12Points

OK, I'll be the goat. I actually prefer to bring instant coffee on back packing trips. Being a retired MGySgt, I learned early in the Marines to strip down the load and carry the essentials. No coffee maker, no sugar, no cream...just instant coffee, a canteen cup, and heat tabs. I use a stove instead of heat tabs now, but the principal is the same. I do have a little cylinder thing for making drip coffee by the cup that doesn't add a lot of weight, but the instant is a lot more convenient and the gadget doesn't make the coffee noticeably better.

Gateways not only teach scout skills and build teams, they are also great public relations tools. I have a hard time understanding the LNT concerns. It's "LEAVE no trace", not "have absolutely no indication of your presence." As long as the gateways are staked out and not dug in, I don't see how they will leave a trace when they are removed. Besides, these are rarely erected in the back country where they will have a negative aesthetic impact. Gateways are most commonly used in developed campgrounds.

Just watch the bulb on top. When the color looks right, perk another minute of two and it's ready. The color always seems to get right before it's strong enough.

Dan, Yeah, she's pretty good to have around. She'll dig out answers get ideas to help me out. The old SM stepped down because he's too busy with work and intends to go back to college for another degree.

Hi Scouts and Scouters, the "new" scoutmaster in question chiming in. First, it's probably best to explain I'm the new scoutmaster for the troop, but have been a scouter since 89 and SM in two other troops in the past. Being military, I move around a lot. The basic issue here is I am changing a program that the old scoutmaster was running, and there is a natural resistance on his part. No one likes to see their programs change. The former SM was extremely well organized and had a handle on everything. In essence, he was the SPL, SM, CC, fundraiser chair, and quartermaster (boy posi

Back to the sheath knives......... I carry a pocket knife when scouting, and have gotten used to councils prohibiting sheath knives, but I prefer a small sheath knife. My personal preference is a skinning knife, it's small and sturdy. Sheath knives on the whole are sturdier, accessible when you have one hand occupied, have finger guards to prevent your hand from slipping onto the blade, and won't accidentally fold on your hand. On the whole, I feel they are much safer than pocket knives, especially the cheap knives most of the younger scouts seem to carry. I agree with earlier post, i

Ah, the dreaded basic skills, or perhaps it's best to call them the survival skills. Face it folks, technology has changed the basic skills a boy needs to learn for today's outdoor adventures and life in general. I have copies of my brother's 5th edition (1948), my 7th edition (copyright date withheld to protect the aging), and the current 11th edition (1998) of the Handbook for Boys, and a quick scan of them makes that point pretty apparent. (a very good handbook history sight is http://www.troop97.net/bshb1.htm). Technology aside, I have to admit my old handbook and pioneering merit badg

US Marine for the last 24 years, thinking I might make a career out of it. Probably going to teach elementary or special ed when I decide to retire.

I was in a troop once that had an adult patrol called the Middle Agers. The flag had two crowns and a jester's hat in the center for the SM and two SAs, and knights' helmets on the border for the committee. We did this to spark scout spirit among the boys by our example. There was a dual meaning to the name, and the true meaning came out in our yell. We would bend at the waist with one hand toward the ground, the other on the small of the back. We would then let out a loud groan as we stood up straight.

Doesn't the adult application say the scoutmaster has to be approved by the COR? I could be wrong, I can't find a blank application around the house. Even if it doesn't, I like the idea of interviewing. I had to submit a resume one time to the minister of the church that sponsored our troop and then interview with him. He had been involved in scouting as a youth and wanted to insure the new scout master would serve as an example of the Scout Law. I had no problem interviewing, even though I was the only candidate for the position. It set the minister's mind at ease and let me know the ch