Armymutt

I'm guessing the non-supervised stick fights we had as kids are a non-go. Used to be fun. You find a stick and smack it against someone else. If yours breaks, you retire and find another. on second thought, technically, you aren't striking other participants. You are striking their stick. Maybe we were following the guide even in the 80s.

He's a volunteer.

The CO apparently didn't care - good ol' boy thing. The issue to me is that if this is happening, in light of BSA's current issues, why is this individual still on the district staff?

As a Scout who was shy around girls, I would not have wanted a co-ed troop. It would have been high school extended into Tuesday nights. I got a taste of it at Kandersteg when there were female Scouts there. Guys who were friends turned into total d-bags trying to impress the Norwegian and Italian girls. With the added sexual pressure from the presence of girls, we would not have had a night of running around the "Pioneer Stampede" camporee in our underwear. While we got in trouble, it built a huge amount of esprit de corps and brought us closer together. Almost 30 years on, I only talk

We're trying to recruit members of a pack that is not rechartering. One of the parents said she was done with Scouting because an adult leader was sexually harassing her and other mothers. Our committee chair knows her from another organization and has convinced her to come to our pack. The issue is that the adult leader in question is on the district staff and is the parent of a Scout in the presumably defunct pack. There is concern that he might try to join us. So, what do we do? The harassment was reported to the District Scouting Exec, but nothing came of it.

If the COR signs it, then the CO is approving it. If the COR is not doing their due diligence and exposes the CO to liability, then maybe the CO will do a better job at filling the COR position. There's a parent who has apparently sexually harassed several mothers in a unit that is not rechartering due to a lack of volunteers. We may be absorbing some of them and our committee chair flat out told me that this parent will not be allowed in our unit. We don't want to expose our CO to the liability.

I don't know if national even does background checks. I know that my references were not called. Is there a person at national tasked with reviewing and approving every single adult application? I doubt it. My bet is that this is conducted at the council level.

That's where the judge should come in and focus the action where it would be most beneficial to society. We had a guy sue our county in Indiana about 25 years ago over the condition of the jail. The judge ordered the county to spend the money to build a new jail. Far more beneficial to the greater number of people than giving one person a bunch of money. It would be more beneficial to require BSA to spend the money to conduct better background checks.

I see this is the real issue. Scouting isn't some large corporation where every adult involved is an employee of the national head quarters. It has more in common with a guerilla army than the US Army. I don't know how one can reasonably hold the national office responsible for the actions of volunteers, especially in the pre-internet days. COs approve adult membership. National's role would be in checking records to see if an applicant has been reported as an offender, but beyond that, I don't buy responsibility. This is truly a case where the primary responsibility is at the lowest lev

He joined the troop in 1933, became the SM in 1945 and died in 2011 at age 89, still the SM.

I noticed that too. I was in a troop with a known abuser - I've seen the police report and the newspaper story. Troop 510 in Okaw Valley Council, just east of St. Louis, Don White. That case does not show up on the tracker. Interestingly, my old troop does, which is really odd. It had the same SM since around '44 until '11 and I haven't heard any reports from guys who have been associated with that troop since '55.

I guess it kind of depends on your level of commitment. The training isn't exactly difficult and could be easily knocked out in a couple of evenings worth of TV shows. I was amazed to find out that it was all available online - we last did it in '92 and it was an all day event.

Some of my Cub Scout leaders have not completed all the training to be considered "trained". How big of a deal is that from the stand point of the district/council/national? Our YPT is 100%, which is a non-negotiable for me. I'm not sure about the other.

That's still nowhere near the variety that Philmont offers. It's fun, I agree, but Philmont has a much richer environment.

I disagree. The logistics required would kill HA for all but the most affluent troops. Philmont has it down to a science. You aren't going to find any other organization that can provide the same level of experience for the same cost. I've been to Kandersteg and it had nowhere near the level of support as Philmont.