Armymutt

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.