is absolutely true. My district has one of the most useless human beings in existance as one lf the vice chairs but he's always going to be a vice chair because of his matching cash donation.

Funny thing is this: if you scream and curse out that top level volunteer, he may stop donating.  And he may tell his buddies what happened, and they stop giving too. That happened.  District had to drop their FOS goal severely since they did this. The current goal is 10% of what is was when I first got here, and that is not adjusting for inflation.

Worse part is the DC was actually doing something.

Or professionals ignoring, shouting at,  or cursing out volunteers

Even before Trails Life, pros were trying to do away with long term volunteers. I cannot tell you how many good, extremely dedicated Scouters left because of treatment by pros. Some left district and council roles to focus ont heir units. Others just quit. And they left vacancies that to this day are still not filled.

20 hours ago, yknot said:

    Or:    "We are men of action. Lies do not become us."

5 hours ago, Tron said:

This is good on you, but really bad on the organization. I do know that national is aware of this/these problems; last year Glen Pounder made mention of digital ID that would be the landing point for all leaders to prove who they are, current registration, position, units, and training. I wonder how long it will take the organization to get there though. 

When I met the then National Chief Information Officer in 1998, he made a lot of promises about SCOUTNET 2000 that was coming our in November 1998.  Vezinni said it best.

3 hours ago, Armymutt said:

I talked to the one dad who covered the knots for me and he said the Director was out there the next day collecting statements.  The fact that no one has contacted me is frustrating.  

I would start collecting my own statements. If the guy was at the event after you left, he is only getting one side, and it may not be good for you. I have seen innocent people get kicked out of Scouting. @InquisitiveScouter is giving you very, VERY good advice. Good luck.

8 minutes ago, jcousino said:

Youth hit by adult direct call to DCPS or police no if and or but. Failing to report is likely a felony in some states. Tell Scout personnel not to release you as a mandatory reporter.

Funny you mention police.  We had a sheriff deputy on staff, and he was in his jurisdiction. Don't remember if he initiated the investigation after calling it in, or was assisting the investigation after he called it in. So I didn't have to call them, they were already notified.  I do know the adult was never arrested, nor kicked out of Scouting as I saw him a year later. He told me he did press charges against the kid for assault with a deadly weapon. Having 15+ witnesses is probably  saved the adult from arrest and dismissal.

IF, you got a motivated Scout, AND they use their free time to practice, it is possible to actually earn a MB at camp. One reason why I like free periods, especially if taking Shooting Sports or Aquatics. 

Concur with @Tron, document EVERYTHING. Include witnesses, quotes, EVERYTHING. And send it to multiple folks: DE, SE, COR, etc.

Closest I have had to deal with was on camp staff. A Scout was being sent home  for behavior reasons, but was hit by an adult, and had a black eye. Mom made comments about YP and reporting the issue. What she didn't know was her son, after he was told to pack his things because he was going home, picked up a stick, and charged the 18 y.o. ASM. The ASM automatically  countered the attack. OH and he attacked the ASM in front of the SM and the entire troop while they were getting ready to go to dinner. LOT OF PAPERWORK WITH THAT ONE! ( major emphasis, not shouting.) 

Moral is DOCUMENT, DOCUMENT, DOCUMENT! (again, emphasis).

Good Luck.

1 minute ago, InquisitiveScouter said:

Then why don't they just write the policy to say,

"On a case-by-case basis, the local council may issue a written exception to a parent or legal guardian to tent with a Scout who has a special need or disability requiring care. The unit and parents must develop a plan in conjunction with their local council Scout Executive to address their specific needs."

???

That would be common sense.

Personally I do NOT like the new policy as I see abuse of it in the future. 

This is not a scientific poll. This was something I did trying to get more Scouts in my troop. I got a hold of the district dropped list, and called everyone. A few earned Eagle and quit, while one or two moved. But the bulk fell in one of two categories: 1. they were bored at meetings and/or not camping and lost interest or 2. New Scouts who were not prepared for transition from Cubs to Scouts. One troop lost an entire Cub Scout den over it.

41 minutes ago, InquisitiveScouter said:

The electronic records that exist are a bit clunky, but you do have a way to track already.  Would you like me to elaborate?

I kept paper copies of my records. last year, I got listed as "untrained" because I had Scoutmaster Fundamentals. Council didn't have a copy of my SM and ASM Specific Training Course, I taught. Was able to track down the report.

Yet another reason I, and many others, do not trust National's IT systems.

6 hours ago, skeptic said:

This old guy feels as if it does matter and we should stop accepting these types of things and putting some honesty back into our units and setting a better example.  Probably, and sadly, you are likely to be more correct than I am, and we seem to have lost sight of much of the best Character examples we have tried to exemplify over time.  But, maybe not??

