Armymutt

I have major issues with BSA actively entering the political arena. By mentioning B. Taylor, they have gone way beyond selling war bonds and into anti-police propaganda. That is something that they can't take back. I don't think that scouts should actively engage in any social issues. That's not our role. We should be role models for society through our actions, not our words. I don't like forced anything - it reeks of insincerity. If your troop/pack is open to anyone who wants to join up and participate in this organization, then that's all that should be required. We are probably one of the most open organizations on the planet. We have published a book for 110 years that explains who we are and what we believe. While society may have interpreted it in various ways for us through time, the core has not faltered. Some of this stuff sounds awfully close to bussing. I think that kids in Scouting will get enough diversity training in their lives. Adding in a merit badge does sound a lot like school. The equity thing is a very loaded term. While its focus on equal outcome is debated, it's focus on unequal assistance is not debatable. It goes beyond accommodation for physical handicaps and into social condition. Scouting is all about improving one's lot in life through your own efforts. What does this equity look like in the MB? Lowering a standard because of where a Scout lives? Would anyone accept requiring fewer hikes from Scouts in NYC vs one from rural NC? One big issue is the "lens" one is required, or tends, to adopt with DEI and CRT. It's like having just a hammer in your tool box. I'm currently in a masters program that is heavy in "anti-racism" (as if there is a significant "pro-racism" sector of society). One lecture literally told the students that the hog farms in eastern NC were established out of racism. They showed a slide of the slave population locations in 1860 and one of the hog farm sites from 2019. They did not mention the tobacco buyout in the 1990s. They didn't mention that these farms were converted from tobacco to hogs because the terrain was perfectly suited for them, nor that these farms had been in these families for generations. The story sold to these kids is that these farms were sited in these locations because black people lived there. That is a shameful tactic in my book.

If they want to have numbers like they did in the 60s and 70s, they need to act like they did in those decades. Scouts join Scouting because it's fun. To most boys, an element of danger is fun. When you take that away, it's no longer fun. Limiting the height of pioneer structures to 6ft is crazy. There's no sense of danger there. Taking away the games we used to play in the 80s, like Stargazers, no activities that remotely resemble shooting at people, and the general babying of the program isn't going to bring kids in. T-ball has more danger in it. We used to jump off 20ft high cliffs. Now you can't exceed your height? While catering to certain people, and covering one's rear, they don't invite adventure, but seem more of a canned experience.

We're trying to do that with our Tiger den this week. Taking a one mile "hike" with their 6 essentials. Not sure what we are going to see since it will be dark, but we'll give it a shot.

I'm not clear on why this is a merit badge. Surely the basic tenets of Scouting already incorporate these ideas. I suppose if one wants to explore them, fine, but I don't think it needs to be required for Eagle. American Cultures isn't required, but it is essentially a diversity merit badge.

Welcome to scouting in the military. Like it or not, BSA extends some unofficial leeway to the Scouting programs chartered to military organizations. One could say that it was open to any Pack, as long as they could attend. It looks like it was held on Ft. Leavenworth. Not sure of their present requirements, but Fort Bragg was not allowing anyone on-post who didn't have a mission essential need to be there. If the post only has one Pack, then that's the only one that will be attending.

I've read a few threads about "SM retirement date". My experience has been with four troops. The first SM was removed for being a pedophile. My second troop had the same SM from 1946 until his death in 2011. My third troop dissolved because of the military drawdown in England. My fourth troop went through several SMs in the 3 years I was in it, due to military moves. My natural line of thought is that an SM stays in their position for a long time in the civilian world. Is that not usually the case? Does it tend to be like Cub Scouts where the SM moves on when the kid/kids move on? Maybe it was the years of experience, but my SM and ASM in the now 88 year old troop never seemed stressed out. Even when the troop consisted of 3 6th graders, they still were super chill. What causes most SMs to quit?

My son's first ever camping trip is on Halloween. We are in NC, for weather reference. We'll be staying in my 33 year old LL Bean tent. I haven't been camping outside of the Army since 1994. Still have my Thermarest 3/4 length self-inflating pad from my Philmont trip. I was thinking of putting him in a square sleeping bag on top of the Thermarest. Since I'm old and beat up from being an Infantryman and a Paratrooper, I'm trying to decide between a twin-size air mattress or picking up a Big Agnes sleeping bag and pad combo. Kind of depends on availability right now. I'm planning on taking these on motorcycle trips, so it's already a planned purchase. Will I have to turn in my Camping Merit Badge if I decide to take the big mattress? The 18 year old in me says "weenie"!

The experience with the SM brings up the question of who can dismiss the SM from their position? If the SM isn't fulfilling their role as a guide in a youth-led program, then they need to go.

In the requirements for Tiger, one of them is Cyber Chip. It says it can be waived if you don't have access to the internet. It's the "you" that is the sticky part. My kids don't have access to the internet beyond stuff on the TV. None of the things mentioned are something they can relate to. To me, it's something I should waiver until they are old enough to use the internet. Their only access to cmputers are at home and school. Both places are severely restricted and supervised.

