KenD500

First, I am a LEO.

This made me stop to think.  I couldn't figure out what you astrological sign had to do with you carrying or not.  Then I figured it out - not Leo the Lion but LEO = Law Enforcement Officer.  That makes a lot more sense.

 

Whether one chooses to carry (concealed or not) is up to them.  But when we participate in an outing as a member of the BSA, shouldn't we follow their rules/guidelines? 

 

"A Scout is obedient.  A Scout follows the rules of his family, school, and troop. He obeys the laws of his community and country. If he thinks these rules and laws are unfair, he tries to have them changed in an orderly manner rather than disobeying them."

I haven't read through the entire thread.  Has anyone mentioned the Guide to Safe Scouting's restriction on firearms?

 

"Except for law enforcement officers required to carry firearms within their jurisdiction, firearms shall not be brought on camping, hiking, backpacking, or other Scouting activities except those specifically planned for target shooting under the supervision of a currently certified BSA national shooting sports director or National Rifle Association firearms instructor."

Just saw the plans for a new camp near Houston.  The new Camp Strake is replacing the old Camp Strake that shut down this year.  I can't remember the last time I heard of a new camp being built.

 

Link to plans.

Our Troop provided the blank material with grommets installed.  I found "duck cloth" on sale.  It is a heavy duty, coarse cotton.  The Patrols did the rest.  One painted their designed.  I'm not sure what type of paint but it doesn't run when wet.  The other Patrol used a combination of gluing materials on & markers.

 

Both decided on hanging banner style.

 

Here's a pic of one.

Our Troop will soon have it's first Eagle since I took over as SM.  I know some Troops in the area give an Eagle gift to the Scout during his COH.  Some of them that I know of:  his name on the Eagle plaque, an engraved Eagle statue, a lifetime membership to NESA.

 

Does your Troop give an Eagle gift?  If so, what is it?

"I get what Memorial Day is about now" - a 1st year Scout to his Mom after a Memorial Day event/camp out

"Mr D., we're ready to go" - PL to me as the Patrol walks past the adult camp site to the swimming hole.  We (the adults) weren't; I had to play catch up.

"Grandpa would be proud of me" - a 1st year Scout to his Dad during pickup after a flag retirement ceremony the night before.

Are there 5 Scouts in the Troop that want Boy-Led?  Maybe you should start another Troop.

We do the standard Scout Parent training for ours.

 

The Parent Training I was talking about is "how to be a parent". 

@@JoeBob mentioned in the Disruptive Scout thread about training parents.

 

It seems part of the SM job description is to train the parents.  Most of the time it's subtle - the parents start questioning there own behavior after hearing & hopefully seeing the Scout oath & law being lived.  Other times it's not so subtle - when the parent comes and talks with you about their Scout and some issues their having.

 

Does anyone else experience this?

 

 

In all my years as a SM, I've never had to "drag" anyone anywhere.  I usually am too busy trying to keep up with the boys instead.  If you leave them to their own devices, it can get pretty hectic on the adult level keeping up the necessary support for the different activities.  The boys don't need to make sure all the BSA policy BS is maintained, just the adults do.  Having 2 adults on every activity is not their problem, it's ours.  Thank you, very much, BSA.

Please stay on topic. 

 

Everyone has a different opinion what the Patrol Method is.  Let's listen to their opinions.  Without judgement.

In your own words, what is the Patrol Method?

 

I'm guessing it's different things to different people. 

 

I'm involved in the District SM Specific training.  One of the sections is the Aims & Methods of Scouting.  I want to hear from y'all what you think the Patrol Method is.

I read my oath of enlistment during my SM Minute for Veteran's Day. 

 

Last year, that started some good conversations between some of the Scouts and I after the meeting.

This is the gear list for our Patrols:

Qty Item 1 8" GSI non-stick fry pan  2 Primus classic trail stove 1 2 qt aluminum non-stick pot 1 4 qt aluminum non-stick pot 1 water carrier

All of it comes from Amazon.  They then add utensils from either the local thrift shops or their families.

