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Thanks Matt. You are right in noting the comparison between now and my era. I was in Germany for three years during the worst of Vietnam, and I heard some really scary stuff from guys rotating in, as well as some truly emotionally destructive attitudes. Then when I went home and went back to college on the GI Bill, I encountered the on campus issues and also traveling in uniform was often a toss up as to what type of reception we might get. I rotate back in December of 68 and entered ASU the fall of 69. Here is a verse I wrote about that time. It shows my confusion, as I honestly had already began to see much of the truth few of us wanted to accept, but also my realization that the problem was beyond me to solve. Safe Diana Ross’ plaintive “Baby, Baby”, vibrates from 1965. Chanute Air Force Base, Rantoul, Illinois. Late summer cumulus mount over the plains as Vietnam becomes more than a remote question of geographic trivia. Elvis and John still live; so do “Bobby” and “Martin”. I walk though the town streets in fall, shuffling through leaves, watching grey plumed squirrels, marveling at the crispness of air and colors. Desert autumn is dryer, more subtle. Soon Germany is my place, its myriad distractions, mini-skirts in London, streetwalkers in Paris, Swiss Alps and cows, skiing in Garmisch, and ever present beer. But I’ll not be able to forget my true mission. F-105’s roar, Phantoms scream, NATO planes attack daily the bombing range in Siegenburg where Hitler once dropped real ones. Letters arrive from home, news of high school friends injured or killed in the Far East. Here, “Six Day War” evacuees arrive, Czechs flee Russian tanks, and “rotatees” from ‘Nam are posted, tormented by fear, guilt, and hate. 90’s Finished 8-12-04 I went to HS in Twentyine Palms and of course I had many friends whos families were Marines. I lost at least one classmate, and know of others badly damaged both physically and emotionally. Today, some still live that era, but many say that they now understand the protests more, and while not forgiving the over the top nastiness much of the time, aimed at those least responsible, they at least get it a little. And I never was comfortable on campus during marches, as I was still in reserves, though no duty due to time in active duty. I have thought a lot about these things over the years, and I wish I could somehow understand better why so many are so dogmatic and unwilling to see others as simply people. Few of my peers are truly comfortable with that time, and a few are in serious inner struggles now that they have kids and grandkids and see similar stuff. That is why I want to share with the youth, but I also do not want to overstep or cause issues that affect them as people and as Scouting youth. Th blinders are a problem, but I do not know if those that wear them do so because the already recognize the problems and do not want reminders, or if they simply do not want to confronted with so much that is obvious. Well, since I have decided to be the first centenarian in my family, I have some time to work on it. Meanwhile, good Scouting. And may we all find a way to Do Our Best to live the Spirit.

ng from making mistakes and learning from them so does society. This post is a serious question that is challenging me, and I suspect may challenge others as well. How do we live the Spirit of Scouting when we live in a very challenging political environment that can easily grate against the basic precepts of Scouting?

@skeptic, with all due respect, Truth and Knowledge are not personal opinions. "Referring youth back to family" makes a lot of sense when it comes to religion, but not this fiasco. If the scout's parents are getting their news from X/TikTok/QAnon or any of a number of other worthless information sources then all you're doing is keeping the scouts confused. What makes for an informed opinion? A bit of skepticism is certainly good. So is humility. I'd say play the devil's advocate on any issue they're interested in and show them how to come to their own answers. The bigger problem I see is that fear is freezing people from doing the right thing. They're afraid they're the only one that isn't so sure, so to be safe they're just going to go along. That's the problem. Democracy doesn't work when a lot of people are afraid to speak their mind. Your job is to teach them about truth and knowledge as well as bravery, humility, and kindness. Unfortunately this isn't just scouts. The best example is that Congress is frozen. Half of them think they can't do anything because they don't have the votes and the other half think they can't do anything because they're afraid they'll be voted out. I suspect the truth is that there are a fair number of people that voted for this administration but didn't vote for what's going on. Those people are the ones that hold all the power, if only they'd find the confidence to talk about their concerns. If only Congress would talk to them then, who knows, Congress might become a third co-equal branch of the government. Novel idea, no? For all the others, a bunch are getting what they voted for and I have no sympathy for what's happening to them. For those that didn't vote for this administration it's time to play the cards that were dealt. You say you don't remember a time when things were this "muddled and frozen by blind opinion?" Sure you do. You grew up in one such period. Civil rights. Vietnam. A lot of people were really sure about things until they started asking questions. Even then, the complexity of what was going on was much more than people realized. How many decades did it take to quit blaming vets? Anyone that thinks history is simple is not paying attention. I think we shouldn't whitewash our history. Just like scouts growing from making mistakes and learning from them so does society.

