Double Eagle

acco40, I probably know your area pretty well. I think you don't have to deal mosquitos. Mostly "little black flies", real biters. The painful thing I learned is have a shake-down of what they have packed. Our troop meets on Thurdays and the night before a campout, we have them bring in their stuff and we lock it up overnight. They take a list home of what they need. Come Friday, they bring back the list and stuff. Thanks for carbon paper. We have our list in case the scout lost his. This seems lengthly but goes pretty quick. We do a lot of backpacking and they learn to really consider what to take. The good thing is they learn what to bring because they carry it. A shake-down rule at Philmont is for every piece of equipment carried to have two uses. Good rule when you look at your own stuff.

Adults having name tags works for me. Not only for the scouts but for new parents and contacts. It also helps when the adult wears what they want to be called (e.g. Mr/Mrs Smith, JP, or Yoda). I leave the addressing part in your hands.

Youth having name tags at scouting events sets well with me. This helps with learning about each other. While traveling or when they are interacting with the non-scouting world, most of the buddy teams will be calling each other by their names so the predators won't have to rely on the name tags. An "eagle eye" and letting the scouts know the possibility of predators has to happen, no matter how unfortunate it is to educate them.

A JASM may just fit the bill here. One from another troop may visit and just be able to put it in view for the scout. Sometimes the communication gap is too wide from scouter to scout. Here's your bridge. Be careful in your selection and make sure this is the one you want.

The local OA lodge or chapter may be able to help you if a JASM is not available. You should not have a problem with at least the chief or a chief to stress the uniform point. Positive peer pressure and seeing their example works.

Thanks for the posts. After reading them, I got to thinking about what the youth members would consider too bad of weather. We "Grumps" (short for grown ups or how we are without coffee or sleep)seem to be able to handle it.

My take from the post is that if you do the planning and are equiped, no problem. minus the 6 o'clock news kind of weather.

A thread from a discussion about a troop camping once in three months brought up an interesting subject. What is too bad of weather to camp? We had an overnight klondike derby in Upstate New York with the temperature at -30f (we slept out in tents without heaters). We also camped in the upper 90s with 90+% humidity. I have yet to stop a camping trip due to weather. The only time I can think of not camping due to weather is around lightning, tornados, hurricane, flood, or not having the right equipment or planning to match the weather. When do you consider the weather too bad to camp?

Thanks for the input. It seems like my hope of keeping the hatchet alive is going to hold. For those that like the use, please keep teaching it safely. For those that do not use them, maybe a taste test and I leave it up to you and the scouts to decide.

Hated the beret. Give me a hat/cap with an all-around brim (Like the ventures have) or a knit cap for winter.

The scouts already have stripes on the sleeve for leadership positions but not for rank (APL, PL, ASPL, & SPL). I like the way the rank is displayed and what each part means.

The thing I don't like is how the merit badge sash falls off the shoulder of the smaller scouts. This forces us to either sew a loop underneath it or do a button hole to attach it to the shirt.(This message has been edited by Double Eagle)

I find that being mainly associated with the military and about 95% of our scouts are of military families, we don't have that big of a problem. Seeing people in uniform daily kind of brings it on. Although we had the discussion about they can "sag" and untuck with other clothes, the uniform is not to be worn that way. It worked and has to be reinforced from time to time. The good thing is the scout pants don't hang off the hips well and tend to fall down during scout activitities if worn that way. As much as I don't like the style they do well in this area.

One thread was, what happens if a scout refuses to pay, or wants to pay for the day? This is the real question that we should look at. We all agree on the importance of wearing the uniform. But how do we fix the problem when confronted with these two quesitons?

I remember a few months back about an eagle candidate looking for 6 eagles with long hair. I did not get to help him but I had hair shoulder length for a long time as a scout. Being on the OA ceremony team, I kinda fit in there. Also being a beach bum (lifeguard year round) It presented no problem.(This message has been edited by Double Eagle)

A thread from "what to do with a disobedient scout". It was brought up whether charging a scout 25 cents for having an untucked shirt was allowed. I say this is one of those areas where you are on thin ice with hot skates. The up side to this is they will want to tuck in their shirts? The down side, charging and managing the money collected. Those of us with more than one son in scouts may see this as another "FOS" campaign, just kidding. But seriously, I think that there is a better way to deal with this type of problem than charging money. How about just reminding him? Let them save their money for real issues.

