Scouting Pet Peeve?

[Tron]

A different thread made me think of this and I think it fits here better than there. 

I think my pet peeve is the scouter who claims "My program is great, my troop has X number of scouts!" and this literally comes from a discussion I had with an SM recently. The SM's troop went from single digits to over 40 in 2 years; he's running the same program he has always run. He refuses to consider that some of the success is not his program but the fact that his town went from 6 troops to 2 troops and the other troop is ready to fold. The dude snaps and screams at scouts but he's become the only option in his town because he has a solid charter and a dedicated donated space to hold scout meetings 7 days a week 24 hours a day. 

[InquisitiveScouter]

Another pet peeve...

Scout camps that are not designed around the Patrol Method.

What we have mostly these days is a Troop-amoeba campsite with individual Scouts doing their own individually tailored programs during the day.  And, they are being given merit badges without having done the work. (Yes, there are exceptions, but this is the general rule, in my observation...)

The hidden message is that advancement is the primary purpose of Scouting.

If the flagships of the councils, the council-run Summer Camps, are not pushing the Patrol Method, then they work at cross-purposes with units who are trying to do it that way.

[FireStone]

On 11/10/2025 at 12:08 PM, FireStone said:

Adults wearing Eagle rank patches. Not the square knot, the oval. 

And I'd personally let it slide for an 18 or 19-year-old, but I'm seeing too many 50-something men wearing an oval Eagle rank patch. 

Summer camp will be fun next month, apparently the camp director wears a rank patch. I'm going to have to try really hard to not visibly roll my eyes. 🙄

[BetterWithCheddar]

8 hours ago, FireStone said:

Summer camp will be fun next month, apparently the camp director wears a rank patch.

The only time I can see where this is borderline acceptable is when it's a "throwback" uniform (unaltered from their youth). My favorite local council camp holds a "retro night" during the summer camp season and it's fun to see all of the old gear come out at once.