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.

We tried that. It didn't work. We're in an economically depressed area where there are lots of opportunities to do things but everyone is "too busy" to do anything else beyond bring their kid to a meeting. Some can't even do that and then get surprised that they didn't earn anything.

Normally Americans stationed overseas don't wade into local politics or want to be seen doing so. It really wouldn't be a good look, no matter how noble the cause. I know when I was a kid in England, our parents weren't out talking to the politicians. There wasn't a requirement to talk to politicians for any of the merit badges. Seems like an odd requirement for cubs.

We don't have enough parents interested in doing stuff like that. We can't get anyone to volunteer to run the PWD or B&G. It's been the same two families organizing everything for the past three years. Scouting For Food? That would require dedicating two weekends to Scouting in a row. That's too much for most of them.

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.

I found it here: https://www.facebook.com/download/420104303799034/NEW Cub Scout Adventures and Requirements.xlsx?av=1265951650&eav=AfaVFqGFLPp1FlqxAiHQ-ZJe6oZ07HLbNXHvHpRLg9x7RxYlOvjCXPBtE74HIFKhcaw&paipv=0&hash=Acrb32VljgE1dz4_rP4&__cft__[0]=AZX52xvwZPEfzRoPqxqO_pOeUXRORQQEombH2Fo3b_QbKrlk8KHnL-ZNU0v_M58nJHwgNShDuOY0SfRjDTR2TclnksN7J0OhV4pGQejDBnFARXTHR6Th7XtB4whjBHecuRQ49kx8qIUTzCSgeSif3YMLksx9xjUNGbqsp7U_s44HFQ&__tn__=H-R

I came across a posted xlsx document with what is purported to be the new CS program. Looking through it, I came across this extremely fun sounding requirement in several of the ranks: Review your BSA Annual Health and Medical record with your parent or guardian. Discuss your ability to participate in pack and den activities. Now if that doesn't sound like an amazingly fun time for a 3rd grader, I don't know what does. The Webelos have this required gem: Learn about majority and plurality types of voting. Speak with someone who is elected to their position.

I'm seeing these changes as further evidence of the decline of the Scouting program. Parents are less and less inclined to get involved with their kids and their activities. If it's not easy, they don't want to do it. All of our den leaders are only in those positions because their kids won't have an activity if they don't do it. The complaint that the non-rank advancement awards were not in front of them and thus they didn't do them is telling. A 5 minute look through the tabs of Scoutbook will show you all of these awards that are apparently so hard to find. Only 4% of Scouts earn Eagl

I'm not sure how this is a good idea, especially if that tribe engaged in actions that made another tribe go extinct.

I wonder how you repatriate artifacts to extinct tribes.

A 5-Scout troop is doable. I know a troop near St. Louis that hasn't had much more than that for the past 25 years. It actually made logistics easy. You'll have to coach the kids a bit more if they are inexperienced, but it can be fun. As far as resources, what do you mean?