Double Eagle

Ok, did the council actually shut it down, or someone throw a fit? Like many things, as long as you are not set up right next to the shop, or meeting customers from the entrance, it shouldn't be a problem. It seem like it is legal, moral, ethical, and is a service not provided by the council's stationary option. Taking it on the road can help out other units also. I see this also being used at many motorcycle rallies and events. We know everyone loves their patches and showing them. Seems an official stance needs to be made.

This is a first I've heard of writing a letter to the lodge secretary. And if the secretary doesn't like the letter? Since you went through your ordeal and became a member, you have to wait a minimum of 6 months (changed from 10 months last spring) to complete brotherhood. You should have a chapter or lodge rep close by. If not, the local scout office can get you the information. When you complete brotherhood is a personal issue, but encouraged to get done as soon as possible.

This is not normal. Being an older arrowman from my ordeal in Sep 1980, been an advisor for three different chapters in three different lodges and a defender of types like this gets me going. I will try to keep this short. Arrowmen are all equal in the lodge and brotherhood is done when and where the scout chooses. Brotherhood just shows their commitment to the order and cheerful service. As I understand, your son is just not ready to accept brotherhood yet based on other interests, ok. I wish others had that insight rather than taking on everything half way. It may be his passive resis

Nobody grades any singing voice...so let it rip. Don't blame me for my voice, god gave it to me. They spirit of the song is much more important than getting every word right, even pronunciation of WWW with the oath. This shouldn't be a problem within any lodge. For anyone pointing fingers, ask them to recite any ceremony word for word. This scout would a great elangomat for others with a situation like his. Arrowmen come in every type and no mold. and no OA police please.

The hammock may be a climate or weather popular thing. Growing up on the Canadian border, give me a tent and straw bottom layer in cold weather. I can't imagine hanging in the cold between Oct -May. I think summer months and warm temps its ok. In L.A. (Lower Alabama), I see a lot of hammocks as the thing to catch any breeze, and stay away from fire ants and such. Seems your gear is still exposed and you have to climb out to get dressed in the open, have to figure a way to keep a waterbottle and light nearby, and rig an awning. I'm still a tent guy.

This is a great post and is sure to keep going. A few points to bring up. During my treks at Philmont, none of our crew ever wore the uniform on the trails, but hiking clothes for the event. We only wore the full uniform in the base camp and traveling to and from home. National Jamboree we wore a mix of T-shirt and field shirt, but full uniform traveling and visiting Washington DC. World Jamboree just about everyone had a T-shirt and the neckerchief was the common uniform item for participants. I'm on the side of scout sense letting the event dictate the uniform. As I had a recent d

Oh no, personal preference dipping into this. I have to put the red felt brag vest right up there with the red beret (which I have for some unknown reason). I would rather drink bug juice in the dark than have the brag vest. I would have it torn up or lost on the first trip. Brag blanket is another story. An old army wool blanket and patches is awesome. With a pillow case with patches on one side and blank on the other is cool too. You display the patches during the day and flip the pillow over (patches down) at night.

Hammocks have their place per scouter. Some of the campsites in our council have metal poles with rings just for them. Campsites at Philmont get so much use, they are well groomed for tents and to sustain the size of a crew. On a somewhat funny note, bear bags and hammocks may look the same to mini-bears and large bears.

I have to jump into this one. First, I'm all for covering any jacket with patches if it makes you or the scouts market scouting. I have never seen any unit that had the same outer shell or jacket. Every scout and scouter had their own jacket in my time in Michigan, Canada, upstate New York and Switzerland. And just to get others tweaking...There used to be a white Philmont bull, we said females used; while males used the black bull. Also, there is constant discussion on the criteria for the bull's tail over the left shoulder seam as Baldy or Tooth. That should get some on here goin

I'm more in favor using their tents. You don't have buy them. Really, you can treat them rough...sorry. If damaged on the trail, a staffed camp may help replace it. They don't take up room while you are traveling to and from the center. I'm not in favor of all the solo tents. How about doubling up, reduce footprints, and when adults demo solo tents, every scout then wants the same. And please don't suggest Philmont allow hammocks.

In my experience with S&R, people don't know their location, grids, and have trouble with landmarks. Often we relied on sight, sound, movement/contrast, and a general sense of direction they should have taken. If we have coms with them, we tell them to stay put, make their presence known, and describe what they see. If they just keep their phone one without using up the battery, often it/they can be found with that feature. Not that I've been lost or my phone left me.

No maps or compass. Rely on intuition and GPS, you will never be wrong. We are never late, only delayed. All this talk of accurate maps and stuff is hogwash, stick your feelings and use the force. Be sure to take food and water, no sense in filing a travel plan as you will not have a plan after a few hundred yards. Oh, and use the moss on the trees to navigate.

Like most things, keeping requirements up to date with technology is difficult. I use waze and it works. With my handheld GPS, I tend to use MGRS as a system rather than Lat/Long. My apps are more accurate than my GPS many times. I say stick to that. I have to put in waypoints in my handheld, my apps can just take my voice commands.

