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Col. Flagg

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Everything posted by Col. Flagg

  1. Col. Flagg
    Five words that prove this thesis wrong: Merit Badge Universities Helicopter Parents MBs were much harder to get in the past. Scouts had to find and call counselors. No answering machines. You had to be diligent. Didn't have worksheets and Google to look up answers. I cannot recall a MB I completed in a week, let alone a day. My parents stayed out of my Scouting except for my dad. He was a TC Chair so he was in meetings are the time, but he stayed WAY out of my way. My mom would not have known where to start with helping me, but she would not have stuck her nose in my busi
  2. Col. Flagg

    Money

    Col. Flagg replied to Amynh's topic in Issues & Politics

    Apparently they are still charging $15. Someone should register and hold them to this publicized amount.
  3. Col. Flagg
    I was wondering when this old chestnut would come back. And ironically we just received today the response from our superintendent about the whole Scouts-in-Schools issue. Guess what? In his estimation the BSA and our school district's missions are "not 100% compatible"...whatever that means. Also, "...allowing Boy Scouts to charter with, and use ABC Schools, without having to pay for their use would put the district at a further financial disadvantage." He went on to say, "While the district supports Scouting, we cannot act as sponsors or hold the charter of any non-district organizations. Al
  4. Col. Flagg
    I got a $75,000 one year contract with a $50,000 bonus per unit I act as unit lead for. That's $175,000/year plus benefits. Not bad in the end.
  5. Col. Flagg
    That's near the end of July, right. If the monsoons are done by then it can get hot depending on where you are. Be prepared for that. You will know better the closer you get. The bears down here are cuter and more cuddly than the ones in your neck of the woods.
  6. Col. Flagg
    Sexism of ANY kind is an issue. Many men here experienced this firsthand trying to volunteer as leaders in GSUSA, only to be treated as if we were convicted pedophiles because of our sex. We've also seen our fellow males treating female leaders as second class leaders and stepping in to call the men out on their actions, so no need to pontificate here. I disagree though about the "He-man Woman Haters" (that's for you @Stosh and @TAHAWK) being the ones who will have problems in this new coed environment. Those guys are entrenched in BSA and won't budge. The know so much and are usually the
  7. Col. Flagg
    Don't think Bugler counts for Eagle either. But point taken. "Assistant patrol leader and bugler are not approved positions of responsibility for the Eagle Scout rank. Likewise, a unit leader–assigned leadership project should not be used in lieu of serving in a position of responsibility."
  8. Col. Flagg
    Well, unless they've changed the leadership requirement for Eagle recently, but leadership projects currently don't count for Eagle leadership positions.
  9. Col. Flagg
    I received some advice from our long-time Eagle coach in our unit. He would have the Scouts read and re-read (several times) the application and the workbook. He would then have them take notes, noting the action words, bolded text, noting where they use the terms like "not" or "shall" or such. Really break it down and read it as if you were signing your first mortgage contract. This advice opened my eyes and has been something we continue to do as a unit. The output of this is a checklist, that the Scout creates, that has all the "deliverables" or artifacts that must be completed and/or
  10. Col. Flagg
    So the LDS program is more adult-led with Scouts being discouraged from taking the lead and making contact?
  11. Col. Flagg
    I am just waiting for the first girl who obviously cannot make Eagle in the timeframe she has, being given a lighter trail to Eagle so as not to disadvantage her because of BSA's lack of speed in implementation. You know that will happen. Some hover-parent is going to blame BSA that their 16 year old daughter cannot possibly make Eagle in two years and how "unfair" that is. Just wait.
  12. Col. Flagg

