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The Latin Scot

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Everything posted by The Latin Scot

  1. There absolutely is. It's called the Spirit of the Eagle Award: http://www.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/512-108.pdf While I mourn with you and your troop the loss of this young man, I trust the experience will enrich your lives as you contemplate the blessings you were able to enjoy through that young Scout during his tenure with you. All my love and prayers to the boy's family.
  2. Well, if my knowledge of sartorial history is correct, I recall that the garters were necessary back in the days before elastic was common enough to be used in socks to hold them up. In fact, it wasn't until the 40's or 50's that socks were able to fully incorporate elastic in the nylon to create socks that didn't require garters to keep them in place. So I imagine that since the BSA uniform favored knee-high socks back in the day (which was the usual style move with short pants in that era), it would have been natural for them to issue uniform garters as well. And as late as the 1930's, putti
  3. I didn't miss it; yours was one of the posts that pointed me in that direction in the first place. I apologize if I should have credited you more specifically, but I am grateful to you for putting up that link. Thank you!
  4. Thank you all for helping to point me in the right direction. I found this link: https://blog.scoutingmagazine.org/2013/10/29/tuesday-talkback-when-should-scouts-wear-hats-indoors/which pointed me to the official policies regarding hats, which I greatly appreciate. I also thank you veterans for letting me know the military protocols regarding their "covers" (a term which I am now excited to introduce to my Scouts!). If those in the military remove their hats so promptly and habitually when they go indoors, it seems only fit and proper for me to do the same. Thank you for giving me such clear
  5. I also just realized this topic is better suited to the Uniforms section. Moderators, feel free to move this if you wish!
  6. Hey everybody, I have a question about the wearing of official uniform headgear indoors. I have a campaign hat which I love to pieces, and wear as often as I can. Now to be clear, I was raised well enough to know that I should remove it inside chapels, in front of ladies, at the table, et cetera, and of course when I am wearing any other kind of hat it comes off when I am indoors, but I was under the impression that when wearing official uniforms, be they Scout, military, law enforcement, or whatever, they could be worn otherwise even when indoors. I don't ask my Cubs to remove their hats indo
  7. LDS units DO and WILL operate over 14 years old. The only change is that instead of automatically being registered into a varsity unit at 14 and then a Venturing crew at 16, now the boys simply continue to be registered in the Troop if they want to continue Scouting. LDS Scouts can stay in Scouting all the way until they are 18 if they want; they just won't be registered in a Church-sponsored Varsity or Venturing unit is all. People really need to understand this; there are a LOT of misconception being thrown around everywhere. But yes, we keep the 11-year olds separate from the boys 12 a
  8. I wouldn't suggest promoting rumors that have no basis in fact. As a devout Latter-day Saint who keeps a close watch on the Church's policies and directions, I can assure you there has been no hint nor rumor nor suggestion that the Church has any plans to leave the Cub Scouting or Boy Scouting programs anytime soon. Furthermore, this isn't watering down the program, but restoring it to what it was before because of numbers that were affected by the change in the first place. Simply because you choose to cast it in a negative light does not actually make it a bad thing. By your logic, the chang
  9. Wow ... this actually sounds like a validation for sewing if ever there was one! See, if people really know how to sew, there is no visible mark on the shirt after patches are removed because the stitching is neat and the thread is a proper match. When you remove it, you simply undo the threadwork and there's little evidence that the former patch was there (unlike a giant blank patch of velcro waiting for its new patch - and what happens when that bit of velcro is itself removed, I might ask?). Also, sewing on a new patch takes maybe 10 - 15 minutes. Are our lives so impossibly hectic that
  10. No special respect due; the fact is my friend worked at a Scout Store for years and he was never required to be an expert on uniforming (good thing because he never was, bless his heart). And when the lady who supervises all the stores in my area can't even remember which Scouting roles wear which colored epaulet loops, I'm afraid I can't agree with you. In my Scout Shop they get things wrong all the time, as they do in the Regional Shop as well. A Scout Shop employee is just not going to be a reliable expert on uniforming, nor do their opinions necessarily reflect national policy. The best be
  11. The people who work at the Scout store are not uniform experts, nor do their opinions reflect official BSA standards. At my Scout store they are often wrong when people ask them various uniforming questions. The Official Guide to Awards and Insignia makes it clear that the wearing of past Cub Scout rank patches in the traditional diamond pattern is allowed on the blue uniform, but NOT on the khaki. The only rank patches a Webelos Scout can wear on the khaki shirt are the oval Webelos rank patch and the Arrow of Light. This is also confirmed in the Webelos Handbook, which is about as clear and
  12. My state is almost entirely flammable, so any selling of fireworks is pretty much illegal here.
  13. The boys did a GREAT JOB!!! They stayed in formation, remembered their jobs, stood at attention without looking distracted, hoisted the flag beautifully - it was a smart, professional job, and they received all kinds of compliments and kind words from the community. A proud day for our boys!