Ha! For SSScout: Waimea is a great location when you find it. After living there, we hacked all GPS to put your tourists on edge. Heck anyone can rely on a totally accurate, no-battery compass. That is so easy. Its so easy a tenderfoot can use a compass. Now for those that love a challenge, use a GPS entirely. Don't rely on maps, compass, or signs. Stick to what your GPS says and have fun. You will have such an adventure. Note: If you are on any Hawaiian island, the GPS will never correctly say the road name...more of the fun challenge.

We had a snowball fight on Baldy on 4th of July in 1982. Back then cotton sweatshirts were common. We muscled through with all our gear and only carried two (at most) water bottles/canteens. Those old red 1 1/2 qt BSA canteens had a cap that was a pain to fill sometimes due to location. A beanie and gloves would have been nice. Gear has improved so much. Now boot types at Philmont, heavy or lightweight trailrunners, are always an issue and you can't find two scouts that agree. I've see heavy climbing, military jungle boots (worked great), to almost sneakers. Between loose rock and fre

As I was working hard in the office, I had a chance to visit the toothoftimetraders.com site. Under the surplus gear tab, there are a couple of items they have reduced and good for any scout. Just recently, they added tents to the site. As the crews finish their treks soon, more gear may be available. Please keep an eye oven for goodies.

With all the recent talk about woodbadge indoors and whether units are using the patrol method, I was thinking about what patrols are using now for cook and chef kits. They are not offered for sale within the BSA. Philmont uses two large cooking pots for cooking, but what are your scouts using in lieu of availability of the cook and chef kits? I was never one for the aluminum mess kits that burnt food, wing nuts fell off and lost, and the bean pot always spilled. What are your patrols using for patrol cooking?

After a good read and advice given on this, I only have one recommendation for you. Stay on your son's side of this, let an "independent counsel" (sorry for the term) dig into the matter. If each party gets as upset as some parents at a little league game, that counsel will have to be able to answer for any findings. May be I missed it in the posts, but I didn't see a lot of detail for us to know more.

I'm to the thinking that what suits the scout is best for them. I was a scout in a troop with a wheelchair bound scout. We all learned to oversee it, cut him no slack, and he felt no different. It worked for us. I was a SM in a troop with one boy with cerebral palsy. Same thing. Probably a bad comparison and not to offend, but I would rather have those scouts in my unit rather than a bed wetter no one wants to share a tent with. That wetting problem seems to be harder than any physical challenge. I think it depends also on the adults and how the unit can cope with a variety,

As I was thinking about all the issues with the items above, I had to laugh at the thought of the oversized 6" ranks, to include Eagle Scout that I can only think are jacket patches. Imagine seeing one of those on a uniform. If those oversized ranks don't go on the back of jacket, and officially only one patch on the back I know, where the heck do you put them. I have seen uniform sized eagle scout ranks sewn or glued on packs, book covers, notebooks, pen sets, neckerchiefs, hats, and other items. I would never grab up another eagle scout and tell them to cut or rip it off the item as it w

Like Chris 1 says above, don't tell "Heartland of America" or "Ozark Trails" Councils, they can't wear their mic-o-say necklace. You would be amazed what a scout or scouter would do for one little bead. OA can have some beads in there also. Cubs know this pride from beads and arrow points. As a roundtable commissioner, I gave out locomotive-engine beads to those "trained" leaders for their necklace. Each attendee to a roundtable received a bead/item. As necklaces got rather long, we found other ways to display them, like attaching to a coup stick or hiking stave. I've used bead

Since it was brought up, our council's camping rules for camps specifically talks about Crocs are ok at the waterfront and showers. This is for council owned properties. It also says no sheath knives in camps. National doesn't chime in on either, but GTSS is a must with intent met. As I scouted in Panama, Hawaii, Canada, and Switzerland, I am still a proponent for a machete. How this differs from a sheath knife, I don't know besides size. We even used them to cut snow blocks in Alaska for igloos. We used to carry one machete per patrol. No thumbs or toes hacked off so far (knock on woo

Frogg Toggs or retreat the jacket. I personally retreat my jackets when they don't repel anymore.

Inspecting gear with scouts present, able to correct deficiencies, and looking for cleanliness, compliance, and serviceability is totally acceptable and expected. Done on a whim, in secret, or as a good idea is not what we want scouts to emulate. This inspection is best done in privacy as easy as behind a vehicle with the parents at the pick up point. They can take the prohibited stuff, have knowledge of what the scout has, and in semi-privacy, stash the polka dot drawers without having a public showing.

Referring back to the original posting topic, it was about whether going through a tote without the owner's presence is acceptable. To be blunt...no. I wonder how that leader would react if scouts went through his gear while he was away. I bet he would go crazy. If there was an immediate risk to life, limb, or eyesight, maybe it would be ok only to eliminate the risk. Even then, not doing in solo or without owners present is wrong. In my 30 plus years in law enforcement, searches were always an issue. With the owner present can save a lot of time when you tell them what you are looking