InquisitiveScouter

11 hours ago, Mrjeff said:

Well, its not ALL about the boys or girls.  That sounds nice but if the grown folk aren't enjoying themselves and are miserable, then the kids won't have a good time and will be miserable, too.

Scouting is for adults as well.  Some, with good intentions perhaps, go overboard and neglect the primacy of our mission to youth... but I have seen adults who really blossom in the program. 

Not all adults, when they join us, are "stellar" moral and ethical decision makers.  By our example, through their training, and by exposing them to the eight methods (so, including the Oath and Law among other things), they become even more capable of delivering the promise to youth.

12 hours ago, SiouxRanger said:

Our troop has had the practice of only having an Eagle presenting a single Mentor Pin.

Why would you not leave this up to the Eagle Scout?

It seems way out of line for adults (I seriously doubt any PLC would have the gall) to dictate such a thing.  Whom an Eagle Scout wishes to recognize as her mentors is really none of the "Troop's" business.

Is there any reasoning behind this you could share?

11 hours ago, TheScouterDude said:

national will send emails to the scouts' parents 60, 30, 15, 7, and 1 day(s) before they are changed

This will quickly go to spam 😜

On 3/1/2024 at 5:14 PM, Gossmaaf said:

There is almost continual debate over how many knots someone should wear, not wear, or even at all.  As a Scouter who was in as a youth, I will say that to younger scouts it matters less, but to older scouts they see those knots as something they can obtain themselves someday.  It helps pull aging out scouts to become scouters to continue service to our organization.  That said, I wonder if the uniform would be slightly less cluttered (for some with excessive knots) as well as ability to tailor for the needs if scouting moved back to the Ribbon Bar concept like Exploring currently does, or as Scouters did from the 20's to about the 50's.  I get that having them can make the uniform more militaristic and less "scout-ish" but it is hard for those with knots as a youth that were hard earned, and knots as an adult (shows you are a resource for others with experience in specific roles) if the bars would clean up the uniform.  

There is the added problem as well for those that get multiple times of the same award, like Den Leader.  Now that National no longer sells the knot devices for several years.  I myself have 6 knots and I already see how getting anymore would add clutter, but do I take off the Den leader Award (great memories with each of my kids), do I take off the Medal of Merit/Eagle/etc... or do I have to move my World Crest up to get it to fit correctly.  If i get the opportunity for a Cubmaster Key or Unit Award of Merit my 3rd row will be almost filled out already, and I'm just started in my time as an Adult Leader (only been doing that for 8 consecutive years, 4 with my own kids).

Playing with the concept somewhat is some ideas i was seeing, looking to the base medals for the appearance capture.  Instead of a separate Ranger Bar devices with (R, T, and Q) could be added to the Venturing Summit Bar to indicate Ranger, Quest, Truth Medals with Summit, again decluttering the uniform but still recognizing skills and honors.

Like the idea, but it looks too much like military then.

BSA probably won't go for it.

9 hours ago, TheScouterDude said:

But what about pack/troop/crew/ship fees? Are the individual units on their own to collect those, even if everything else is being paid through national? Or is there some way for the individual unit to tell national's system how much the unit fee is?

1) National doesn't care

2) Yes, but I would love to wrong about this.

3) No, but I would love to wrong about this.

5 hours ago, swilliams said:

Approval to fundraise came last night.  Son has swimming today and tomorrow (Meet of Champions!!) but will get the GoFundMe up and running Sunday.  The scout who did the other Eagle project there gave my son the name of a local lumber yard that will give him a break on the price of the 4X4s, and he found out the guy who owns NJ Gravel and Sand (where he sourced the rock and crushed oyster shell) is an Eagle Scout.  He's giving my son a good price on the materials.  Delivery will be a beast, but no break there.  Diesel fuel is the price it is.

