Armymutt

Thanks, but there are a lot of us out there. Probably the largest portion of the Army Veterinary Corps falls into the DVM/MPH group. It's like being an Eagle Scout at a NESA banquet. Definitely used Scout skills in the Army. Makes the unique and difficult look routine. Land navigation? Philmont was excellent preparation for finding your location on a map. Packing a ruck to carry 100lbs of equipment for a long distance? Not a problem. Tying a bowline to prevent losing expensive and sensitive items? Been doing it since I was 12.

My thoughts too, but then this is the reality of society. Only those with credentialing exams really require one to maintain skills. Everything has become a box check - get it done, get it recorded, forget about it. I'm guilty of it. Did a masters of public health over the last two years. I couldn't tell you how to do an ANOVA if my life depended on it. It's not valuable to my actual job. I knew that going in, but someone, somewhere long ago decided that this was the degree needed to advance. I'm not alone. On the flip side, most of the core skills needed for Eagle are valuable for life. I've dusted the cobwebs off of several of them over the years, even during my 25 year hiatus from scouts.

Yup, microchips are required for pets on-post. It's generally considered the best method of identification. They can migrate, but they aren't going to fall off or get torn off. If the pet gets found and turned over to a shelter or a clinic, they can get scanned and call one of the companies to get contact info.

We register them in the computer if they are going to live on-post. Basically it is just making sure the microchip is accurate in the medical record so if the dog gets out, animal control can scan it and identify the owner.

I was in my office today when I heard a conversation down the hall. The OIC was giving a tour to one of our counterparts at the hospital who was there to register his dog. She told him how we are organized and how we have an internship program here as well. She asked if he wanted to meet the instructors. I got up to meet them at the door and walked out to see the CM of a pack on the other side of town back in NC. We shared a campsite at the Spookoree last fall. Was quite surprised to see him here. Getting him plugged into the district here and hopefully we can build a relationship between our professional organizations as well.

We don't have all of the information, but your email comes across as abusive and unprofessional too. It doesn't say "Look at this cool feature I found to help make our lives easier." It says "Hey dummy, why haven't you looked at Scoutbook?" My wife and I have different levels of commitment to Scouting, and different levels of time we are able/capable of spending. If I find a cool SB feature or some other Scouting related reference, I tell her what it is, how we can use it, and how to access it. I've even made a PowerPoint with screen shots and instructions. My advice is to first look at why the person is acting the way they are. They may be over worked or frustrated. I had a parent ask my wife (treasurer AND den leader) why we weren't cooking as a pack on a camping trip. She was frustrated because this same parent does nothing but complain about how he did things in his old pack (that failed while he was at the helm) and how we aren't doing those things (but he can't volunteer because X). After calming her down from quitting, I told her to ask him if he wants to b the Grubmaster, resource all of the cooking equipment, put together menus for the weekend, collect the money, purchase the food, transport it to camp, build the cooking schedule, and supervise the cooking. If not, then he probably should just stick to the current model.

I can't get adults to sew on the right patch. I have a DL that was the CC 2 years ago. Still hasn't replaced the patch. I even bought one and gave it to him.

The pack has no expenses. We sit down in June and calculate how much it will cost to purchase all required advancement, recharter the adults, recharter the unit, and how much we want to budget toward events. This is then divided by the number of Scouts registered. Everyone is required to pay this amount as "dues". If we identify something that we need, like square readers for popcorn sales, this will get factored into the dues if we don't have enough residual money to cover it. Residual money comes from donations during popcorn sales, abandoned money when someone moves or quits, and un-earned advancement. We don't have enough people to warrant cooking as a group. Despite complaints from a parent, no one has stepped forward to volunteer as a Grubmaster - surprise! We do need to look at the cost of replacing our PWD track in the next few years, so we'll probably incorporate that into the dues so it doesn't hit all at once.

