Eagle94-A1

District camporee has uniform inspection. Old troop has an informal one. Scribe keeps track but does not use the uniform inspection form. Current troop does surprise inspections at meetings. Sheet is not used, but they are looking for all the items on it. Troop I grew up in did weekly uniform inspections.

Not official, but I actually put all of mine on a sun hat, both Scouting and YMCA. Also had a First Class Anchor representing my time in Sea Scouts on it. Sadly the hat was lost in Hurricane Katrina.

Just went to REI's website. here are some of the shirts for men. Womens and I can go on. So I think the idea that bright clothing in the outdoors is acceptable to true outdoorsman. That being said, a lot of my gear of OD, coyote brown, or camoflaged as it is USGI surplus. Joke in my troop growing up was "Government surplus, if it is designed to survive combat, it may survive Boy Scouts." I am still using my A.L.I.C.E. pack I got used in 1988.

I am pro uniform. I know that there are families with financial restraints because I was in one of those families growing up, and with 5 members in the family at one time, it get expensive fast. BUT WHERE THERE IS A WILL THERE IS A WAY! (emphasis). Growing up, I had hand-me-downs, thrift store, and even imitation uniform parts. In fact, I did not even own a complete, new uniform until college, and then it was issued to me by the Scout Shop I worked at. (DISCLAIMER: I am a former National Supply employee in addition to former DE.) I am fortunate in that the quality of the older uniforms is 110% better than the current uniforms, and I still have those uniforms from young adulthood and during my professional career in service still 20+ years later (OK, some of the socks have been thrown away, and my favorite uniform shirt from the 1970s is on it's last legs ). But my kids have uniforms from thrift stores, Ebay, Craig's List, etc. Even the wife's uniform was from Ebay. Again where there is a will, there is a way. Like I said, I had imitation Scout pants for a while. Only difference between them was the BSA snaps. I was fortunate that for my troop black socks were OK with the pants, but you better have the Scout socks in shorts. But I was constantly searching the nearby thrift store for pants and finally got them There seems to be a big difference between those troop that are fully uniformed and those that are not. The fully uniformed ones tend to be more active, have more pride, and tend to retain older Scouts better. I've been in troops of both persuasions over the years, and the fully uniformed ones were better. Now, do I wish the BSA uniform was better quality, cheaper, and more outdoor oriented? Absolutely. But the uniform is a recognizable item to the public, and whether it is a fashionable one, or an outdoor one, we need it to promote the organization Finally regarding GSUSA, one of the complaints I've heard about them is their lack of visibility in the public. You see Girl Scouts selling cookies, and the only way to tell is the boxes of cookies, unless you have them wear a vest or sash. Whereas if the Scouts BSA unit is selling popcorn, or spaghetti dinners in my troop's case, you can tell we are Scouts because we have a uniform.

One troop I was in had the following requirements to go on an extended backpacking trip: First Class rank and had to go on one of the weekend backpacking trips (anywhere from 10 to 18 miles depending upon location). Rationale for First Class rank was that at that point all of the basic outdoor skills have been mastered, and they would not be a burden on the entire group. Mandatory prep trip was because A) we wanted folks to have some experience and know what they are getting into, B) test out any new gear they got before the major trip, and C) Make sure everyone was in shape to do the main trip. We had Scouts and adults have equipment issues on prep trips. Unfortunately we had one adult who could not make the prep trip due to work, and he had some major issues on the trail. Now, anyone who wanted to could go on the weekend prep trips. And it was encouraged. My middle son was a 11 year old Tenderfoot when he did his prep trip. Glad he did. The next year when he planned to go on the AT, that year's prep trip coincided with a 2 day statewide competition he and his team were involved with. If it wasn't a team competition, he would have skipped it. One thing that helped motivate the older Scouts, and revitalized interest in Scouting, was we used a Venture Patrol to form the backpacking crew. With the exception of 1 Scout, everyone was 15+ and First Class or higher. The 12 year old in that patrol had been backpacking with his dad since he was 9, and had more miles on his feet than all of the Scouts combined, and many of the adults including me But he still had to meet the First Class rank requirement.