Swimming is over after this weekend, so that gives him back over 8 hours a week.  He said he'll start working after school with a couple friends, then have the Troop scouts come do weekends as weather permits.  Lucky for him my husband and I are both registered. Also lucky for him (and unlucky for us) I'm self-employed, and husband is out of work at the moment, so at least we won't be held up by adult schedules.  

Things are looking up!

Hey moderators!  Could @swilliams post the GoFundMe here??

I spent many a day and night on both Green and Yellow ramps at Pope waiting for you guys to load up in my trusty C-141.

Our airdrop speed was usually about 150 knots, depending on weight.  If I was tail end Charlie of the formation, I'd slack off ten or 15 knots over the DZ to make your opening shock a little less.  (Love what you did!!)  Later did some DZ control there...

Both my Dad and brother were 82nd... and I was born on Fort Campbell, and lived on Fort Bragg.  Dad retired out of Fort Gordon.  Both told me to go Air Force!  (brother in Navy said the same!) Still have family in Raeford and Augusta. 😜

Airborne All the Way! 

(I trained for the nylon letdown, but was never daft enough to jump out of a perfectly good airplane 😜 )

8 minutes ago, Armymutt said:

That right there is a shame.  This is where the lawyers drive out potentially excellent volunteers.  We probably were violating what passed for YPT when I was a senior in HS.  I was an ASM but I was also on the school sports teams, so I was changing in the locker room with Scouts.  I was even assigned to share a hotel room with a Scout on a school trip.  He was a junior.  

Careful!  You'll be put on the IVF!!

Deleted...

2 minutes ago, Eagle94-A1 said:

Apparently I don't have permission

Try this... see NNJC entry

https://www.facebook.com/search/top/?q=Cub Scout Adventures and Requirements

or here, I converted it to a pdf for you...

CS Adv & Req.pdf

1 minute ago, Armymutt said:

The SPL thing was what I thought of last night.  Of course, how many SPLs know the method by which they were elected?  Even the law research one seems a bit much for Cub Scouts and parents who can't figure out Scoutbook.  

Totally agree...

These concepts seem a little inappropriate for the age groups... 

5 minutes ago, Armymutt said:

I wouldn't have a clue on how to find an elected official on a military base in Germany.  

Is there a PTA that works with the DoDDS there?  Maybe they elect somebody...  

Or could they talk with the SPL of the Scout Troop?  It does say "someone who is elected"

9 minutes ago, Armymutt said:

Anyone been able to get a 5th grader to labor for 2 hours?  

Only on Minecraft or Fortnite 😜

9 minutes ago, Armymutt said:

but they lost sight of the fun aspect of Cub Scouts.

With "requirements" like those, I think they lost sight of the fun aspect of anything and everything.

1 hour ago, cctroop123 said:

I came across this article on Scoutmaster.org, which is part of the USSSP.org website.  It is listed as:  Boy-Led Troop--Parents and New Leaders Guide to a Boy-Led Troop.  Even though it says it is for parents and new leaders it explains how a boy-led troop should be run.  It would be great to share with your adult leaders to see if they could work with it.  Especially interesting is the last page (15) that shows the steps from a leader run troop to a boy -led one, and where your troop is on that scale.  If you have the right scouts, mature and responsible,  it might work.  But I find that younger and inexperienced scouts need some guidance when planning campouts and other outings.  Knowing where to go and what is available can be "suggested" at the  PLC by a knowledgeable leader.

@cctroop123, welcome!  I'm not getting a link there...

Let's try this:

http://scoutmaster.org/boy led troop.pdf

7 minutes ago, Eagle94-A1 said:

REI will not partner with BSA because of our shooting sports program. There are also other differences, but the shooting sports is a big one. None of their partners have anything to do with shooting sports. Why you no longer see ALPS Mountaineering sold by REI. 

BTW, the Newspeak on this is "Range and Target Sports"  (RATS?) watch for the change to creep in over time.

https://www.ncacbsa.org/shooting-sports/

39 minutes ago, scoutldr said:

Few Carhartt products are still made in the USA.  Most is outsourced to Mexico and China.  That's a NO from me.