That's just going to come with the territory in today's climate. I moved to a new council. Even as a Unit Commissioner, I was still viewed with suspicion for the first couple of meetings. The CM and I were in Wood Badge together. Even that familiarity didn't ease the tension from the Cub Parents initially. Another unit is associated with the Army, so they are used to new people coming and going. Even there, I was given a bit of an icy stare. Now, they ask me for advice and are super friendly. Are you an OA Brother? If so, contact the lodge and see if you can get on the work crew. My lodge has a group of adults who do things around the camp that are too dangerous for youth. It's a great way to get to know the adults in the council, many of whom have been around for a while. I definitely think the Commissioner route is the way to go. Find out who your District Commissioner is and offer your services. Mine had me interview with one of the ADCs over lunch. He's a plankowner of the 160th SOAR and has quite an intimidating stare about him. Great guy, but unsettling when he looks at you and doesn't say anything for a while.

The only money we send to a troop is residual from the Scout that joins them. We operate under a program where the Scout receives 100% credit for the money raised through fundraising. This is because we are small and have about a 30% participation in fundraising. If a Scout earns AOL and moves on to a troop, the credit they earned can be transferred to the troop they join. So far, this has been $20.

Volunteer to be a unit commissioner. With your experience, you will probably do a great job. Gives you the chance to have an impact across several units.

Sadly, there is a quality difference between now and the old days. Frankly, having barriers to entry resulted in Scouts who actually wanted to be there, in my experience. I've had the opportunity to observe two chapters in different lodges and am seeing different behaviors. I also see differences in how those councils and districts work. Part of it could be the demographics. Both are near Army bases, but one district has far more military people involved than the other and this is evident in how business is conducted. The chapters reflect this, even though many of the Scouts in leadership roles don't come from military families. Maybe it's time for OA to be more regional than central, as it was in the beginning. I know that will screw up the national conference and possibly section conclaves. The upside just may be a higher quality program.

I had a conversation about the OA on Thursday at Round Table. One of the adults there mentioned that the chapter just had 4 new Vigil Honors. I asked him where these Scouts were because they sure weren't at the Chapter meetings. I never got an answer. I asked about ceremonies teams for the Lodge. He said that he used to have several teams, but once the Lodge did away with regalia, the kids lost interest. Just wearing a tan shirt wasn't really inspiring. The chapter was meeting down the hall. It was worse than a Tiger den meeting. The Scouts were flicking plastic forks around the room and generally doing nothing constructive. We have inductions coming up. I asked the chapter chief if we had a team. She's learning one principle's lines. I asked her if she was helping prepare the Ordeal members for Brotherhood. Nope. I asked if anyone in the room know the OA song or the Obligation - nope. I tried to nudge her to open the Arrowman Jumpstart. Nada. I can't imagine what will happen if I recommend watching Polestar. When I see a Brotherhood SPL Star Scout acting like an 8 y/o, we have a problem.

I found this movie on Youtube today. It's from the 60s, but still has the relevant themes.

We encourage all of our parents to take YPT. We're not registering them all, but having them understand the YP requirements of the BSA is extremely helpful in having them understand how the unit operates and why somethings may or may not happen. For example, when we have to cancel an outing due to lack of registered leaders.

I don't think you can say that modifying an organization's policies to be incompatible with those of another is not exclusionary any more than you can say that policies that are incompatible with an individual's identity is exclusionary. The evidence is quite clear that modifying the policies did not have the desired effect, assuming that effect was to increase membership.

I'm thinking that's a bit of circular logic. Modifications were made that resulted in the exclusion of a large group which was not replaced by members of the targeted group. I'm not sure that further modifications are guaranteed to bring in more members than to result in less members.

We didn't have patrol yells in my favorite troop as a kid - too small. We had a troop yell. Couldn't tell you the origin, but it was used as a means of communication - finding all the scouts and calling them together. Or, in those days, for the Scouts to find the adults and get back together. The phonetic of it is "Waa-poo". Carries well through the woods and is unmistakable.

That was literally my first campout. Swollen Current River, Big Spring, innertubes, lots of walking to get there. We did that otherstuff on meeting nights. Was an old school troop. Still played Star Gazers, even in 1990.

It depends on your goals for the trip. I'm thinking energy dense breakfasts for long days of activities. A light lunch gets you to the evening and is quick so that the kids can get back to doing the outing. I'm pretty sure you'd have to eat a whole lot of oatmeal to get you through a 10 miles hike, upstream swims in 50F spring water, repeated rock climbs after quarry swims, etc. Are kids just not as active in camp these days?

