CHLees3rd

When I first heard that the Promise and Law were being phased out, I was annoyed too. But the more I thought about it, the more I thought it was a good thing. The change will be better for all because it will unite the levels. Cub Scouts will say the same Oath and Law as their Den Chief. And the Den Chief will not be confused about which one to recite. As for the younger Scouts being able to learn the Oath and Law, I do not think it will be a promise. My wife and I lead a Girl Scout troop and have done so since my daughter was a Daisy in kindergarten. The Girl Scout Promise is short a

Supplemental training is pretty much any training done outside of position-specific courses and advanced courses such as Wood Badge, Seabadge, and Powder Horn. A couple that come to mind are Trainer's EDGE and University of Scouting. The requirement you are trying to complete states to "Participate in a supplemental training course at either the council or national level." Check out your council's website to see what courses it is offering or check out neighboring councils' websites. Chazz Lees

On another list/forum/group, I read that our National Commissioner, Tico Perez, told commissioners attending a course at the Philmont Training Center that the National Executive Board had approved the "One Oath Initiative" - doing away with the Cub Scout Oath, the Law of the Pack, the Venturing Oath and Venturing Code "One Oath Initiative" in favor of the using the Boy Scout Oath and Law for all divisions. According to the post, he explained it as Cubs will learn the words. Boy Scouts will live the words. And Venturing will carry the words on into adult life. (Tico is this accurate or are t

I usually wear my campaign hat, but I wore my red beret to a pack meeting last week for a change. It was a commissioner visit for me, and many adults commented about it asking if I replaced my "Smokey the Bear hat." Most hadn't see red beret in decades, and many told me that it looked pretty good with my red jacket. Chazz Lees

Neal is correct. Only an understanding of and an agreement to live by the Oath, Law, Motto, Slogan as well as the Outdoor Code is required. I read the post incorrectly and got fixated on Tenderfoot. When you meet with the Scout, have him open the book and read all of them with you. Then have him explain what it means so that you get that he understands them. If he is not sure about something, the two of you can talk about it until he understands. When you are done, just ask him if he agrees to live by them. Good luck, Chazz Lees

I'm going to add to Basement's post. When you call the two aside, put them at ease first so that it doesn't appear like an inquisition. Tell the father that you only want him to watch and then tell the Scout that all you need him to do is recite the Scout Oath and Law. If the Scout appears to get nervous, tell him to breathe and take his time. Tell him to make the Scout sign and start when he is ready. If he recites it correctly all the way through, then your job is done. However, if he goofs a little bit, wait until he is finished and tell him it is not quite right. Inform him what was

People can not be Assistant Scoutmasters and Troop Committee Members at the same time. With one exception regarding the COR, the position you put on your application is the only one you hold. So if an Assistant Scoutmaster is performing the role that is usually a Troop Committee Member's job, then the Assistant Scoutmaster needs to make a choice. The Assistant Scoutmaster is going to stay an Assistant Scoutmaster and perform the Assistant Scoutmaster role or the person is going to resubmit an adult application to be a Troop Committee Member and perform that role. The same goes for a Troop

Eagle92, In theory, the endowment fund can not be touched. However, I have seen council dip into its endowment fund when it did not have enough for the operations. I am not sure if council has to pay it back like a 401K loan. All I know is that less interest is generated for the future. Chazz Lees

Scoutingagain, I guess the questions is did the AHG ask for a week long conference at Philmont or did the BSA offer Philmont up? If the AHG asked, then I wonder if the BSA would be willing for other group with which it has relationships to use Philmont. If the BSA proffered Philmont and it has never done so in the past, then I think someone in the BSA has an agenda for the AHG more so than it has with other partners. Regardless, I still think the BSA is into this relationship way too much than it should be and it is not a good fit for all of the BSA. Chazz Lees

Scoutingagain, The point is that the BSA is favoring the AHG over most other religiously exclusive groups with which it has partnered. How many other non-BSA groups have a weeklong conference dedicated to them at Philmont? How many of them are allowed to attend our training courses? I do not have a problem with them joining up with another group when there is the potential for new BSA members; however, I do have a problem with the BSA showing favoritism towards one group over others when many within the BSA can not join unconditionally (i.e. daughters of non-Christian BSA families who

Sailing, No offense here either and I too am an Eagle Scout. I have met hundreds of Eagle Scouts over the years; however, I have only met one Quartermaster Sea Scout. And he earned it long before I was born! I wished I had known about it when I was younger. I would have loved a chance at earning it. During the past year, I have heard about a half dozen Eagle Scouts and their parents in my area say that there is not much left for the Eagle to do in Scouting since they've made Eagle. I pointed out the Quartermaster Award and told them that their Eagle Scouts had to age 21

When I enlisted in the Marines back in the mid-90's, Eagle Scouts were guaranteed E-2. I was promoted to E-2 at MEPS the morning I left and got paid as an E-2 throughout recruit training. I just wasn't officially a PFC until I earned the title of Marine. Chazz Lees

