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I have to apologize, I didn't want to type the whole phrase "family packs, linked troops, and coed troops" every time and made the assumption that readers would know that cub scouts has family packs (coed), but that there is a range of coed-ness among troops, depending on whether they're in the pilot or not and how closely linked troops operate. Some operate completely independently, others have meetings and outings at the same time. To supplement the troop information above, coed packs have been around since 2022. I was surprised it was so recent when I looked it up, but I suppose that's because we joined a pack in the pilot in 2022 and I didn't realize it was new. I was so relieved to find my normal I didn't think about it further. https://blog.scoutingmagazine.org/2023/06/22/cub-scout-family-dens-what-they-are-and-how-they-could-work-for-your-pack/ The relative newness is perhaps also why so many people seem to not have thought about the choices AOLs have to make about troops and friendships. It's been obvious to me from the start, and I've wondered why I keep running into people who seem blindsided or surprised by that if AOL friends choose to stick together, then that rules out a single-gender troop that operates independently. But it may be because most US scouters truly haven't thought it through from the perspective of AOLs crossing over from coed packs because it's so new to them. At a troop fair last year, I was a little surprised that several single-gender units schmoozed me up without announcing that they were single-gender or checking to see what gender my cub was. I assumed that if they didn't take half the cubs they'd say that up front so parents and cubs would know the limitation before wasting time. But now I realize that this may literally be the first years of cubs from coed packs that have been together from Lions on up together crossing over.

NAM 2024 they announced pilot for mixed gender troops. My former linked units merged to single mixed gender unit for 2025 re-charter. NAM 2025 briefly mentioned it- no immediate plans to fully incorporate it as a full-fledged program option yet, but as I understand it, the plan is to expand the pilot in additional councils in 2025. https://filestore.scouting.org/filestore/NAM/2025/0 - Opening General Session.pdf

What doesn't sound like Scouts? I know a lot of troops who have a junior/new Scout patrol. We just have 18 junior Scouts, so it would be necessary to divide them into separate teams or patrols. The learning has to start somewhere. When you don't have older Scouts going on campouts due to work, sports, or something else, there are no experts available. A 10 y/o patrol leader isn't exactly experienced enough to dig into the handbook and put together a training class on his own. The ASM needs to guide him. Even the 14 y/o SPL lacks the maturity to get things done. The normal campouts focus more on a merit badge and less on basic skills. We just came off a week of merit badge factory summer camp. Other than the morning sessions dedicated to doing some of Tenderfoot through 1st Class, no basic skills were trained.

This doesn't much sound like Scouts. Why not put the skills into practice in their current patrols on the normal upcoming campouts?

When did BSA policy change to include "Co-ed units"? Just trying to keep up here.

Be advised, the max weight allowed for HA is also the maxed weight civilian med evac helicopters have. Too bad the HH-47 Pedro are no longer active.

Non-settling insurers billed billions in Boy Scouts abuse settlement fund | Insurance Business America

When I google that, the only non-lawyer propoganda sites that say anything say that it's a legal action to compel the remaining 1 billion. Where are you getting 7 billion from?

How do units interpret this? Registered leaders must follow these guidelines with all Scouting youth outside of Scouting activities. There are careers that may require one-on-one contact with youth, however aside from those roles, volunteers must abide by the youth protection policies of Scouting America even outside of Scouting activities. Scout leader hires a scout in his business as a trainee to install air conditioners. Scout leader has to travel to job sites in his two seat work truck and takes the youth with him. Opinion ?

Where would you like to go? For SBR it's fairly easy, just search for New River Whitewater Outfitters, you'll find several. Instead of searching for Northern Tier, search for 'Boundary Waters'. Replace 'Sea Base' with 'Scuba and Snorkeling adventures in...'. Philmont is both harder and easier. There are so many great places in the US to hike and camp in the mountains that you'll have to think about the region first and then narrow it down from there. If you want to stay in the desert southwest reach out to the Navajo, or the Hopi or the Cherokee and see if they have programs. The addition of the cultural/historical element adds to the trip.

I agree that they have their place, but it's actually easy to find another outfitter who will put together the same program, or a better one customized to exactly what you want, for the same or less. AND they won't kick you out at the last minute based on a measurement that the medical community consistently criticizes.

The BSA settlement trust is suing the non settling insurance companies. The next court appearance is in August. Judge Houser has billed these insurers a total of approximately $7 Billion. You can Google this it public record.

I don't think the trust is. No one on the BSA side is suing anyone. If anyone is suing it's most certainly the same lawyers that have been chasing deep pockets.

BMI is a litmus test. Fun fact, you can be 300lbs of fat or 300lbs of muscle; regardless, your heart is getting TAXED hard from the body mass. If you don't meet BMI it doesn't mean you're trash, it just means a deeper discussion and more accurate tests are merited by a doctor.

BSA high adventure camps have their place. I doubt we would have snorkeled and camped on a Florida island or sailed off the coast of Florida without them.