  14. If a Webelos Scout wears the khaki uniform, he does NOT wear his past rank patches as he would on the blue uniform. That practice does not carry over to the khaki-and-olive; rather, that pocket is left alone until he earns his Webelos rank, at which point he wears the OVAL, khaki Webelos rank patch, not the blue diamond-shaped one. Then, when he earns his Arrow of Light, that patch is placed under his left pocket, and remains there throughout the rest of his youth Scouting career. That Webelos rank patch is later replaced with his Scout rank patch soon after crossing over (very soon if his We
  15. I always keep a police-grade whistle on my key-chain; it's more of an emergency preparedness thing but on rare occasions I have found use for it in the classroom or with my Den during outdoor activities. It's not for attention-getting usually - I'm a (poorly) trained opera vocalist, so I can be as loud as anybody if I want (I'm obnoxious like that), but I still figure a nice whistle is good to have if I need to save my voice for whatever reason. A whistle is a pretty standard emergency item; I am surprised there is even any controversy. Of course this may also have to do with the fac
  16. Our Pack and Troop are combining to conduct a flag-raising ceremony for our local neighborhood and congregation. I've been drilling them pretty hard to make sure that the service gets the dignity and respect it deserves, but they are super excited and I am sure they are going to do a terrific job.
  17. Frankly, I don't see how you can run a Cub Scout program without using the book. In fact I almost never use the Den Leader Guide when I am planning our weekly Den Meetings - I look at the Handbook, create some fun activities that go along with what the boys themselves are reading for each requirement, and then I do that. Easy. I also have the boys read each requirement out loud before we start the activity so that they know EXACTLY what is required of them and what I am looking for before signing anything off. That way the program I am running matches the materials the boys are given, so it's
  18. I am afraid you misread my last post. If you read it carefully this time, you'll see that I was agreeing with you - that obedience is essential, and that in most cases it is indeed wrong to be selective in what one chooses to obey. I also emphasized that @@The Black Eagle was not picking & choosing either - he did make it clear that he still follows the policy, just that he disagrees with it. And that is also okay; there is no real fault in simply disagreeing with a policy or law. The high-handedness I referred to had nothing to do with whether obedience is right or wrong - it is indeed ri
  19. I agree with you 100% @@Back Pack, although in @@The Black Eagle's defense, he did make it somewhat clear that he DOES obey the policy, although he vehemently opposes it. His point wasn't as much about picking and choosing rules as it was frustration with the rules as they are, and perhaps a willingness to look the other way when the rule is in fact violated. I believe that was his point anyway; he may correct me as he will. I do not believe, however, that the concept of obedience needs "work" - I think that, if anything, it needs emphasis. Civil disobedience is one thing in times of legit
  20. I note, @@The Black Eagle (welcome by the way), that you seem to hold a great deal of resentment towards this issue, and that you seem especially zealous to make your point - lots of capital letters and exclamation points, etc. I am clear on the fact that you are against this policy (which is not as new as you seem to imply). but my question to you is - why? Forgive me if I come off as somewhat didactic, but are we really so concerned with the recognition, the attention, or the prestige of the Eagle rank that we are allowing the desire to be seen as an Eagle Scout trump the need to beh
  21. Welcome! It's always nice to have another LDS Leader here in our midst. And I don't know where you got the idea that the church is going to drop all scouting by 2019, but I am pretty sure that just isn't true. As Elder Holland (one of our highest Church authorities) explained at the BSA National Meeting, "don't read more into this change than there is." He then quoted Groucho Marx (gotta love him!) saying "there is less going on here than meets the eye." So welcome aboard, and don't fear - the church isn't dropping the Boy Scout or the Cub Scout programs anytime soon.
  22. Of course, our Council also holds an annual Scout-a-Rama, which is basically a Scouting Expo for the community at Large, along with other District-level annual events too. Now that I see what goes on in other areas, I realize the Council here does a LOT of activities!
  23. Our Council holds an annual Camporee in the Springtime, then a Camporall in the Fall. The only difference is that Webelos Scouts are specifically invited to camp along for one of the nights, and there are a few extra activities and presentations held with them in mind for the day they are there. In that sense I suppose Camporall is meant to sound a little more inclusive; otherwise they are really just two different names for the same basic program.
  24. @@Eph is this an official BSA patch, or some third-party creation? If it's official I want one for sure! But if it's not ... well, it couldn't be worn on the uniform anyway.
  25. Sadly (well, not really sadly except as it pertains to my particular situation), in my area University of Scouting is a council-run, council-funded (yet somehow still rather pricey) day of training for Scouters of all levels held at a local community college. They offer courses in everything from working with Scouts with disabilities to committee budgeting ideas to OA relations to implementing the patrol method ... essentially, participants can choose their schedule for the day and participate in 5-7 classes of training to help them in their efforts to run the Scouting program. It's actually a
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