Col. Flagg

By "BSA" I mean local units, districts or councils.

I have taken both my local REI course and the BSA course. I have also taken the ARC course. As you can imagine they vary in quality. REI was good on one occasion and so-so on another. BSA was the same. ARC was very hands-on but no real scenario playing. It really depends on the instructor. BSA courses were more likely to have the fun hands-on scenarios. ARC was more clinical. REI was less clinical, felt more like classroom work. That's how it was/is where I live. Hopefully you have a different experience. I am not sure I would pay $225 unless you are taking it from the national outdoor sch

Curious, but how much is "pricey"? We had a local unit who did a similar program. They charged $80 and it was 16 hours. Day 2 was all hands-on scenarios which were very realistic.

First, you assume it applies to Cyber Chip. There is nothing in the citation that says that. Second, It says specifically "Scout units that plan to use social media should share the following Internet safety guidelines with Scouts, parents, and leaders, and all Scouts should abide by the following Internet safety guidelines and personal protection rules:" Saying all Scouts should abide by the guidelines applies to leaders since we are Scouters. I think you are getting caught up in lay terms like "should" and "shall". If someone says you shouldn't do something, to most laymen that means

The sources listed above are pretty clear. Source #1: "Do not give anyone online your real last name, phone numbers at home or school, your parents’ workplaces, or the name or location of your school or home address unless you have your parents’ permission first. Never give your password to anyone but a parent or other adult in your family." Source #2: "Children’s full names with a photo of the child should not appear in this site. If you find a child’s full name with a photo of the child is accidentally placed on a page in this site, please report the error to the content owner

You're right. 20 years would be a 3% loss rate. 10 years would be a 6% loss rate. BSA has already alienated their core base. And they will never be satisfied with stopping the decline, they will want to increase membership. BSA equates the two together. They think increasing membership is the way to stop the decline, yet nothing they've done has been successful. Frankly, I don't see them doing either (stopping decline or increasing).

Maybe this will help. It defines long-term camping as "A camping experience consisting of five or more consecutive days and nights in the outdoors." Would it be too much a stretch to say that short-term camping would be anything less than five days and nights in the outdoors? There's also the National Outdoor Award. Imagine if we allowed indoor sleeping to count as "camping". How would you then deny someone those nights counting toward this award? The very award has "outdoor" in it. The first sentence begins with "Do you enjoy camping under the stars". It would be a travesty to allow indo

I don't know where to begin with this. Some how BSA's morals -- and those held by a large portion of their membership and COs -- is some how not "21st Century" thinking? Let me point out there was some really nasty thinking once thought of as "progressive" which was proven over time as abhorrent. But let's not go there. No one is changing anyone's mind on that point. Not sure where you get that church membership is shrinking. I invite you to come to Texas and show me where that's happening. The LDS church is growing, albeit slower than historically. The Baptists and UMCs are building more

None that I have seen. It is usually in the NCO bunks. I've been lucky enough to get the flight bosses quarters once on the Lex, though I shared it with two other adults and slept on the deck (read: steel floor).

Same reason ANY thread goes on...

We are still stuck with the term "camping" without definition. Am I "camping" if I stay at a Holiday Inn? Indoors on a aircraft carrier? Indoors in a cabin? The same source even says: "Lodges are expected to plan a program and activities to support the purpose of the Order, the local council, and its units through outdoor program promotion and service. This includes the council resident camps, camp facilities, unit camping, Cub Scout outdoor experiences, and the Webelos-to-Scout plan." Same doc, there's a great section on Camping Promotion (page 12) that talks all about camping

Not sure I understand your question. My point was this: Necker is optional. On that we all agree. Some think it instantly identifies one as a Scout, some don't. Never seen neckers worn without field uniform except at Jambo or outside US. Huge decrease in units even wearing neckers in my region. BSA would never make 'neckers-only" a uniform option officially since they make so much revenue from other field uniform items. In other words, why sell a $7 necker when you can sell a mandatory (sort of) field shirt and pants for over $100?

That's how our Instructors work. Can't tie it, don't get it signed off.

ROFL. I nearly missed it too, then I highlighted it.

Can you blame BSA for not pushing this too hard? They had $143m in revenue in 2015 from "supply", which is their sales from ScoutStuff and Scout Shops, etc. I doubt necker sales were their strong performers. I cannot see BSA pushing this. In my area, and the regions we travel, you don't see neckers. At Philmont last year I think we saw two units wearing neckers with their field uniform...one of them was from Sweden.

But look at the language being used, @@qwazse. They didn't say it counted as camping. They said "troop outings". There's a difference. Granted, they didn't answer the direct question. How typical of BSA, right? Couldn't they have just said "yes" or used the word "camping" instead of "troop outings"? I don't disagree that BSA should be more concise and clear. They rarely are. If anyone at BSA is listening, I'd be happy to help them fix their documentation. I am reminded by this quote: “The Order of the Arrow is a thing of the out of doors rather than the indoors. It was born in

I had to deal with something similar for my son who recently made Eagle but is 18. He's obviously an adult, is an (adult) member of the troop and just joined the Venture Crew. He can wear adult knots only on his Boy Scout uniform. He *can* wear the AOL and Eagle knots. On his Venture uniform he *can* wear the Eagle patch until his 21, then he has to follow the Boy Scout guidelines. In trying to find out the answer to *my* problem, perhaps this will help you with your problem: Badges of Rank Limited to Youth Members In Scouting, the advancement program is limited to youth members only

One picture? All I can tell you is in nearly 20 years of Scouting, I have never seen Scouts wear their t-shirts and neckers. Jambo? Sure. Kandersteg? Absolutely. Never, ever at Philmont, Seabase, NT, or any council camp.

I disagree. The BSA has clearly said what they consider to be camping. They have a definition in their own literature for the Camping MB. It defines camping as outdoor. Their own ScoutBook software, as well as TroopMaster and several other programs do not count indoor sleeping as camping toward either OA or the Camping MB. How is citing BSA's own software -- and the rules it uses to manage requirements -- not an official vindication that indoor sleeping is not considered camping? Talk about letting the tail wage the dog. That's just as official as if someone showed you an OA document conta

Totally unplanned. So is the implication that people will hate the New Scouting so much they will join Classic Scouting?

I'd love it! Go back to working on ranks in sequence and include MBs as part of that path. Keep mastery of the core skills in S-FC but add in MBs a few at a time. Focus on outdoors and hands-on. KEEP instant recognition. Nothing wrong with giving a kid a rank badge after the BOR! Eliminate worksheets. We need a matrix of what to keep and discard.

No. It is not outdoor camping. It is essentially cabin camping. No need to bring it to the Scouts. Just check the experts and the book. But don't believe us, here's the expert from BSA.

You are looking at one law and ignoring all the other applicable laws.

That's a health issue. Same would hold for mold or dust or heat or any other meeting space that put people's health at risk. Looking at booze bottles is no more a danger than looking at Cindy Charles in a Scout uniform.

Yup, that's what we did. Had to use the "stock" parts that came in the kit from BSA. No special wheels or axles. Weights WERE allowed to be added and we allowed parents to help BUT they used "stock" weights too. All cars were inspected, weighed and locked down. The race was the next day due to paint drying. One dad got tired of waiting and built a paint deck that could dry 10 cars at a time. The way to neutralize the DIY parent was to 1) have them bring their tools (bragging rights) and 2) challenge them to think of ways ALL kids could benefit from any tech (car dryer).