Hi from Seattle!

[seattlecyclone]

Nice to be here! I just enrolled my son in Cub Scouts for the fall when he starts first grade. I was a Scout myself as a boy, earned my Eagle award some 20 years ago. I tried my old uniform shirt on and it still fits! But then browsing the web I learned the uniforms have been redesigned a couple of times since then. Oh well. Looking forward to going on this journey together with my son, and helping the pack go however I can.

[RememberSchiff]

@seattlecyclone  welcome to scouter.com.  No problem wearing an old uniform.

[seattlecyclone]

3 minutes ago, RememberSchiff said:

@seattlecyclone  welcome to scouter.com.  No problem wearing an old uniform.

Interesting. I figured there'd be some rule against wearing a uniform that was discontinued before any of the youth in my unit were born; would be less "uniform" looking that way. But if it's allowed...well, a Scout is thrifty and buying new clothes unnecessarily is bad for the environment, so I may just keep the old one.

[MikeS72]

46 minutes ago, seattlecyclone said:

Interesting. I figured there'd be some rule against wearing a uniform that was discontinued before any of the youth in my unit were born; would be less "uniform" looking that way. But if it's allowed...well, a Scout is thrifty and buying new clothes unnecessarily is bad for the environment, so I may just keep the old one.

If you earned your Eagle in the 90's you will find that a lot of folks still wear that uniform.  It is made of a different material (more comfortable) than the new uniform shirts.  Other than that the biggest thing you will notice at just a glance is the brown buttons rather than the tan on the uniforms we currently have, along with saying Boy Scouts of America over the right pocket rather than the new BSA logo.

[Eagle94-A1]

1. Welcome.  2. I still wear my 1990s uniform as they are better built and much more comfortable than today's uniforms.

[InquisitiveScouter]

Welcome!

Once official, always official!

[qwazse]

Welcome to the forums. So you really have three options:

1. Use your old uniform. Remove rank patches and replace them with knots.

2. Get a new uniform. Preserve the old uniform as is for historical purposes.

3. Don’t bother with a uniform. Focus on helping your scout look sharp.

[FireStone]

4 hours ago, qwazse said:

3. Don’t bother with a uniform. Focus on helping your scout look sharp.

If seattlecyclone is considering being a den leader, they should wear the uniform. AND help their scout look sharp. If they're going to be a helpful parent in the den, uniform is optional.

I use my uniform as a conversation starter, for adults and scouts alike. For adults, I like to keep my training badges on my uniform, including a Baloo badge. Parents do ask about it sometimes, and it's a great way to let them know that we go out of our way to train leaders and that we put some time into it, we spend weekends in the woods learning how to be better leaders for their kids.

For scouts, I like to wear badges that are likely to get questions. The ones that get the most questions are the OA flap and square knots. And if they ask about the eagle square knot, usually the explanation of it is met with some surprise. For a lot of cubs, Eagle Scouts are these mythical scouts they have only heard exist. They really don't meet many until they get into doing Webelos activities with local troops. I'm a big proponent of giving scouts glimpses into the stuff that comes with staying in the program, things they can look forward to. So I take any opportunity to talk about that stuff. The adult uniform is often the conversation starter for those topics.

I know some local adults who have a philosophy that adult uniforms should be minimal, they don't put anything more than the basics on theirs and believe adults shouldn't use the uniform to brag about their accomplishments. The scouts should be showing off their awards, not adults. I don't see it that way, at least not in how I treat the adult uniform. If done right, anyway. I do think there are some adults who use it to unnecessarily brag (we have a local guy who is in his 60s and insists on still wearing an eagle rank patch and the square knot too), but for the most part I think the adult uniform has a useful place in letting adults and scouts know what a leader has done and what scouts can aspire to accomplish themselves in the program.

With seattlecyclone being an Eagle Scout, wearing a uniform with an eagle square knot could be a similar conversation starter in their pack and den.

[seattlecyclone]

Thanks for the helpful notes everyone! I'm definitely open to being a den leader, though if there's another willing parent in the den who has been a Cub Scout parent before I'd be happy to defer that responsibility to them because they'll probably have a better sense of what to do. The pack's new parent orientation is in a couple of weeks and we'll see what comes of it. I like FireStone's viewpoint of uniform and insignia as a conversation starter. I'm not interested in being ostentatious with it or anything; it's all about the kids, and if I can use my experience as a positive example all the better.

[5thGenTexan]

Some days I wish I was a Den Leader....  🤪

[Oldscout448]

3 hours ago, seattlecyclone said:

Thanks for the helpful notes everyone! I'm definitely open to being a den leader, though if there's another willing parent in the den who has been a Cub Scout parent before I'd be happy to defer that responsibility to them because they'll probably have a better sense of what to do. The pack's new parent orientation is in a couple of weeks and we'll see what comes of it. I like FireStone's viewpoint of uniform and insignia as a conversation starter. I'm not interested in being ostentatious with it or anything; it's all about the kids, and if I can use my experience as a positive example all the better.

If you do become a den leader, I would recommend purchasing two POR patches and sewing them securely to the knee area of your pants, so when you are crawling  around cleaning up after the  circus   meeting your pants will last much longer.  

Seriously,  wear a little something on your shirt.  Not to brag as you so rightly pointed out,  but the cubs have a right to know that you have 'been there- done that'.

[SSScout]

Welcome to the virtual rant circle, er, I mean CAMPFIRE...

You will find this bunch of Scout fanatics well worth knowing.  The past files are worth digging into, if you have a particular topic to discuss.

Cub Scouting....   I was a Scout back in Paleo Scout days. Worked on my Eohippus Husbandry Merit Badge, but did not complete it.  My good wife knew of my Scout history, but her sons, my now stepsons, had been turned off to Scouting by their dad, mores the pity.  When our new son came along, and came of age, I was pleased that he decided to join the local Pack, and much to my wife's surprise, she became involved early on and eventually became the Cub Scout Day Camp Director, which made me the "First Assistant Everything Else" (that was my title !).  Son staffed a Jamboree, crew chiefed TWO Philmont treks and earned his Eagle. 

Be careful, my friend, it can become addictive, despite the current travails and course corrections. 

You want eWhipped Cream on your virtual peach cobbler?