I once proposed a "Religious Study/Faith" Merit Badge. It would have been a comparative religion sort of thing. They politely turned it down as not necessary with the Religious Awards program in place. Now, I want to reiterate that the rumor of combining the Pet Care and Cooking Merit Badges is FALSE...

Simply, how do we work around the huge issues that our political circus now presents, especially without being accused of trying to force personal opinion on our youth? I try to not discuss things of that nature directly with youth, though sometimes they specifically ask me my thoughts. I refer them to parents and suggest if they want to find their own position, that they do it by examining things from all sides. hopefully sources outside their normal interactions. But, as it gets worse, the concept of Citizenship gets really fuzzy, and steering clear is hard to do. So other than referring a youth back to family and so on, and suggest they read and maybe form an opinion of their own, how do we manage this. I am almost 81, and I do not remember a time when the political environment was so muddled and frozen by blind opinion. Do not know if there is a good answer, but just asking, as it is coming up more often, even from younger youth.

CONGRATULATIONS! To my new Brother Eagle and to all to stood behind him and didn't give up on him! Way to GO!

Welcome to scouter.com Don't know myself. As you likely already know, the program refers scouts to existing merit badges: Exploration and/or Geology. https://troopleader.scouting.org/program-features/caving/information/

Why isn’t there one. This seems like the perfect subject to include in a merit badge. Our troop just spent a weekend camping in the Morengo Cave in Indiana and can tell you it was a great experience watching these young men stretch and learn about cave preservation and exploration. They completed a 3 mile cave hike which included several “crawls” most interesting was a crawl called the “Masher”. They then spent the night in absolute darkness in the cave which was as much of a learning opportunity as the crawls. Few people have ever experienced absolute darkness, absolute silence with no air movement and can be very disorienting. Ps: the kids did better than this grown man!

And of course there is : With your parent or guardian’s permission, demonstrate how to iron two different articles of clothing. Demonstrate your knowledge by cleaning your bedroom, bathroom, or kitchen. and the obligatory : Explain how equity is different from equality.

I hear you. Of course, we could simply teach this stuff for fun, but based on our litigious society, we probably need a release for even sewing; after all, there are sharp things involved, and some youth's feelings might be hurt if someone laughed at his sewing his finger to the shirt, or how crooked it was. I have been posting articles from our council history from almost a hundred years ago, newspaper coverage (imagine that) of camp activities and such. The youth are noted to work with the adults to improve the camp, and actually build parts of it. But today, the bad word insuranceies and the insurance companies and the black feathered lawyers make things nigh unto impossible.

Life Skills...why do we need parents? Why not add some of these to Family Life and combine FL and Pers Management into one MB.

@Eagle1993Probably correct My friend said that over 10% of councils have less than 1000 youth and there are only 5% with more than 10K youth.

Show me a Life Scout who cannot develop Eagle project ideas and I will show you a scout with limited community service. Consider 17 year old Life Scout Bowden Warren who is also a member of Newton Grove Fire and Rescue (NC) and his words to Newton Grove Town Board. “I’m here to propose my Eagle Scout project plan. This will be a significant enhancement to the Newton Grove emergency helicopter landing zone that we, the Newton Grove Fire and Rescue, use. This project is designed to help improve the safety, visibility and accessibility of the area, ensuring it meets modern standards for helicopter landings. Based on my experience as a member of Newton Grove Fire and Rescue, I’ve seen first hand the need to improve this existing location, which at this time, is just an open grass lot that we have to use. There are some safety concerns that are due to limited lighting and unmarked power lines. There have been some close calls when landing helicopters. In the last 12 months, per last year’s call volume, we averaged more than one Life Flight per month from the Newton Grove emergency landing zone, which has increased. The logistics of Newton Grove, as each of you know, we’re an agriculture community. We have a major interstate with highways that intersect, and we are growing an industrial area as well. I believe this validates the need of having a more permanent and upgraded emergency landing zone. If you support this plan, the construction would include land preparation, electrical work and pouring a concrete pad that would be encased by a decorative perimeter. It would also have a sidewalk to access the service road, which is located off of Mount Olive Highway on East Weeksdale Street. Based on the projected expenses of this project being around $40,000, I plan to reach out to the Newton Grove community as well as local businesses to help with funding for this project. I hope each of you see this project as a major asset to the town and surrounding communities, as much as I do.” Response from Mayor and more at source: https://www.clintonnc.com/news/103506/n-grove-helipad-gets-green-light

@Scoutmom3X scouts in my troop are going coral reef sailing this August as well. (I decided to sit this trip out so other adults could have a hand in emptying their pockets so that they could sit back and watch boys master a real boat. The key thing that I pointed out to them is if they get mad at everyone, the furthest away hat they can go is 44’. I strongly encouraged team activities, so that everyone knows how to put up with each other's quirks.

