Thunderbird

"Instead, the BSA will officially recognize our Inaugural Class of Female Eagle Scouts in the fall of 2020, providing young women who join Scouts BSA the needed time to complete all requirements. This Inaugural Class will be celebrated nationally and collectively commemorated." 2020 appears to be the "inaugural year".

OK, so girls and boys who are age 16-17 on February 1, 2019 and who register during 2019 as members of Scouts BSA would be eligible. "3. In the interest of fairness, these temporary transition rules apply to all youth joining Scouts BSA during 2019 – both girls and first-time joining boys."

Does this exception apply to boys who are 16 years old in February regardless of when they joined? Am I reading this correctly?

The closest thing that I've seen is the InSTEP program from the Sam Houston Area Council: http://www.samhoustonbsa.org/instep If you want to use it, you can probably just ignore the assigned months and just look for the adventures that you want to work on that month. I don't think the Lions program has been added to it yet.

The Totin' Chip requirements refer to the Boy Scout Handbook, and there is a section on "Tools" that covers the rules of safe knife use, how to take care of a pocketknife, axes, etc. Quickly looking through the pocketknife safety section quickly, I don't see mention of the safety circle, although the safety circle is mentioned in the section on axes under "Safe Working Area". I'm sure that every troop / pack might have some additional local rules. Not sure about the Whittling Chip, but it looks like there is a section in the new BALOO book. I'm not sure what's included in the Bear Den Leader Guide book.

And here is another reference from the Guide to Advancement section 9.0.2.3 “Plan, Develop …” "A good test of any project is to evaluate its complexity. In the case of a blood drive, for example, elements of challenge and complexity can be added so there is a clear demonstration of planning, development, and leadership." Planting a handful of flowers at the base of a flagpole would not be challenging or complex, and it wouldn't require much (if any) in the way of planning or leadership. However, the example that @MattR gave shows how a Scout could add challenge and complexity to his project.

And on page 69: "Describe how the Whittling Chip, if revoked, must be re-earned as a complete unit in order to again carry and use a pocketknife. The corners cannot be cut off from the Whittling Chip for infractions—the certificate must be treated as a single entity."

I think you could use "scale and impact" to get more out of Eagle projects: GTA section 9.0.2.11 Routine Labor "But the real test has to do with scale and impact." Navigating the Eagle Scout Service Project; Information for Project Beneficiaries "Routine labor, like a service a Scout may provide as part of his daily life such as mowing or weeding a church lawn, is not normally appropriate. However, if project scale and impact are sufficient to require planning and leadership, then it may be considered." Planting a handful of flowers at the base of a flagpole doesn't sound like it would provide much in the way of scale or impact (or planning and leadership, for that matter). However, a bigger landscaping project probably would.

It depends. For Computers / Digital Technology, a Scout could earn both, but only if the Scout began actual and purposeful effort on the Computers merit badge prior to December 31, 2014. source: Bryan on Scouting: Time running out to earn Computers merit badge Not sure about Atomic Energy / Nuclear Science, but Atomic Energy was discontinued in 2005. The general rule is that a Scout must begin working on a merit badge before the date that it is discontinued. A Scout today would not be able to start working on it and earn it. For Cinematography / Moviemaking, Scouts would earn one or the other but not both, because they just changed the name of the merit badge and made some minor tweaks to the wording of some requirements (in other words, it's the same merit badge with a new name). The name change took effect in October, 2013. source: Bryan on Scouting: Cinematography merit badge becomes Moviemaking merit badge

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So the Scout attended 30-ish minutes of the campout due to the Scoutmaster's SMC policy for higher ranks. SMH.

I would not be surprised if the BSA's online training site goes down over the weekend with all of the people who waited until the 11th hour to get their training done.

I have gotten e-mails from my council, but none have said anything about being dropped. All they say is that leaders will not be able to recharter unless they have taken the new training. A lot of Scouters don't attend roundtable, so I wouldn't count on it as the primary way to get the word out.