LOL, what clothing manufacturer is in USA that would fit the bill?

3 minutes ago, skeptic said:

I have always wanted a good and dependable set of BSA labeled suspenders.  Never seen any, but I would think they might be a good seller.  When I was still backpacking before the seasoning had stopped me I always wore a set of wide red suspenders to keep the pack from pushing my waist clothing down.  Also worked well with day hikes.  Better yet, think about a well designed pair of BSA logo Lederhosen knock off.

I would ROCK these! LOL

19 minutes ago, AwakeEnergyScouter said:

Time for a REI x BSA collab? 😄

No, time for a Carhartt x BSA collab 😜 \

https://www.carhartt.com/

REI is kind of bougie...  (REI member since 1989.)

5 minutes ago, niagarafalls said:

And now with the "New Bobcat" you're going to literally have a lot of kids with nothing on the shirt effectively.  A couple things on the sleeve

Will any of their achievements be on the shirt?  

Or is it all just organizational stuff...??

Here's an example...

JTE patches... change every year, if you wear them...

(Yes, shirt is well-worn, and has seen many better days 😜 )

1 minute ago, AwakeEnergyScouter said:

And aren't all the sewing avoidance methods already offered enough? 🤦🏼‍♀️

LOL, Badge Magic destroys fabric 😜

1 minute ago, Tron said:

What is happening per cubchat is that national polled parents and had a 12% response rate (which is apparently high) and parents told national they hate sewing stuff on uniforms. What national decided to do was change all patches to loops/pins. There is supposed to be more information available this month; based on what I've read everything that was an award still exists but many are becoming elective adventures after June 1st and the scout shops will only stock the new belt loops and pins.

EG: Outdoor Activity Award will still exist, but in its new form it becomes a belt loop instead of a pocket flap patch.

Ugh... why doesn't National get with the program and use velcro!?  

Adding velcro to uniforms and patches makes things lighter than metal and more easily interchangeable.

I believe it would be a cheaper alternative than metal awards and insignia... and could possibly be sourced from recycled materials.

Production of metal gadgets with paints and coatings seems less eco-friendly, but I reserve the right to be wrong.

3 minutes ago, Tron said:

I just heard that we finally had a dead troop turn in its charter. 

Do you mean that a disbanded Troop did not re-charter, or that a previously-believed disbanded Troop surprised everyone and submitted for a charter??

Hoping for the latter, but suspect you meant former...

My Council Commissioner contact gave me our council stats; we lost units (this month last year to this month this year).  I am not revealing the exact numbers, to protect my source and myself 😜 

Unit growth rate is almost negative 5% (I altered this number to protect the innocent...), so we lost about one out of every 20 units.

Membership growth rate overall same period almost negative 6% (exact number hidden to protect the innocent.)

It is sad that both he and I believe if we could be specifically identified through this forum, there would be reprisals from our council.

What were the target growth rates for this past year?  What was the baseline year?

It would be nice if our council would release the strategic plan (if they have one).  Here is Coastal Carolina Council's plan revised in Jun 2022.

https://scoutingevent.com/Download/099108572/SM/Strategic_Plan_Booklet_Final__revised_6_23_22.pdf

52 minutes ago, swilliams said:

Ugh.  He confused which signatures are needed.  Only beneficiary and unit leader before sending fundraising to Council.

Another edit: he's right.  He was looking at the Council website which says (in part)

6. If the “public” is to be asked to assist with funding the project (e. outside of the Unit, chartering organization, beneficiary or Scout’s family), there MUST be a Fundraising Application completed.
   If it is anticipated that there will be Fundraising in excess of $2500, the District Advancement Chair must sign your Fundraising Application in the Authorized Council Approval section.

    

Once the proposal is approved, he can go full bore on planning, coordinating, scheduling, preliminary site work, etc.

He just cannot do any fundraising until he get that separate form back.