I hope you and your troop have a great time. 1. SA Swimmers tests are mandatory. Ensure everyone is a swimmer. 2. SA Height / Weight standards. 3. Check with your Troop if anyone gets sea sick or motion sickness. If they do they should consult with their Doctor about participating. 4. I arranged for Snorkeling lessons and SA snorkeling beforehand, we rented a high school pool and had a local scuba shop do the training. It helped a lot because they show how you clear snorkels, do dives, clear water in your masks, etc. BSA has a snorkeling badge we had the shop follow. 5. Equipment shake-down. You have to bring your own snorkel and mask, try them out beforehand. Also the flipper fin socks are nice to prevent blisters. 6. Wilderness First Aid, CPR and AED are mandatory (adult). This course is a 16 hour course and not offered all over. They will precheck certification when you get down there. 7. Review your first aid kit. Know what’s in there. Prep for being in the sun and water - aloe, sunscreen, swimmers ear, motion sickness, etc 8. Review all medical forms. All sections are needed including Part C with the high adventure advisory section reviewed and signed by a Doctor. Have fun!

So you you may have remembered I was depressed because it seemed one of my Scouts had given up. He had about 2 weeks before 18 and still needed a projected and 3 MBs. HE MADE IT! (And yes, I am shouting with joy!) He was able to get his project approved and completed within 10 days. Even had a nice write up about it too. As fro the MBs, he was able to find his paperwork from his old troop on one of them, one was finished at the meeting, and one was finished right before getting everything approved for BOR. He had the paperwork, but could not find it in time for the meeting. Just waiting for the EBOR. And we may be growing We had 2 Scouts visit this past month, and two more are scheduled to visit this week. Life is good.

Please do... district committees are vital to the health of the district.

Welcome to scouter.com . Some experienced member will hopefully respond shortly, meanwhile here are some past topics that may help you.

Great post, thanks. i used to teach the same approach. I believe the SM should have a feel for how a scout is doing before they are ready for the BOR. Like courious scouter, I may have signed off his SMC long before he completed the other requirements. For me, scouting is about personal growth. Some scouts have grown a lot, but they are in no hurry for advancement and that’s fine with me. I tend to have a good feel for simply by finding opportunities to have a quick chat asking how it was going. We might have something in common and I would bring that up or ask how a new patrol mate is dong. You can learn a lot about scouts at a SM conference, but few small chats tells you pretty much what you need to know. You can sign their book if they have it, or during a conference they request and use that opportunity to brag about them. Our CC told me of one scout during his BOR who didn’t remember having a SM conference with me after lunch earlier that day. When she reminded him of our chat while I bought him an ice cream bar, he was surprised to learn that was a SM conference. He just asked me how baseball was going. Any excuse to have an enjoyable chat with a scout. If I knew a scout was having a challenge with the scouting experience, I would try to get them to discuss it, and then I might ask if they felt they were ready for the advancement. Sometimes they would say no and set a goal to prove themselves. Even better when they want to grow. The sign off is important, but if it’s also fun, I can say 25 years later, it’s memorable. Barry

My council has sold off 3 of its 4 camps over the last decade or so. Each time, they promised to reinvest the funds in the remaining camp(s). I saw nothing of the sort, only investment in new hires whose sole purpose seems to be gathering videos to help fundraising efforts. We had some tremendous volunteers in my district who planned an amazing celebration of our Cub Scout camp many years ago (when the camp was turning 100 years old ... before it was sold off). The idea was a council wide camporee, climbing walls, various scouting events, food trucks, fireworks, etc. Council leadership cancelled it as it had the chance to lose money (ignoring the publicity it would have generated). This led to a few of our key district volunteers leaving, never to return. Our council does almost nothing for Scouts BSA outside of merit badge clinics. They invest heavily in Cub Scouts but seem to think the program ends at 5th grade. Our Troop has a few members of the executive board, but it seems like they have become disillusioned with what they have been able to impact. Personally, I hope my council is absorbed my one of our neighboring ones, which seem to be better at putting on events for Scouts BSA and investing in their camps.