When we have our meal, there is usually enough to offer some out. We kinda plan for this. Having some is better than looking and smelling it. Kept in a friendly spirit, we often sample some of theirs too. Not a competition just different tastes, so to speak.

Uniforms have there place. At an opening or closing or dinner is best. Class B (pack shirt or scout activity shirt) is good for the rest of the day. I seem to never scout in the good weather. With either snow or rain, we rarely see the uniforms. An armband with the patrol or den name is great. Just wear it over the raincoat or jacket.

Scouting overseas, we have to weigh the wear of the flag and uniform with traveling to and from events. In Europe, we have to watch our size of group and how not to be identified as a terrorist target. Sad but true.

We did wear our uniforms while traveling on the train to and from Switzerland.

I think Dan and I are in the same troop. The one thing we (adult patrol) use is the same budget as the scouts. Usually $10 each. This way they see what we spent it on (usually not chips and munchies)and the possibilities. If there is a troop snack/cracker barrel, it usually comes from troop funds approved at the committee meeting prior.

"snipe hunts". We purposely went on snipe hunts as senior scouts to get away and do night stuff. We would also drag along other scouts. We did not use it as an initiation but a real way to see stuff at night. But, we did try to catch anything we heard or saw. One of the best things we did was go to the river where the gars came to the surface at night. We would shine our flashlights on them and watch their eyes glow red (no lie). Some of the younger scouts thought they were aligators. Keep in mind, Michigan didn't have aligators, I think. By day, we would try to fish for them with no luck. With the glowing red eyes, even nature, and our imaginaton, tried to fool us into thinking we saw aligators. Kind of like bull snakes acting like rattlesnakes. Was nature hazing naive scouts?

I'm left handed, I don't get the problem finding a left-handed smoke shifter. I've had one for years. A right handed one too.(This message has been edited by Double Eagle)

The scouts should meet with the SM and address his interest in the merit badge. The SM can assist him in locating an approved counselor. The scout gets a (SM) signed blue card and meets with the counselor. After going over the requirements, they agree on how to meet and fulfull the requirements. Usually, only one counselor will sign off but others may assist. By protocol, if more that one counselor is working towards a MB, they should discuss it before stepping on each others toes.

During camp or transferring to another troop, a scout may give a partially completed blue card to another approved counselor. This if fairly common. The thing you may be looking at is "approved". Counselors are usually recruited to serve as unit, area, or council level counselors, their option. Either way, more than just being able to read the pamphlet is needed to give the scout a in-depth look at the topic. Maybe you can both work towards teaching the MB. "Shared-Leadership" may be the way. It may also take some of the work off you. I'm glad that you have a couple of willing counselors for your scouts. Hope it helps.

Chippewa29, Back to your original question: Without a lot of debate, these were used in the past. Canvas coolant (for tents, watchout a smart scout will bring back water); a box of grid squares, a "TR-double E" (Tree); metric cresent wrench; 50 feet of flight line; liguid squelch; right handed pipe wrench; also seen where a scout was told to bend a light stick a second time to turn it off. I think are right up there with the snake rope. Putting a rope around your area to keep them out. Caution: When using any of these "know your audience", only good for one-time use. A whoopie cushion can bring memories of "Blazing Saddles Campfire/Bean Scene" that are all too familiar with troops.

I remember when we didn't have stoves as a youth. The half burnt-half raw pancakes were great. I think the character one gets from doing things their way is the best. Fire cooking seemed to always produce the same results. Half burnt or raw. Heck, for years I thought my mom didn't know how to cook after not burning our food. Let them do it without your help, it'll mean more to them They will soon forget the bad stuff, unless you do the "let me show you how" thing. They will get soon enough, especially if your adults have the same budget as them. They will say "next time we will make ..." Good luck(This message has been edited by Double Eagle)

A boonie cap is a round floppy type hat. They were worn a lot in jungle areas or you may have seen them during the Gulf War in a desert color. They have a draw string that can be used to roll up the sides (cowboy style) or worn under your chin to keep in on your head in the high winds. Overall, a good sun protector.