In the troops I was in in the 80s-90s, we just split the weekly meeting. We opened and closed as a troop. Maybe had a few announcements. Did training by rank, and games as a troop. Patrol meetings mostly concerned themselves with planning campouts to nest with the troop campouts.

What are the youth getting for all these fees? They have to pay for their books, uniforms, patches, camping gear, camp fees, etc. The unit adults are volunteers. I assume the summer camps fees pay for the staff, food, and facility upkeep. Is the program too bloated with paid employees? I can see having to pay insurance, but how much of the rest of the program is subsidized from higher up? I'd really hate for a kid to miss out simply because their parents can't afford the program.

That's terrible. I don't think I could find it in myself to forgive him.

Yeah, I know. The packet they handed the parents had the old CM's named marked out and the current CM is listed as the ACM. Such is life in a pack that is heavily tied to the military community.

My son enjoyed his first meeting in his new pack tonight. I told the CC that if they needed me for any positions, I'm open to it. He said they need a new ACM. Wasn't expecting that, but ok! I guess it's time to get more training done.

Anyone know if there is an archive of Green Bar Bill columns from Boys Life? I remember it being my favorite thing to read as a kid.

I'm confused on why a Scouter (adult) would be jealous of a Scout. Seems that the adult has forgotten that the entire point of this organization is service to youth. Perhaps remind the Scouter of his duty to exemplify the Scout Oath and Law as a role model for the Scouts.

They seem to be pretty open right now. My buddy was the chapter chief or clan chief - can't recall which now. He's also still in contact with a guy who was a Scouter over there - about our age, but the other side of 18 back then. Worst case, I can probably get one of them to write a memo. I can definitely recall an interesting Ordeal ceremony I assisted in for a candidate that got sick during the day.

Right now, I'm waiting for BSA to process my son's application, and apparently by extension, mine. I'm not sure how that works. I submitted his last week, but no action seems to have been taken. Is this something the unit has to act on? Once I have that done, then I can submit the lodge transfer. They want my Ordeal date, but TAC doesn't have records going that far back - it was only 1993. The HQ has been in 3 different countries since then.

I'm putting my uniform together as I return to Scouting. I'm a lifetime member of NESA. The guy at the Scout shop mentioned there is a NESA knot, which seems odd to me. What's the thoughts on it? To me, the Eagle knot was earned, while the NESA knot was paid for.

I'd like to get involved as much as I can. The websites are kinda thin. What do OA chapters normally do? Like I said, we were so geographically dispersed, it was really impractical to get together outside of Ordeal weekends.

I did my Ordeal in 1993 and Brotherhood in 1994. I was part of the Transatlantic Council, which covered Europe, essentially. Our OA chapter was all of England, Ireland, Norway, and Iceland. Needless to say, Chapter meetings were rare, and most of us didn't drive. The only time the chapter got together was Ordeal weekends. It was also a time of great upheaval with bases, and consequently, Scout troops disappearing left and right. To sum up, I have no idea what a normal OA chapter or lodge looks like. I'm finally getting back into Scouting with my first grader joining Cubbies. I'd like to take an active role in the organization, if I can. I'm just not sure what to expect.

Hi everyone! I'm finally getting back into Scouting with my 6 y/o first grader. He's super excited, as is his 4 y/o sister who has the Scout Oath pretty much down, and likes to skip from Helpful to Obedient on the Scout Law. She'll be a Lion next year. I've been out of Scouting since the end of college - in 1998. I did Cub Scouts at an Air Force base in IL and after a rough start in Boy Scouts (a year and a half in a troop that did no advancement, and the SM later arrested and is in the files) I hooked up with another troop that was awesome. The SM and ASM were longtime members. The SM missed out being a charter member of the troop by 1 year (1930), and had been in it ever since, minus WWII. They made a huge impression on me, with a dedication that can be matched by few. I probably didn't learn the best techniques for working within the council system. Since the troop pre-dated the council, and we had had our own camp in southern MO since the 60s, we ran a bit like a pirate ship. I finished up my career as a Scout in England, keeping one troop alive while all the adult leadership deploy for Desert Shield/Storm. I spent the last year there watching troops drop like flies and absorbing the remaining members into ours. We came back home to the same base we left, and I rejoined the troop as it was gasping for life. My buddy and I went to our old school and recruited 4 5th graders from a class of 8, and rekindled the troop. We took them to summer camp and they had a blast. I think the troop got absorbed into another when the council merged with another. Now I'm in NC and am looking to get involved once again. Our first pack meeting is this Thursday. I've met one of the leaders and she seemed pretty excited to have me (and my boy) coming aboard. I haven't been in a Cub Pack since '86, and it looks like things have changed a lot. The guy at the Scout shop laughed when I was telling my son about being turned upside down while my mom pinned on my Bobcat badge. Apparently, that doesn't happen these days, though he said that some grandparents request it. Made me feel kind of old.