I think one issue is that too many try and recruit from unit volunteers, many if not most are parents of youth. District/council would be best served finding younger adults (21 - 30) before they have kids or former unit volunteers (50+). I used to be more active at the district level, but as my kids got older and their interests were varied, I ran out of volunteer hours to give ... and all of mine will be at the unit level. That said, my kids are aging, one will be headed to college in 2026 and the other a few years later. I could see volunteering at council/district level at that point.

Regardless of the month, all of the numbers show a program either in decline or barely hanging on.

We are going to Sea Base this coming August to do Coral Reef Sailing. What do most troops do to ensure both scouts and leaders are prepared physically ? Right now we are looking into snorkeling lessons and group swims but didn’t know if anything else was needed at this point.

Thanks for the input. As with everyone else, I check daily to see if there is anything new on the 3rd Circuit. Hopefully it will be very soon. Survivors are aging out by the day.

Kennedy isn't hard to find. I reached out online and shared your post. His comment was "I don't know why this person seems to have a vendetta against me. I hope he finds peace. We knew we wouldn't make everyone happy but I do appreciate the people who have kept in touch with all the TCC members and showed their appreciation. I haven't commented on the settlement publicly in a very long time and like others, I'm waiting for a decision on the appeal. So others know, I have not received A DIME from this settlement. I've heard nothing from the Trust regarding an award. I also have NOTHING to do with the Catholic Church. My lawsuit prior to the bankruptcy was against the BSA, local council, and my abuser; NOT the Catholic Church. Anyone who cares can search the New York State cases online and see those details. I filed as John Doe but it was the first BSA lawsuit after the window opened. Frankly, if I'm the last one to see a dollar from this I'm okay with that and anyone who says differently doesn't know me and is just plain wrong." My own two cents.... I get why people feel pro and con about the settlement. So much is the product of a bankruptcy system NOT designed for the Survivors of child sexual abuse. As far as Saint Kosnoff having all the answers, I can only shake my head at the reality that the BSA put its bets on the Coalition, of which Mr. Kosnoff was an initial member before the Court expedited his removal in an agreement with the remaining Coalition leaders. The Coalition, despite representing 65% of the total claims, then failed to deliver the remaining 10% of the needsd votes. This cost all Survivors a year and who knows how many died in the interim. But maybe the Coalition firms don't care because the claims live on, and so too does the 33-40% contingency to those firms. And the capper, the Court just issued a verdict that the Coalition should receive ZERO dollars from the BSA because their work provided NO substantial contribution and was duplicative of the work already being done by the TCC and other parties. Whether you love or hate the plan, facts matter. Here's some other facts that I'm sure will piss people off. At the time that the BSA declared bankruptcy some Survivors were days away from their cases going to court, those in open States lost their individual cases and what could have been a big award, and those in "closed" States had zero path to a lawsuit being heard in court. But, the plan included a one-year period when Survivors could mobilize in their States and have the SOLs changed so they'd be in a better matrix position. That happened in some States and continues to happen, perhaps too late for this bankruptcy but now allowing suits against abusers and other entities. That's equity and not equality; but was the reality at the time of the bankruptcy. That's "business" and not justice. That's bankruptcy. I don't like it and in a perfect world there would have been no closed States and a bottomless pit of money. Neither was the case then, or now. This whole "liquidate the BSA" fantasy is just that. Survivors are UNSECURED creditors and will be left fighting over the scraps after SECURED creditors are satisfied. As well, if that happens you'd better like your attorney and they'd better be ready to get your case heard ASAP before other BIG awards wipe out the available money. Oh, you're going to sue the insurance companies? You'd better be prepared to wait 7-10 years for that settlement AND hope others haven't beaten you to the policy limits. Uh...and if your attorney has hundreds or thousands of clients, start thinking about how you'll get in line early before every other Survivor who wants to do the same. It won't happen if your case needs a ton of discovery and work or is of low "value." Lastly, if you think the insurers will sit around forever waiting to pay, guess what, if the amount of claims exceeds their assets (like was the case with Century Insurers), they'll do this....file for bankruptcy and go into "runoff", again leaving some with nothing. I'm sorry to be a downer. I just want some who think the solution is for this plan to go up in flames to understand that some scenarios might be missing a bit of reality. Feel free to rip me up. I'm not going to debate hypotheticals. I'll see you after the appellate court chimes in and we can discuss reality. PS, the court is going to deny the appeal 😉