@Hawkwin Some more thoughts: your troop's policies are very long and detailed, and some of the policies are out of date already (for example: the BSA registration fee is now $33 per person). Instead of having detailed policies like this, it would probably be better to just refer to the source documents (Guide to Safe Scouting, Boy Scout Handbook, Guide to Advancement, Guide to Awards and Insignia, uniform inspection sheets (currently more up to date than the 2015 Guide to Awards and Insignia), etc.) This way, the troop's policies don't have to be edited every time something changes. In addition, the longer something like this is (troop policies), the less likely people will read it. Good luck!

I agree with @perdidochas. Your Troop Committee can't vote to override BSA's national advancement policy. Here is the Guide to Advancement: In your son's case, they aren't even taking the summer off -- the Scouts are attending summer camp, participating in Scout activities, cleaning out and reorganizing the storage shed. It's ridiculous that they're saying that this time doesn't count just because the troop isn't having troop meetings.

I can't get the multiple quote thing to work to include your entire post, but I think this falls under GTA section 4.2.1.2 The Scout Is Tested: "The unit leader authorizes those who may test and pass the Scout on rank requirements. They might include his patrol leader, senior patrol leader, an assistant unit leader, another Scout, or the unit leader himself. Merit badge counselors teach and test him on requirements for merit badges." So the Scoutmaster decides who may test and sign off the Scout on rank requirements. The Scoutmaster might decide that youth leaders or other adults can sign off on certain requirements. And the rank requirements specify that the service projects must be "approved by [the Scout's] Scoutmaster". Taken together, I think that your troop's policy that "Only registered adult Troop leaders may sign the requirements in the BSA Scout Handbook" is limiting your Scoutmaster's authority to determine who may test and sign off on the rank requirements.

There is a t-shirt / patch company called "ClassB". They are an official licensee of the BSA, so no need to worry about BSA trademarks if you choose to work with them. They offer free artwork services with unlimited art changes, free shipping over $50, no set up fees, and you can mix garment types for price breaks. I'm not affiliated with ClassB, but I've used them before, and they do good work. That said, you can use whoever you'd like. I think the words "troop" and "pack" are not trademarked, although you would have to check on that to be sure. You could maybe put P123 / T123 on the shirts to avoid that whole issue. If you wanted you could probably use the same design, but different color shirts to make a distinction between the pack & troop (for example: use navy blue shirts for the pack / dark green for the troop).

I hope so, too. 😟

@Eagledad @TAHAWK Thanks for the ideas! I like how your SPL goes around to each patrol and asks them separately for ideas.

Can parents access Internet Advancement? If not, you should be able to get a copy of your son's advancement records from your troop's advancement coordinator. Another option is to request a copy of the advancement record from your council registrar. Does your son's troop use Scoutbook? If so, then you should be able to print out a copy of his Boy Scout History Report or his Individual Advancement Record (although you might need an Admin to help you get a copy of the IAR).

I sounds It sounds like the troop did not realize that the pack had a female Webelos when they invited the pack's Webelos to go on a campout with them. Then after they found out, they seem to have gone back and forth on whether she can come too. I agree with you. Things are going to be problematic for many months until things get sorted out.

@Eagledad What kinds of themes does your troop typically come up with? Are they activity based (backpacking, climbing, canoeing, etc.) or something else (Scout Law, holidays)?

@Hawkwin It might also be helpful to get a copy of the Troop Leader Guidebook (replaced the Scoutmaster Handbook). I do not have a copy of it, but I believe that there is a section on Scoutmaster (unit leader) conferences.

@Hawkwin Take a look at section 4.2.3.5 Unit Leader (Scoutmaster) Conference: "The conference is not a retest of the requirements upon which a Scout has been signed off. It is a forum for discussing topics such as ambitions, life purpose, and goals for future achievement, for counseling, and also for obtaining feedback on the unit’s program." The board of review is also not supposed to be a retest (section 8.0.1.1 Not a Retest or “Examination”).

There is some good info. in the Senior Patrol Leader Handbook. You could use it as a starting point. There's also a video and some suggested steps at: https://troopleader.org/annual-planning-conference/ I view having the SPL/PLC invite other adults to the annual planning conference as a suggestion -- not policy. If they'd be helpful (as a resource on the budget, for example), then they could be invited. If they would be interfering in the process, then don't invite them -- have the SPL brief them at a later date.