CalicoPenn

It does indeed appear that National hasn't yet updated their website yet with the latest information - so mea culpa on that. I went ahead and contacted Philmont - and they are requiring EMT's to get the Wilderness Certs as well - some of the same folks on their list provide Wilderness Certs for W-EMT (which isn't a recognized designation by the National Registry). So you can either get the Wilderness First Aid certs or the Wilderness EMT Certs (which I did get when they first became available - I can tell you that there was very little in that class that I hadn't already learned in Boy S

Here is what National BSA's Philmont Website has to say about the first aid certification requirements for Philmont crews. First Aid and CPR Certification Philmont requires that at least one person (preferably two) in each crew be currently certified in American Red Cross Standard First Aid or the equivalent and CPR from the American Heart Association, the American Red Cross, or the equivalent. Several hours may be required for Philmont staff to reach a remote backcountry location after a message is delivered to the nearest staffed camp. First aid and CPR training will result in prop

(African or European?)

It used to be that in general, individual units didn't have "Cracker Barrels". Snacks, yes - and they could even be the same kind of snacks found at "Cracker Barrels", but they weren't called "Cracker Barrels". "Cracker Barrels" aren't really about the food. Its about getting together with friends and soon to be friends around a, you guessed it, a "Cracker Barrel" to exchange news, gossip, recipes, thoughts, ideas, etc. The terminology comes from when most people shopped at the local General Store and would gather 'round the Cracker Barrel to set and visit for a spell. Most campor

I dare say there is a big difference between "unauthorized" and "prohibited". Where the statement is coming from is rather important as well. It is Risk Management using the term "unauthorized". My read on that is that should a unit go ahead and plan a Laser Tag outing, and someone gets hurt, BSA insurance may not cover any injuries, or lawsuit that may follow, as Laser Tag was an "unauthorized" activity. It appears to make Laser Tag a "do this at your own risk" activity. Which brings up a question - could Capture the Flag be considered a "wargame" and be therefore "unauthorized"?

I just got an image of Winnie the Pooh sitting on a log all day with his chin in one hand, spending the day just thinking - because it's World Thinking Day. Happy World Thinking Day to all Calico

The amortized cost of the construction of a building built in 1928 has been fully satisfied for a very long time now - think decades. Even if it hadn't, the way ground leases work, that building became the property of the City of Philadelphia the moment it was built. The city owes CoL nothing for the building.

I'm going to suggest that it isn't the Cubmaster that is failing - it is all the other Leaders in the Pack that are failing. You state that the other DL's were not behind the Cubmaster 100% when he first started. From that moment on, the Pack failed the Cubmaster - not the other way around. When the Cubmaster accepted the job, the Den Leaders should have rallied behind him immediately, or stepped aside if they felt they couldn't give 100% of their support to the new top dog. You seem to want to take the correct course here - and that's sitting down with the Cubmaster and asking how y

Sometimes its good to have the adults eat "as guests" of the patrols. Helps to prevent just such an occurence. Imagine the Scoutmaster's reaction if the menu said he was going to be eating Pancakes and Bacon and the Patrol left out the bacon? Or his reaction if the menu said he was going to be served Lasagna and was handed a hamburger instead? Imagine the Patrol's embarrassment. Sometimes it doesn't even have to be a full meal - for instance the lasagna. What would the Patrol do if the Scoutmaster said throughout the day he was sure looking forward to a taste of the Patrol's

What was the name of the ghostwriter again??

Eagle732 - of course you didn't perform that weekend of service for nothing. You performed it because as a member of the Order of the Arrow - the Brotherhood of Cheerful Service - you were living the obligation. If you came away from the weekend with the impression that you performed that weekend of service in order to solidify your membership in the Order as a Brotherhood Member, then shame on the Lodge for not making things more clear. On the other hand, it can be easy to come away with that impression - after all, most Lodges do Brotherhood testing the same time they do Ordeal weeken

Eagle732, An aside on the OA Brotherhood issue. The requirements to become a Brotherhood Member are minimal: 1) Be an Ordeal Member for at least 10 months 2) Maintain your registered status in the BSA 3) Maintain your registered status in the Order of the Arrow 4) Memorize the Obligation, the OA Song, the Admonition, the Sign of Ordeal Membership, and the Arrow Handclasp. 5) Gained a thorough understanding of the Ordeal which one has passed. In addition, a letter to the Lodge Secretary telling what one thinks the Obligation means, describing how one has used the Obliga

LisaBob has great advice. Here's mine: Get yourself the Troop Committee Guidebook and look for training opportunities for yourself. The Troop Advancement Chair's primary responsibilities are to maintain the advancement records, fill in the proper paperwork to turn into Council to purchase the awards, arrange for BOR's, encourage Scouts to advance, work with the Librarian to ensure that the library has up to date materials. In other words, the role of Advancement Chair is an administrative role - just like every other committee job. It isn't to enforce program policy. That is the role

