InquisitiveScouter

Agreed. I find it extremely difficult to believe that, over 50 years, not a single month was without camping. Record keeping, weather, unit leadership, what constitutes camping (was it in one night in someone's backyard just to keep the record going??)...too many variables, with too much possible human error, bias, and stretching, to get to something like this. Knowing what I know from 35+ years of Scouting experience, I glance sideways at things like this...much like a Scout earning (actually, "being awarded") every merit badge.

Lone Scouts with an itinerant Scoutmaster working on a grant, if the parents are unwilling/unable to be the Lone Scout Friend and Counselor.

I like the idea, and believe you should scope the idea first by defining the problem. What, exactly, is the problem you are trying to solve? And then explore the question as to whether Scouting is a solution to that problem. The way to have phrased your OP, it seems like you are putting the cart before the horse. That is, you have a solution (Scouting) that is looking for a problem (some sort of public health issue that can be addressed by a youth program, and the crafting of a policy to implement your personally desired solution.)

And there are no lions in The Jungle Book.

Naw...every time they rehearse and prep, they gain a deeper understanding of what the Order of the Arrow is... "You need seek no rocky summit. These high places are within you. All the natural world around you shows you clearly your reflection. This Ordeal is but a pattern for a journey whose directions are the whispers, urgings, promptings deep within your hearts and spirits."

All those rules should be in your service's leave regulations.

P.S. Over my 26 years in the Air Force, my commanders awarded me 3 MOVSMs... Did you know your unit commander can authorize 10 days of Permissive TDY for a military member to support volunteer efforts like Scout Camp, so they don't have to burn leave? And the first O6 in your chain can authorize it up to 30!

Yes, use the whole time they are there. Even while sleeping, you are on call as an adult leader.

I wish that was my experience and perception...sadly, it is not. I could change my perception, but then it wouldn't be based on my experience.

Without volunteers, there would be NO Scouts

@vol_scouter, very glad your experience, in general, has been positive... But, help me please... on the one hand you say and on the other, you say... Those two assertions seem to be at odds. Our entire district program is planned and run by volunteers. We haven't had a DE in I don't know how long... Council program is non-existent, other than Summer Camp...there has not been a council program event here for units in over three years... (But there are at least five council fundraisers per year...golf outings, skeet shoots, silent auctions, popcorn, camp car

And here is the essence of Kosnoff's stance...see in his tweet, "BSA has forfeited the moral right to exist." https://twitter.com/SexAbuseAttys/status/1359252870462205954 Has it?? Only individuals can be moral agents, not corporations. But, when the collective decisions of those individuals in a corporation tend toward objectives that seem, much of the time, to be in opposition to the beliefs/mission/ideals of the program they exist to support, then does the corporation take on the embodiment (which is what incorporation means ) of a moral agent? That's the question I strugg

Another great resource... http://www.thedump.scoutscan.com/scouts.html

@SiouxRanger, you are scaring me only because it is like you are inside my head...perhaps I am schizoprenic, and you are just one of my multiple personalities exposing some of the demons I face in this council... Well...expose away But do tone down the rhetoric a bit, please...

Sure, continue the movement, but do not shuffle it into the hands of that organization. Get a new team together, and do it much better than they... Heck, I'll sign on...full time...at $100K per year. That's $900K less than Surbaugh got in 2018... https://filestore.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/Form-990-2018.pdf

Never underestimate this as a legal strategy some might take in order to achieve their desired ends... Insurance companies, in order to pay the minimum they'll have to pay... BSA, to a much lesser extent, but, still, in order to pay the minimum they'll have to pay... Kosnoff-ites, in order to bleed BSA into a Chapter 7 situation... As @David CO points out, "Bankruptcies are about money. Period." No matter what else we want this one to be about...

Nope...does not put a damper on it. A mentor of mine pointed out long ago...yes, there is often a price for telling the truth, but there is also a price for not saying anything when the truth needs to be spoken.

You mean, STILL required for Eagle, right? http://usscouts.org/usscouts/eagle/EagleHistory.asp

You wanted some advice on being a Merit Badge Counselor (MBC)... 1. Read the current Guide to Advancement (G2A) https://filestore.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/33088.pdf, particularly Section 7. Read it again. 2. Get a current Merit Badge book for each Merit Badge you wish to counsel. Read them. Read them again. Read them a third time. 3. A Scout must complete the requirements, AND NOTHING MORE!. A Scout must complete the requirements, AND NOTHING LESS! (see above) Too many times I see MBCs cutting corners, skipping requirements, or adding stuff that is not in the badge.

@SiouxRanger, concur. For all...whenever they ask for your opinion on surveys, they don't really mean it...and never put your name in the "yes, you can contact me" portions if you have given input on anything that could be interpreted as criticizing the organization. For the professionals, "feedback is not a gift". And I have several personal experiences (scar tissue) in this, having questioned finances, program, YPT, condition of properties, etc. And your decades of volunteer service don't give your opinions (or facts) any weight 😵

It's more like luring or baiting a trap.

@yknot we must live in the same neck of the woods...you anywhere near Lakehurst, NJ?

Just back from Summer Camp. Had a great discussion with a Scouter well-plugged into his council. He was asked by the SE to participate in a "soft release" of Citizenship in Society Merit Badge. SE gave no information other than that... Anyone out there have more intel??

Much rings true...unfortunately, it seems only hard times will bring back the focus. And we are primed for hard times coming...

Great story! Thanks!