Sadly we do not. While the Catholic Adult religious award is the St. George Award, and he is the patron saint of Scouts. Only thing I have seen celebrating this fact is this https://www.catholicshop.com/25-Pack-The-Boy-Scout-Oath-Of-Promise-Holy-Card.html?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI1vmKnpD54QIVSlcNCh3fFwNTEAYYASABEgKICvD_BwE

Give me a day. I did a UoS class on the topic, and may have the resources I used for it. FYI it is a problem since the 1920s and there is a lot of older literature on the topic. Also if I remember correctly, there has been a thread on this topic in the past.

When I did it back in the day, it could take a year. Part of that was you had to go on a retreat. I did mine in about 6 months, but we were also doing other Scout stuff. Don't remember many details except the retreat and going to the cathedral for the archbishop to present it to us.

Sad thing is that you will have some folks complain, push for recognition , and eventually get their Scout the MB.

I think this is a grave disservice to any of your girls, or any Scout for that matter, to create a 2 year plan for them in order to earn Eagle. THEY ARE THE ONES WHO NEED TO CREATE THEIR OWN PLAN AS EACH INDIVIDUAL IS DIFFERENT ( major emphasis). Part of the journey to Eagle is the Scout deciding their own path, the Scout deciding what they want to do, the Scout deciding how they are going to achieve their goals. What have they learned if you hand them a plan?

And we were told that the standards would not be changed. Regarding membership losses, I can only go by what is happening locally. With all the membership changes in the past 7 years, Scouting is dying. We went from 5 packs in city limits to 3, and one of those is LDS so they will be gone by the end of the year. While the troops remain, they are smaller than ever. Troop I am currently in had over 30 Scouts 7 years ago, and now we are down to 11. Ditto all of the other troops save 1. And that troop's CO uses the program as an outreach for the CO. They are extremely active with biweekely and weekly activities in addition to meetings. A lot of resources are dedicated to the troop.

I know of boys young men who no longer have an interest in serving Scouting who are in the 18-20 year old range because the BSA no longer trusts them due to their age. We spent years mentoring and advising them. They have more knowledge, skills, abilities, and EXPERIENCE than some of the new Scouters coming aboard, but they cannot be utilized. Heck, they can no longer be MBCs except at a summer camp or merit badge college. All because of their age an the new YP rules.

110% agree. My troop growing up never had "patrol advisers," or "patrol counselors." Instead we had the ASPL, Leadership Corps (older Scouts who had served in leadership positions previously) and the SPL. When PL's had issues or needed advice, we went to them. When a Scout was given an assignment to do and he had questions, we went to them. We weren't perfect, but we had a heck of a good troop. Bill Hillcourt would have been proud. I've served in troops that assigned patrol counselors, and in troops that did not. I do not like the concept as it takes away growth opportunities from the older Scouts. Whereas in troop that utilize their older Scouts have better retention and involvement, because they are not used to guide and mentor the younger Scouts, they tend to not be as active, be involved in the troop, and not really care about anything. Sadly I saw this especially in my last troop. Also the Scouts tend to rely on the adults to solve their problems instead of figuring it out for themselves. Best example of this was a patrol making a menu. The patrol could not figure out a menu everyone could agree upon, and as time was running out, the patrol counselor ended up making the menu and duty roster for them. Further I have seen too many patrol counselors end up acting like den leaders and treating their Scouts as Webelos 3s. The last example does just that. Another example is the patrol counselor jumping in and taking over from the Patrol Leader instruction on KP to new Scouts. Whenever I had to be a patrol counselor, I stayed out of the way as much as possible, and asked leading questions on what they were doing and whether it was efficient or not. Sometimes they got it. Sometimes they didn't, and sometimes their was was actually better than mine. I first encountered the patrol counselor or patrol adviser concept when I went through Brownsea 22, which has morphed over the years to NYLT today. My understanding is that the concept is more of a training position than an actual unit position. When you get Scouts and Scouters from multiple units, and use to doing things multiple ways, you sometimes need an outside source to resolve matters in the limited time of training. Even then, our Troop Guides, which at BA22 were youth who had already gone through the course, were the ones to guide and mentor. Only twice did a patrol counselor get involved with patrol matters, one behavioral and one first aid related.

A few things come to mind. Purging of the roles is one. Another is folks are not happy with the changes to BSA in recent years and voting with their feet. Another is that the council is not providing the support they are suppose to to assist units. They are not getting the resources they need to survive.