    Money

    Col. Flagg replied to Amynh's topic in Issues & Politics

    Right, $33. Not sure why I had $34 in my head. My understanding was that BL was still an extra $12 for Scouts who register with BSA, $24 if you are not registered or want a subscription otherwise. Point was that when some troops charge $100 a year, only $33 of that goes to BSA, another $12 to BL, the rest goes to the troop.
  13. Col. Flagg
    I simply went to their website, called their 800 number and asked them to cancel my subscription. They were taken aback a bit because they called it a "free" publication, so why wouldn't I want it, right? I was pretty forthright with them and told them why...pretty much many of the reasons enumerated above. Again, they were a bit surprised but they took me off the subscription list. It took a few months but I eventually stopped getting them.
  14. Col. Flagg
    I was wondering if we could make a change to the default notification settings. I've noticed that when I follow certain threads I end up getting email notifications when my profile is set to not have any notifications. So my "automatic" setting is set to none, but I am not allowed to change the notification setting for "Someone comments on something I follow". This is pretty annoying since I really don't want or need email based notifications. Can we please allow users to change that notification setting rather than making it default to email?
  15. Col. Flagg
    I would think ring finger of either hand. Pinky finger if you're Sicilian. You will find that most men as they get older rotate rings if they have them. Sometimes they will rotate in the class ring or the signet ring or the family heirloom ring, etc. The one ring that does NOT get rotated is the wedding band. Take that off at your own risk.
  16. Col. Flagg

    NYLT strip?

    Col. Flagg replied to Crew2116's topic in Uniforms

    Some I like, others not so much. But to point @The Latin Scot is making, if we allow everyone their own little "change" to things then you really don't have a "uniform" uniform, do we? I could get behind allowing units 1-2 places they can ad lib with their own dongles. BSA already allows hats, neckers and patches to be customized. How many more special things do we need? I love the sentiment behind such things, but I do agree we need guidelines and limits.
  17. Col. Flagg

    NYLT strip?

    Col. Flagg replied to Crew2116's topic in Uniforms

    Of he pa' is an official tlhingan Interpreter qosta'. Hoch idiot knows 'e'! 'oh is not parha' BSA is staffed by Romulans, is 'oh?
  18. Col. Flagg

    NYLT strip?

    Col. Flagg replied to Crew2116's topic in Uniforms

    Gotta be a regional or local thing. Never heard of any change to NYLT in my area. I have seen the NYLT patches that look like the "Trained" patches. I have seen off-issue ones too done by local councils or units. I have head a few districts call their leader training "SEAL Training" and other such names to make it sound more elite than plain-old NYLT. I'd be interested to see how/if these programs differ from NYLT. To carry on the metaphor I'd liken NYLT to advanced flight training. I'd call NAYLE more akin to "Top Gun" or "Red Flag".
  19. Col. Flagg

    NYLT strip?

    Col. Flagg replied to Crew2116's topic in Uniforms

    Never heard of that. Must be a local thing? How is it different from regular NYLT?
  20. Col. Flagg
    That's them. Have had them four years now are are my primary Scouting/Venturing/hiking pants. Been to Philmont twice and summer camps too.
  21. Col. Flagg
    Would CNN or MSNBC have been a better choice?
  22. Col. Flagg
    Hi Fred. I guess I missed those points, so sorry. I get the idea of having the gear in places people can see as maybe a catalyst for getting kids to join. But to be honest (and not trying to be offensive), that's a pretty expensive way to accomplish that task. Merchandise that just sits takes up valuable space and costs the owner of the merchandise (or "merch" as the kids call it these days) to keep it around. Once has to think that money could be better spent to hit that target market. With all the "free" media you get on social media these days, the cost of sending, storing and displayi
  23. Col. Flagg
    My ENO hammock and the REI Flash air mattress (insulated and not fully inflated) has solved that issue for me. I am amazed at how comfortable I sleep...and I am a "stomach sleeper" but I sleep like a baby.
  24. Col. Flagg
    I am lucky as I have two scout shops within 15 miles of my house, so access is not a problem. They were also recently renovated and pretty swanky...in fact, needlessly so. Sure the mom & pop shop down the road was closer but usually didn't have exactly what I needed. At least now I know I can get what I need...assuming it is in stock. And with scoutstuff.org I can always order it. I get the distributor-ship concept, but with Amazon Prime as an example, how many of us complaining about "buy local" also have been guilty of online shopping? My BIGGEST issues with BSA's supply is 1)
  25. Col. Flagg
    I agree as well. Years ago I used to find Scouting articles helpful. I still have several hard copies I kept. Great "how to" articles, ideas for units, trek planning ideas, etc. As I have pointed out earlier, the last 12 months or so have been drivel about "family camping" or something of that ilk. I've cancelled my subscription for 2018 as they have all gone straight to the recycling bin in 2017. Boys' Life I think is hit or miss. I've met several of their staff and they truly believe in the program and the outdoors. I wonder how much editorial control they really get but I didn't want t
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