At least in my area, parents are pressuring for Eagle. Units that do try and focus on adventure, fun, personal growth, etc instead of advancement do not get new Scouts as parents look elsewhere. Even my new troop is focusing on advancement.

5 hours ago, DuctTape said:

It does matter, but the train left the station long ago.

Yes it has.

4 hours ago, InquisitiveScouter said:

It does.  And there is "chaos" and cheating all around.  Be responsible for what you do.  I have been asked many times to sign off something a Scout has not earned, or that I have not witnessed.  I politely refuse.

And be told by the rules lawyers you are "gate keeping," "adding to requirements," etc.

@InquisitiveScouter sadly the leadership at the top is encouraging this, and they do not care what the old boots on the ground want who want to maintain standards want. Heck there is now a majority of volunteers support for them and their decline of standards.

Sadly I do not think it matters. The focus has been on MBs and Eagle, no one focuses on fun, adventure, and personal growth. Besides,  a lot of places are giving MBs away.

4 minutes ago, fred8033 said:

QUESTION ... What is the change?  I see physical MB pamphlets can still be purchased.  Is it only to emphasize online MB first and then paper second?  Or is national stopping the distribution to scout shops and people need to go online to purchase?  I'm just curious.

More than likely, National is getting rid of existing physical inventory. The requirements may or may not be current, but that has been an issue since I was a Scout.

What I describe has been going on in my area for over 25 years. This is nothing new here. But it definitely shocked me when I first got here.

13 hours ago, Tron said:

Cub scouts meet roughly weekly 2-3 times a month in dens (which can be but might not always be divided by age due to leader or program limitations); once a month cub scouts meet as a pack where all dens participate together. This will get ripped apart by any competent defense/litigation attorney. 

Depends. In my neck of the woods, the entire pack meets every week. They will do a joint opening, then split into dens. Sometimes den meetings are done as a pack instead of individual dens.

22 minutes ago, yknot said:

I think that slide is here somewhere in one of the bankruptcy threads. I know I've seen it, and I'm pretty sure it was here. 

It is. I remember seeing it. 2/3s of the councils gone if memory serves.

2 hours ago, MikeS72 said:

I guess that all depends on where you are located.

The goal here is for each of our districts to add at least one new unit each quarter, with an emphasis on every current charter having both a pack and troop.

I wish.  My troop folded in December after years of begging council for help.  They said they needed to start new units instead of helping existing one. They didn't like the fact that I told them  that National predicted membership and units would decline for a few years after the lawsuit before stabilizing, and that it is easier to keep a  stable unit going than start a new on. 

And at my new troop's meeting tonite, we had visitors from the only other existing troop in town. They are joining us on a camp out this weekend.

2 hours ago, MikeS72 said:

If units, districts, and councils continue to just look at declining numbers and not look at why they are declining and work to mitigate those reasons, the decline will continue.

 Oh we know what is causing the problem, we are not recruiting. And Council is not helping us in this matter.

One CST's stats. Look like those councils with metro areas are doing well. Rural areas not so much.

If memory serves, there is a 5 year period that professionals are ineligible after leaving the profession. Do not know if any restriction on non professional staff, ie. office staff, rangers, etc.

I do know of one SB recipient who was nominated before being employed by the council, but by the time of the awards ceremony, they were the camp ranger.

On 2/28/2026 at 5:17 PM, Tron said:

Could it be that the number of eagle scouts has stayed consistent because the number of adults is consistent and thus the support inside the program that is needed to get a scout to eagle is still in place regardless of total number of scouts? 

Or it could be that standards for advancement have been lowered? Once upon a time, the standard was "master the skills" and "the badge represents what a Scout CAN DO (sic) not what he has done."  Those come from old handbooks and advancement guides. Now the standard is "A badge recognizes what a Scout has done toward
achieving the primary goal of personal growth. "

Sadly I have been to a camp, where they gave away MBs. Best example were the Scouts given Canoeing MB, but could not paddle in a straight line on a troop  trip to save their life. I had a Scout's family member tell me they bought the MBs by going to that camp. Or how about  all the MBUs popping up where you sit in class and get a MB? Sadly my own kids, after they aged out, told me some of the stuff they didn't do for MBs they "earned" from MBUs.

And don't forget the online MBUs. What FL council awarded over 18000 MBs during COVID from online MBUs?

Yes, any thing with a counterweight is banned. Catapults are under heavy restrictions as it was classified as a shooting sport, and has to follow those regs. And those regs have become event tighter.  Page 14 states it requires a NRA Range Safety Officer to e present

Page 77 - 79 gives details.

Yeah, the lawsuit caused a lot of Scouting endowments to be raided.