I found this online: http://www.navycs.com/navy-advanced-paygrade.html Eagle Scout, Sea Scout Quartermaster, Girl Scout Gold Award gets you pay grade E-3 in the U.S. Navy. Chazz Lees

Promotion to pay grade E-2 is available for Eagle Scout Award and Girl Scout Gold Award recipients I believe in all services. Promotion to E-3 in the Navy and Coast Guard for Sea Scouts who attain the Quartermaster Award. I am not aware of any promotions for the Venturing Silver Award or the Ranger Award. Chazz Lees

qwazse, Just so I understand you properly, four years ago you attended a pack meeting and asked a girl, whom I assume was a sibling of a Cub Scout, if she would be interested in camping, hiking, swimming, etc. and maybe becoming an Eagle if the option was available, and she said yes to everything but no to becoming an Eagle if the option was available. Do I have it right? Apparently she didn't mind that you told her that she had to wait a few years until she was Venturing age to join and finally do the camping, hiking, swimming, etc? At least she is finally a member doing the things sh

I do not have a problem with the BSA and AHG having a MMS as the BSA has MMS's with other organizations; however, what I object to is the extreme lengths the BSA has gone to assist the AHG (such as the use of our YPT; a week long conference at Philmont; allowing Wood Badge attendance, etc.) when many of our highly dedicated Scouting families who are non-Christian will see no benefit. I bet there are many non-Christian Scouters who want a similar program for the daughters to join so that they get a great Scouting experience just like the sons. The AHG says that all are welcome, but does anyon

qwazse, Youre talking about a high school girl who is not interested in Eagle. When troops go recruiting for members, they generally do not go to the local high school. Instead they go to the local pack with has elementary school aged boys who are eager for adventure and want to get on the Trail to Eagle. Who is to say that there are not any elementary school aged girls who also want adventure and to get on the Trail to Eagle? Since the BSA does not allow them to join, we never ask. And since we never ask, they never get to answer. Eventually they become high school aged students wh

"There's just not a demand." Are we sure about that? I have read posts about some Venturing aged girls stating that they are not interested, but has anyone asked any girls ages 10 and 11 if they would like the chance to earn the Eagle Scout award just like the boys have? I wonder if the have different goals than their older counterparts? I think it is the same as if we asked a 16 year old boy in Venturing who has no Boy Scouting experience if he wants to join and work extremely hard within a tight deadline to be an Eagle. He most likely will not be interested either. We are not askin

BadenP, I'm a Wood Badge-trained, Powder Horn-trained Eagle Scout with over 30 years in Scouting. I'm also a Girl Scout leader in my daughter's Girl Scout Brownie troop because I want her to have a great Scouting experience just like I did. Sure we have done the ridiculous cookie sales and fall product sales, but we have also sung songs and played games that I remember from my Cub Scout and Boy Scout days that they have not done or heard. We have also camped, hiked, cooked, done same orienteering, first aid, crafts, field trips, community service projects, international badges via WAGG

Basement posted, "The DE's job stinks......No doubt about it. Not sure why anyone would ever want to do it......." I suppose most DE's know that if they can last a handful of years and keep getting promoted, a nice SE job with a much better salary will eventually be waiting for them. And after a few more years, an even better SE job will be available somewhere. Chazz Lees

Thanks, Kudu. I understand your point now. Chazz Lees

Kudu, You posted "Lesson Learned: Don't Suck Up." I am not sure what you mean by it. Please explain. Chazz Lees

Eagle, I'm curious about what other things your SM friend did during the first few days of camp that may have led to him being blindsided on Tuesday? Do you know if he spoke daily with the new Scouts? Did he notice anything not right when he spoke to them? Did he speak with the Troop Guide and try to see if any of the new Scouts were feeling homesick? Does he think he could have been more proactive to prevent the Scouts from calling home for the parents to pick them up? Instead of discouraging the cell phones, he might want to consider speaking with the Scouts and possibly havi

Eagle, I am a Unit Commissioner. If I was visiting your unit and you mentioned your situation to me, I would ask you what you think the real problem is and what your next step should be given that the PLC has already issued its edit regarding recent events? The way I see it, the issues are inappropriate times to use electronic devices and the complacency of the PLC. This is one major learning opportunity for everyone involved: the texting Scout, the SPL, the PLC, and the troop in general. You as a Scouter want to support your Scouts especially the ones leading the troop. Your onl

Instead of Pack Trainer perhaps Pack Training Coordinator would have been more appropriate since letting others know of training courses, showing videos, etc. is most likely what the majority of all Pack Trainers in the BSA do. It is what it is. However, I still say that a trained trainer who registers as a Pack Trainer and who has District approval to conduct training courses should do so. Refusing to use such a resource just because a course is generally run at the district or council level in my opinion is foolish. Chazz Lees