Either myself or my ASM will take the opportunity for a Scoutmaster Moment at every meeting.  Sometimes I struggle to find a topic.  Other times, I have 5.  I'm always looking for new sources.

 

I used this one last night.  It seemed to go over well.  Link

http://www.inspirationalstories.com/growing-good-corn/

 

What frequency do you have SM Moments?  What sources do you use?

@@Krampus - maybe the participation or attendance of the event hinges on his attendance and participation at the fundraising.

 

No participation at the fundraiser = no participation at the event.

 

It would really boil down to the parents' attitude.

@@skyfiiire check this link out for ideas to outfit with one set of gear that works.

Our OA Lodge does this.

We're having a fishing camp out this weekend.  I really hope someone catches some fish as I don't think any of these Scouts have ever had fried fresh fish.  And I don't mean from a restaurant.

 

I had to look up the recipe for cornmeal batter as it's been awhile for me too.

Field Applications Engineer for a semiconductor manufacturing equipment company = our machines help make semiconductors and I help optimize the process.

 

Ex-Navy Nuke Submariner.

One of the other threads jumped into a tangent about food.  Pancakes, steak, pb&j, etc.

 

The theme for the month of October is cooking for my Troop.  I noted in the last couple of camp outs that only 2 of the Ghosty Goats (younger guys) Patrol were doing the cooking.  And that the Merlin (older) Patrol had planned brats for the 3rd camp out in a row.  So we're concentrating on cooking methods for the month with the camp out being a cooking competition for Saturday supper.

 

They have been creative in the past.  Tang-flavored pancakes, "the Aiden Burger" (named after the Scout who invented it) - hamburger mixed with bacon bits, cheese & a1 sauce, etc.

 

What's the most unusual or unusual sounding meal that your Scouts have come up with?

I hammock camp when possible.  I spent the week at summer camp in a hammock.

 

One of the camp outs the Troop has had in the past was "stay cool" theme.  We made hammocks from rope & a twin size sheet.  The Scouts slept in them on Saturday night.

How are the Patrols currently set up?  Aged based? or Mixed Age?

Who made the calendar for the year?  Committee or PLC?

Do the meetings follow the Troop Meeting Plan?  Who plans the meetings?  Who runs the meetings?

What does the SM & ASMs do during the meetings?  What do the other adults do?

 

Suggestions:

Objectively grade the Troop on each of the methods.

Formulate a long term plan to get to where you want to be. 

-decide what your priorities are.  You can't change everything at once.

Talk with the CC & your ASMs to share your plan.

Start!

I grew up in small town Texas surrounded by veterans.  That gave me a deep respect for the flag.  I try to impart that to my Scouts.  Myself, my ASM & 2 of my committee members are veterans.  I always talk with these guys to make sure we're on the same page.

 

The biggest thing in any of the flag ceremonies is respect.  The Scouts may do something "wrong" but it's usually not on purpose.  Gentle instruction/correction comes after the ceremony.

 

I've been in one Troop where the CC would yell across the room to stop the ceremony in the middle if anything was wrong.  I won't do that and I won't allow in this Troop.

 

Everyone has their version of "right".  As long as it's respectful, I'm okay with it.

Your beads, your ceremony, your decision. 

We had a respectful & meaningful flag retirement ceremony on the last camp out.  I pulled the grommets out of the ashes and cleaned them up.  Note - grommets are now nickel plated.  Soaking in ketchup worked well for cleaning.

 

I made shoulder loops for each Scout that participated in the ceremony and presented them with the shoulder loop & grommet last night.  I wasn't sure how it would go over but the Scouts seemed to appreciate the token.  Here's a picture of the grommets on the loops.  I put them on the Scout's uniform - left shoulder loop.  Yes, I know, it's against the uniform inspection sheet.