Got any links to these programs? We're looking for options for our older Scouts.

@Eagle94-A1, no need to beat yourself up. It's hard to walk away. And it's okay. The first day I joined a scout troop I met this old guy, at least he seemed old to me, an eleven year old, and he was the kindest person I'd ever met. It was a group of new scouts and he was working with us. I was struggling with the scout law and all the other kids had no problem with it. He was very patient with me. I always wanted to be like him. My guess he was previously the SM. It's probably why I wanted to be a SM. He was why it was so hard for me to leave my troop. I wanted to be that kind guy. But, I never got to have that chance working with the new scouts because I was too busy trying to make up for the fact that not many parents were helping out and I was doing way more heavy lifting in the troop than I wanted. One thing I always told myself was not to wait until I was angry with the troop before I left. I had a lot of good memories and I didn't want them ruined. So one day something went way south and I decided right then and there I was done. I walked out and haven't been back. Scouting will have to survive without me. Whether it does is out of my control so I won't worry about it. Besides, I enjoy a lot of other things now. Tomorrow morning I'm going to drive to where I saw a really old, kind of rusty, GMC pickup truck that's sitting in a field with a lot of grass growing around it and take some photos. Take care.

HOT TIP - Don't go to the Scouts BSA High Adventure Camps. Other outfitters offer the same programs (or better) for less, AND don't exclude people based on BMI - a scientifically invalid measure of health and fitness. Don't discriminate against the people who might need a little time in the out of doors, include them.

Well, we survived! Lots of learning by the adults and the Scouts. For our part, we learned that we need some new policies and procedures. Low hanging fruit is a cellphone policy. Phones were serving more as a distraction than a tool. Scouts sacrificed water bottles in favor of extra batteries in their pockets. Scouts ignored youth leaders and adult leaders while playing games or watching videos. We also realized that there are youth protection issues with cameras and internet access. So, a policy banning internet-capable, camera-capable devices will be in place shortly. We also realized that there is a major lack of Scout skills among the senior Scouts who have joined the troop. We are working out a plan to form a Junior Scout Patrol for every Scout under the rank of First Class. This will be divided into teams with an ASM assigned to each team. The focus will be on drilling the basic skills - knots, first aid, camping skills, cooking skills, etc. We will have an extra camp out each month as needed to put these skills into practice in the field. I completed IOLS, so that's out of the way. It was generally considered worthless for the content, but valuable for some connections made by those in attendance. We had 12 participants, 2 women, 1 never been a Scout, 1 Life for Life, and the rest Eagles from the 90s/early-2ks. We lamented the current culture focused on advancement over mastery. The Cherokee Scout Reservation in Old North State Council puts on a great summer camp. Their Aviation MB is top notch with about 8 decent gaming-level simulators in a room. They have a wonderful first year program called FROGS that covers many of the requirements on the road to First Class. They don't finger drill it either. The Scouts start each session with a full on flag ceremony and end with the same. They work at a skill until they are able to do it repeatedly with confidence. Consequently, they can't complete everything, but what they do get through is pretty solid. There is a lot of walking. I am going to add a hash mark to my 50-miler patch. I walked 54 miles this week. It's a mile from our camp site to the main area and another mile from there to the water front. You'll get your hill workout. The food was pretty good. The camp director really cares about the program and Scouts. He pulls no punches when dealing with transgressions. There are some hard and fast rules that will get you sent home immediately. There were troops who drove 3.5 hours to come to this camp.

The trust is going after the non settling insurers but there still won’t be enough to fully fund.

Again, where is this number really coming from? There is 2.4 billion period; where are you getting this other 40ish billion? Are you trolling? What is going on here ?

word of mouth is how we recruit since we do not have a Cub pack. Everyone has either transferred from a unit they did not fit in with, or had a friend in the troop. Problem is instead of helping existing units survive, council is focused on starting new units. T-shirt is a good idea. Since buying custom shirts is cost prohibitive with such a small number, troop purchased everyone a Camp Cherokee T shirt. as for taking a break, tha will happen in September with band season hits. We will meet, and possibly do some fundraising. Next month is a white water trip,

Thanks folks. I am at camp, Cherokee Scout Reservation in NC, and am exhausted and sweaty. But also in a much better morale situation. So I am just getting a chance to read and respond. They are now aware. Sad thing is there are units in worse shape in the district. We are considered “healthy.” . We were able to get a second leaser. And physical he paid for. going Provo was going to be my emergency plan c.

July 1 update: average $574,579 per TDP claim. [Still going up, could it be from the inflation increase?] For the TDP, 60% claims determined and 34% paid (19,778 paid) For the IRO, 33% claims determined and 14% paid (28 paid) Without factoring in non-Matrix IRO payments, it's settling in around $33B needed to be fully funded. The Trust of course, having determined 63% of the claims, could probably give a better estimate. If they keep on the pace of 5% of all claims determined each month, just seven more months plus or minus to be finished.

Hopefully the WiFi is so bad that you won’t read this until the week ends. Have a hand time!