Thunderbird

I assume he's gone through the Ordeal? Other than possibly helping to arrange car pools, I don't understand why she'd care.

@John-in-KC John, could you also post page 26? That has the active in a POR related stuff.

The BSA Guide to Advancement has whole sections on Active Participation (4.2.3.1) and Positions of Responsibility (4.2.3.4): https://www.scouting.org/resources/guide-to-advancement/mechanics-of-advancement/boy-and-varsity/

Charter organizations can already charter more than one pack, troop, etc., so IMO, the whole "linked troop" is just a way for them to say that the program isn't co-ed (yet) *wink*.

They have telegraphed what they are planning to do by putting girls in the Boy Scouting program and renaming the program "Scouts BSA". There will be a push for co-ed troops, because it will be difficult for some troops to get the minimum number of girls that they need (5) in order to start a girl troop. The argument will be that it isn't "fair" for these girls to not be able to join a troop and pursue Eagle Scout just because they couldn't get enough other girls to join, too. Scouts BSA will probably have co-ed troops, girl troops, and boy troops (as determined by their charter organiza

I think it's a good thing that you included the Committee Chair, because the Troop Committee is in charge of making policy for the troop. However, troop policy cannot conflict with BSA policy. And the troop "belongs" to the Charter Organization, which can have its own policies that the troop has to follow.

I don't think that it's always wrong to ask a Scout to wait. The question is: how long before the Scout's wait would be considered to be unreasonable? Earlier in this thread, @Hawkwin said that the reason his Scout couldn't attend the campouts was because the Scout would be out of the country and that this would delay his rank advancement until November (or later). It's one thing for the Scoutmaster to have a preference to do these conferences on campouts for the higher ranks, but the SM seems to have made it an inflexible requirement instead of just a preference. The Scout believes that h

Yes, the BSA modified the requirements in December 2016 and put out an addendum for each den level. The new handbooks / den leader guides are supposed to have the new requirements. Here is a link to the Webelos addendum: https://filestore.scouting.org/filestore/cubscouts/pdf/WEBELOS_AOL_Addendum.pdf Don't worry about stuff that you've already signed off on as completed (Webelos rank, adventures, etc.).

Could also fall under the POR of Troop Guide. Another option for Star and Life ranks is to "to carry out a Scoutmaster-approved leadership project to help the troop".

Grubmaster is a real role in the sense that it is in the Patrol Leader's Handbook. But like most other patrol positions (Assistant Patrol Leader, Patrol Scribe, Cheermaster, etc.), it does not fulfill the POR requirement for Star, Life, and Eagle. Patrol Leader is the only patrol position that does qualify as a POR for Star, Life, and Eagle. It's an important position, though. After all, somebody's got to do the grocery shopping and cook! 😀

Just adding to your point, the Arrow of Light rank requirement says: So, they are still Webelos Scouts in Webelos dens even when they are in the 5th grade and working towards their Arrow of Light rank.

If they did the requirement in a Bear den, then it doesn't count. If they did the requirement in a Webelos den (4th or 5th grade), then it does count. Which requirements version are you using? Geocaching is no longer a requirement of the Outdoorsman adventure pin (formerly called Camper). http://usscouts.org/advance/cubscout/aol-core.asp

If I understand your question correctly, Cub Scouts were presented with belt loops, but not everything was added to the BSA's electronic database (Internet Advancement or Scoutbook)? If that's the case, then you can enter these awards in as historical data.

"Complete the X merit badge requirements" vs. earn the X merit badge is how Venturers / Sea Scouts can earn awards such as the National Outdoor Awards for Camping, etc. without having to be in the Boy Scout program or be "qualified" Venturers / Sea Scouts.

There is a difference between completing the requirements for a merit badge vs. earning a merit badge. Section 7.0.0.0 of the Guide to Advancement says: In order to be a "qualified" Venturer or Sea Scout, they must have achieved the First Class rank as a Boy Scout, Varsity Scout, or Lone Scout (from section 4.2.0.0). Girls currently have no way to earn First Class rank, so they are not considered "qualified" Venturers or Sea Scouts.

I'm confused as to how a girl who is currently in Venturing can start earning merit badges. Because she isn't a qualified Venturer or Sea Scout (meaning that the Scout has earned First Class rank while in a troop), then she can't earn merit badges until after she joins a girls troop.

I think @MzKelly is referring to this and whether or not merit badge counselors count as "leaders" or not: https://www.scouting.org/health-and-safety/gss/gss01/ If the BSA's goal is for the adult to be registered, have current YPT, and have a criminal background check, then I would think that a merit badge counselor (or Nova counselor / Supernova mentor) would count as a registered adult leader. These new YPT rules seem to have created more questions than they have answered.

My understanding is that they do re-run the background checks. You would have to ask your council as to how often.

The new YPT rules aren't going to help the patrol method any.

Venturing is already supported in Scoutbook, although there are a few items that still need to be added. Hopefully, Sea Scouting will be added before January.

🤠

@cocomax Um, wow! 😮

I agree. The Scoutmaster is adding to the requirements by making the Scoutmaster conference conditional: He will only conduct Scoutmaster conferences for higher ranks while on campouts. He doesn't seem to be flexible at all with Scouts who are unable to make those campouts for 90+ days.

Depending on the age of your Scout, it might not be worth the fight. If the Scout is young, he could work on earning merit badges, which will help him when working towards Life rank. But if the Scout is older, then an argument could be made that the Scoutmaster is essentially making himself unavailable for an extended period of time (90-ish days or more) due to the scheduling conflict. At the very least, the Scout's advancement is being delayed unnecessarily due to the scheduling conflict. Section 4.2.3.5 seems to say that the Scoutmaster can designate an ASM to conduct the conference

There shouldn't be any girls "aging out" right now (assuming that the oldest Webelos girls were in the 4th grade - which was part of the early adopter criteria), because Webelos Scouts can stay with the pack until the end of the 5th grade, if they and their parents so choose.