This might be a good time to try popcorn over coals. Baked apples as a treat. Watermelon or even bald cupcakes (bald without frosting). Whatever you decide, don't let anyone say that it is inappropriate to have a special troop treat. My last troop, it was tradition to have oreos and milk on the first night's cracker barrel. Speaking of cracker barrel, how about one of those?

Check out www.scoutorama.com (look for the "Mad Lib" title on the left side) and there is a fill in the blank type letter that is fun for all. The first time I did it, the troop thought it was great. It talks about the flood, learning to drive, lost scouts, and going to town for more ammo. Pretty inventive.(This message has been edited by Double Eagle)(This message has been edited by Double Eagle)

Thank you for your time and giving the scouts a camp. KS hit on it and I'm just wondering (no judgements) whether the pants and boonie caps were the 4 color camo or solid colors like OD green? I won't open the debate. Sounds like you guys had a great time and are keeping them doing the fun stuff and advancing along the way.

KS,

I know all about the military training areas and scouting use. Being on an extended campout in the balkans, I will miss out on camp this year. DE is way out of line on the watermelon thing. My troop routinely has treats for the troop. One new concept was popping corn over coals. Feeding seems to be a problem with your camp and ours last year. NOLDSCT from the Adironacks would know about how Camp Portaferry does a great job, so did the Blue Water Council (Michigan) in the 80s. Scouting oversees is much different than other places. Thank you for giving the program to those scouts. By the way, our DE is at camp the whole summer. Pretty user friendly, seemingly unlike yours was.

I agree with Mike Long. Have the scout involved in the planning, isn't it a requirment up to 1st Class for menu planning and assisting in the prep, and safe handling of food. Anyway, How about asking the "McMom" (cool term) and "McScout" to help with the teaching of the newer scouts about the food pyramid and how to plan a menu. It may make them think. This might be a good time to have cooking as a theme for the month and let everyone try their hand at some troop feast on an outing.

The other thing about sodas. As a rule I don't like them because we always seem to decorate the area with the cans. I remember at Philmont, the treat it was to get rootbeer at a staffed camp. Pack it in and pack it out. If not, don't take it.

Last thing is maybe just once a backpacking trip where McMom couldn't deliver the meals without a lot of effort. Carrying a happy meal over miles of trails, she might just eat it herself.

Wow, this sure got some attention. Boy scouts taking a troop to court, that sure would bring a headline. So much for the volunteers of that troop. You would probably send every scouter and scout running for the hills. Many of these volunteers do the best they can, without a lot of support until one parent isn't pleased. How about amending/drafting their guidelines so that it is pretty clear. What was the purpose of the fundraising? Was it to fatten an individual account? When we plan our budget, we focus on what is to be done and then how to raise the money. I think that using the way the scouts might handle this is probably a good example. It kind of goes to what if the grubmaster has money left over? What ever happened to "scout spirit". Was transferring a forecasted move? You have an awesome fundraising for a scout to have $500 and not have a goal for it. If going to a jamboree or high adventure base, what was your plan for the money. Some troops do not have a scouts fund, and the money is shared for troop expenses. They do it without the incentive of personal gain. If you knew you were not getting the money, would you have still participated? This seems to have gotten to a "sue the troop", lose the scouts, stop fundraising, and take the money and run. Here's a question, what if your next troop does not have scout accounts? When in doubt of the right thing to do after giving everyone a shot, how about helping the program and donate "your" portion to the FOS or into the parish?(This message has been edited by Double Eagle)

Having taught this two times in the past (whew!) The five 10-mile hikes are separate but each hike must be completed the same day. The on 20-miler is also in one day. The last time, we did the 20 miler in the Adironacks and left early, 6:00am. We hiked, messed around, took scenic breaks, and didn't turn it into a race. A real enjoyable and over-before-you-know-it hike. Total hiking merit badge miles 70.(This message has been edited by Double Eagle)

At one of the first meetings of the fall, usually after the school night recruitment, we used a discussion, with the cubs and their partners, on how we would introduce new cubs and partner to meetings and what the cubs roles were. We talked about it, practiced it, and then had the next week's meeting try it out on another cub's partner. We worked in the "signs up" into it and it caught on pretty good.(This message has been edited by Double Eagle)