Another ECC Scouter? WELCOME!

You know an organization has too large a bureaucracy when a key part of the mission statement, one of it's aims, is changed and it take 5 years to get it in print.

When I worked for a national Scout Shop, we had several GSUSA leaders buy the BSA's program materials to supplement the GSUSA materials they were using. The HOW TO BOOK, and Den meeting plans were the most popular. Field Book also was one sold a lot to them

Don't go there, the Cookie Mafia will get you. Seriously though, BSA tried to come out with an energy bar in the early 1990s. They were made, packaged, and distributed when national got a cease and desist letter from GSUSA for copyright infringement. GSUSA said the energy bars too closely resembled their cookies. As a result, BSA could not sell them, but Scout Shop staff had free food. PS They were delicious.

That is my local council camp. This is the 3rd time in 3 years, and 4th time in 20 years, that the road has washed out. 2 of those times it was the result of hurricanes, Dennis and Floyd and in 1999 and Matthew in 2017. Last year and this time due to heavy rain. The theory is that the clear cutting to create new homes upstream is causing this problem. With no trees and vegetation to absorb water and prevent erosion, the camp is getting slammed. We thought the problem was fixed with the dredging and rebuilt road with larger culverts. Apparently the problem still exists.

Could it be that the G2SS changes so much so fast, folks have a hard time keeping up? Or is it that the rules keep changing and their is no explanation of why, i.e. Tigers no longer being able to do shooting sports ( since rescinded due to protest),18-20 year olds no longer count for YP purposes, and it's OK for two females to work with males, but but males cannot work with females?

Yes, it is after 4 weeks of traditional Scout summer camp. If memory serves, and it has been a long time since I staffed camp, it was mostly LDS troops attending. As most of you know, I am not in favor of "Family Scouting," and I am not using it as a euphemism for girls in Scouting. I have had too many negative experiences, as a youth and a Scouter, with well meaning, but uninformed, parents interfering and causing major issues. From ruining a trip that was planned for a year by the Scouts, to interfering with camp outs, to turning a Boy Scout Troop, now Scouts BSA Troop, into a Cub Scout Pack, I do not see any good coming out of this.

This is for Scouts, BSA families, not Cub Scouts. From the link: "While Family Adventure Camp is not designed to complete merit badges or rank requirements, many of those same activities will be offered."

Looks like Family Scouts is coming. My council posted this today. Family Adventure Camp Adventure is out there! East Carolina Council is one of three councils in the nation offering families the opportunity to enjoy Scouting together at Camp Boddie July 15 – 19, 2019. Families register and attend together, eating in the dining hall, staying in camp tents (or bring their own), and experiencing the activities of camp: swimming, boating, making crafts, shooting rifles or BB guns, archery, learning about nature and ecology, and much more. In keeping with BSA policies and guidelines, all activities are age-appropriate. Families will arrive on Monday morning, get settled into their campsite, and select their activities for the week. Monday will include an opening campfire with camp skits and songs, followed by s’mores in their campsites. In addition to daily activities, families will enjoy a luau and camp carnival. Thursday will end with a closing campfire and families head home on Friday morning. While Family Adventure Camp is not designed to complete merit badges or rank requirements, many of those same activities will be offered. Families can register here:https://ecc.tentaroo.com/admin2/login We look forward to seeing you at camp this summer! More info can be found here . And the link is https://files.constantcontact.com/60d98ed5001/5623add9-752b-4f0c-8b27d258ef0f1315.pdf

Actually thew new rule came out AFTER (emphasis) YPT2 came out. That is why they redid YPT2 , I guess it's YPT2.5 now , about 2 or 3 months ago.

If you say "Boy Scouts" you are viewed as misogynistic, defiant, and some unScoutlike terms, and one who needs to leave Scouting. At least in certain areas of the country and on certain FB groups. This despite the fact that many old fogey's will use the term because it's been that way for 108+ years. You still have folks referring to Venturers as "Venture Scouts" 21 years later. ( An aside, when I spoke with the then National Venturing Director in May of 1998 at PDL-1, I and several others told him this would happen by using similar nomenclature used for the older Scout patrol at the time,i.e Venture crew, Venture Scouts. 21 years later it is still a problem) And if you use the term "girl Scouts," it is more ammo for the GSUSA lawsuit.