I didn't see if anyone posted a link to the survey. Here it is: https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fscouting.co1.qualtrics.com%2Fjfe%2Fform%2FSV_bwRYOkYtVhKuhD0%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR023Zyg17gdApjE2j3_U5DHb6Nf2L3DqzO-psskHKUmSN1h2OCgAMzJrlU&h=AT2HR5V67UvWPBRa97b7P7qsVHaI3OL9YOBrRFduGIA-dEiJNkJ3xoejPuCV5zgEjfnC4fRyUBDgLg2881iKNEXYpOqLSV7h35nTohFqu2m9S-5iLC26KIm5S--LCd3AmQ&__tn__=-UK-R&c[0]=AT1ksbr1YQp-wVczI4xzZS7m9o0902qtI2rMWKWHUEZ-OTurDvj6z7YyC9YItVBo8jcMHjiNtrez_Ov2IqMDJ1TPEI1QLTmtmROv6oyMl7qrx4KV1lhngmn4qZliOK1lIJKTNBfK_lC9SGyRkJ3Vi0riDBXq0uZCBwrjtj-kT_cqc4HlfhWoHngTJC9xg-Eq9yffDIKBfbq7TokHu8b-V2kcvsQ6

My troop as a kid had a standard breakfast and lunch in camp. Cast iron skillet on the stove with lard. First in were eggs. Crack them on the pan and drop straight into the hot oil. After they were done, they got pulled out and put on papertowel-topped paper plates. Next up was bacon. This was friend and put on papertowel/plates. Last was sliced potatoes. These were prepped by being washed and slice at about 1/8-1/4". Fried up, removed to drain, salted. That was breakfast. Pans were allowed to cool and then stuck next to a tree for the rest of the day. Next morning, pick out any debris that fell into them and back on the stove. Lunch was a loaf of white bread, a package of bologna, and Open Pit BBQ sauce. This was normally away from camp - water front, hike, etc. Occasionally, we'd build a small fire - like 8" diameter - and roast hot dogs. Dinner varied. Foil meals were popular and easy. Dinner is normally a good time to get fancy. I like to make pizza with my Cubs, but that requires some additional cast iron. A good dutch oven can be used to make biscuits, pie, cobbler, etc. Same with soups. Use a couple to make chili and corn bread. There are a number of websites with dinner ideas, not to mention older editions of the Boy Scout Handbook. I haven't bought one since the early 90s, so I don't know about the modern one. The last one to have drawings instead of photos was a good source of ideas for camp cooking.

One other possibility to look at is being a Commissioner for the troop and a couple other units. You are not part of the troop, but you can still go camping with them. You also get to see how various units do things. You can provide this information across the units to help spread what makes troops strong. The added bonus is that you'll be in a fee-paying registered position, which means you can go camping with a Scouts BSA troop. The new YP standards require all adults who go camping be in a fee-paying registered position. There are only so many adult positions in a troop. The district is always looking for commissioners. I was a Cubmaster for 2 years and now serve as the Pack Committee Chair for the same unit due to the Army moving me. While I'm away from my family, I'm serving a different council as a Commissioner. It's great! I have two troops, two packs, and a crew. I get to see how each one struggles and triumphs in their given environments and with the types of members. - one 90% active duty military with a military organization as a CO, the other mostly Hispanic with a church as a CO. If I have time, I can go camping with any of them and see how they do things in the field. Don't limit yourself to just the troop your kid is in.

They paid council registration for 2022, but did not pay dues for 22-23. The dues for 21-22 covered B&G 22, not B&G 23. As of 1 JAN 23, they were not a part of the Boy Scouts of America. Since the former Scout is a 5th grader and was 11, they had no intention of rejoining the pack.

A few more details. The Pack has paid for the adult in this situation to be a registered Assistant Den Leader. The last time he showed up was at a district campout where he came late and didn't help out with the Pack at all. He didn't bring the stove that the AOLs needed to do their cooking requirement, so the DL had to scramble. The former Scout in question told one of our committee members that she really didn't have time for Cub Scouts because she was too busy with Girl Scouts. Even at the Christmas parade, she showed up in a GSUSA uniform instead of a Cub Scout uniform. I don't think she cared one way or another. The CO had the event down for not open to the public, so I kept to those wishes. The COR comments came after the interaction. There's a serious lack of communication, despite my best efforts to seek input into both events. This is the frustrating part of all of it.