How old is this boy? What else can you tell us about him before we all have a "pile on the boy" party. I ask because it's unusual for a boy to regularly have body odor issues to such an extreme as you mention. A week in the woods without showering? Yeah, I can see it. But a week at home? Unless his parents aren't insisting he take regular showers, or unless he's wearing the same clothes day in and day out, there may be something more going on. What is the regular diet of the lad. If his regular diet includes lots of curry, he may have an odor that is foreign to most people, b

Whenever I buy something for a fundraiser from someone's child at work, I just put my name and company name - I figure my coworkers should be able to figure out how to find my office when it comes time to deliver. If you're going to use a made up address, may as well go all the way. Imagine the look on some Council persons face when they read something like this: Grandpa, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20500 Calico

The FIRST time your son was denied the Eagle rank, the folks doing the BOR should have (as they are required to do) provided your son the reason for the denial in writing and the information he would need to appeal the decision to the Council (your first point of appeal). That information would include the contact information at Council. What you need to do now is contact the head of your son's 2nd BOR and demand that they provide you with the reason for the denial, in writing and in detail - and give them a deadline - no more than one week, and that they give you the contact information

Our lodge required medical authorization forms for anyone under 18. If you were 18 or older, the forms weren't considered neccessary because you are legally able to consent to medical treatment without parental permission at that age. Calico

Maybe we can start a BSA Research Project in genetics to breed out the Endomorphic Body Type in the human race. Maybe we can require all adult leaders to pass, every 4 months, the same physical fitness test the US Marines requires. Maybe we can devote 30 minutes of every Adult Leader meeting to 30 minutes of physical training. Maybe we can require every adult to show proof that they have a health club membership when they apply for membership or recharter. Maybe we can charge adults a sliding membership fee based on weight - the heavier you are, the more you pay. And

(sigh - this is what happens when I submit in a hurry without re-reading what I've written - my above post makes no sense at all). When I said "If an adult was stroking your sons hair and cheeks at a campout and your son didn't find it appropriate" what I meant to type was: "If an adult was stroking your son's hair and cheeks at a campout and your son didn't find it INappropriate". Makes a big difference in the question. So maybe I should rephrase it slightly: If an adult was stroking your son's hair and cheeks at a campout and he didn't think anything was wrong with it, w

"What can you say to a dad who years later says "My son served two tours as a Marine in Iraq but he wasn't good enough for the Boy Scouts?"." I'd say "I'm sorry the Boy Scouts wasn't good enough for your son". Calico

"Harvesting a plant is woman's work, a real man would know that" So what you're saying is that a man can't be a real man without a strong woman at his side to dig in the muck? And what about Mountain Men - you know, the guys who actually did things like this for long periods of time in the wilderness without the company of anyone else, let alone a woman? They must have whimpered in defeat anytime they had to cook, sew, harvest plant parts, etc. Calico

Acco, "CalicoPenn - I think you got it slightly wrong. It should not depend on if the parent feels it was inappropriate or not but if the Scout feels it was inappropriate." I don't think I got it wrong at all. If an adult was stroking your sons hair and cheeks at a campout and your son didn't find it appropriate, would you, as a parent, agree with your son? I think most of us would say its inappropriate regardless of what our son, the Scout, thought. Calico

Real Manly Men don't change light bulbs! They wrestle a bull to the ground to kill it with their own bare hands, butcher the beast, render the fat into tallow so they can make candles out of it, not forgetting of course to braid wicks out of fibers from a cattail leaves which they've harvested themselves from the middle of a marsh, then use flint (found and dug themselves) and steel (which they've formed, tempered and forged from scratch themselves) to start a fire so that they can light their candles. Calico

I support Merlyn 90% on this one. It doesn't matter that he's in Minnesota and the Councils are in California and Colorado. It isn't state money that funds the grants, it is federal money, paid by all taxpayers throughout the entire United States. As the United States no longer requires tax dollars to be collected and distributed in an apportioned manner, there is no longer any validity to a potential argument that only the taxpayers in California and Colorado are responsible for the tax dollars paid to the Feds that were going to be used for the HUD Grants. That money can come out o

After reading the Manifesto on Manliness by Harvey Mansfield (Man, that's a lot of Mans), I am more convinced than ever than the Manliest of Men are, in fact - Gay Men. Straight Men are sissies compared to Gay Men. "Manliness," (says Mansfield), "is a quality that causes individuals to stand for something." There is nothing more manly then a couple of dozen drag queens removing their stilletos and beating the holy heck out of New York City Police Officers raiding a gay bar in NYC on the day that Judy Garland died and starting, with that one small act of "standing up for something" a ma