Armymutt

So the boy units who have the exact same problem are left out again. There are lots of boy units who have the exact same problem, especially in the inner city, like Charlotte where that council is located. You would think that they would open it to all new troops. Might be a great way to get boys off the streets and into the woods.

Just got a letter from our SE. The Executive board has decided to raise the youth fee from $66 to $80 and the adult fee from $12 to $26. The email goes on to say that it's $165 per Scout - $85 national and $80 council. Isn't there an extra $12 for insurance on there, or is that a council thing? Scout Life is $15 for now. Time to up those popcorn sales.

Here's the link to one of them on the council website: https://www.mccscouting.org/content/115391/2024-Girl-Camporee-of-the-East-Coast--Girl-Camporee-of-the-East-Coast I would refuse to let my daughter go to one of these if offered in our council. Every group faces challenges. We wouldn't have a "Military Dependent Camporee", even though those kids routinely have to move, make new friends, get pushed around, don't get selected for Vigil, have a harder time making Eagle, etc.

I've also seen Girl-only Camporees. That really gets to me. Imagine if we had Boy-only Camporees these days. More than one person actually defended it by saying that all of them were Boy-only prior to girls joining. Seriously? I fully support girls being in the program - my daughter loves it. However, I insist that all events be open to boys and girls. To do so otherwise is an insult to the members of BSA who are excluded. Even our Catholic Camporee is open to everyone.

Isn't the argument about mixed gender dens moot out since it is now allowed until AOL? Without them, there'd be very few girls in Cub Scouts in many areas. In well-to-do areas, I'm sure the packs are large. In others, a highwater mark of 20 post-COVID is acceptable. Our pack maxed out a 4 girls - 2 AOL and 2 Tiger. Honestly, if we didn't mix them, the boy in the Tiger den would have been denied Cub Scouting at our Pack, as would the 3 boys in the AOL den. The DLs were parents of the girls and the boys' parents were unable to volunteer. If our pack still exists in 2 years, that's exactly

I haven't experience Scouts BSA yet, but I hope this isn't the norm. This sort of behavior and actions can make Scouts resentful of the new paradigm of BSA.

One of the things that has been bugging me for the last 30+ years is the loss of the background color on the rank patches. I remember something about blending in better with nature, but that's kinda bunk when you look at the variety of OA flaps, CSPs, and campout patches. As my kids move up to the troop, I'm very tempted to buy them the old patches. Thoughts?

No, he's from a pack in another town, based on his unit number.

We're looking a similar thing. After Army moving season and the AOL crossover in Dec, our pack will have 6 Scouts and no CM, ACM, or Secretary. I mentioned recruiting in our last leader meeting and was met with silence. Frankly, there is another pack closer to us with more girls. My son is moving up to the troop closest to us rather than the one at our CO. They meet the same night as our pack. This isn't going to work for our schedule, so the current pack will have 5 Scouts and no CM, ACM, secretary, treasurer, or CC. Once the AOL crossover occurs, I will put it to the remaining parents

Was at our District PWD yesterday. Saw an adult leader who had a Ukrainian flag in place of the US flag on his uniform. I've seen all sorts of oddities on uniforms, but I've never seen someone replace our flag with that of another nation.

The 141 was before my time. We had the cramped C-130s and the luxurious C-17s. Those were nice. I grew up in the Air Force. Saw my stepdad wear a time to work everyday. Didn't want to do that. Joined the Army, then the AF decided that every day was combat uniform day across the board. Oh well, only a couple years left to go.

You can tell who is who by how they refer to that place outside of official communications.

That was going through my mind when I wrote that. I think we're both safe. He is one of my background check references.

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.

For us, the government leaders are all around. We have military officers and NCOs in pretty much every unit around Ft. Bragg. May not be in the exact spirit of whoever wrote the requirement, but we get it done to the letter.