All Activity

Yup; I had a similar issue due to changes in codes for training and changing council. It took a number of reviews with our fabulous registrar to get it all fixed, but now it does show up on the records. The one thing that does not show in training is the completion of PTC courses. Have taken a number of them, both district, council, and unit, along with the special on Historical material. As noted, keep the certs and such. My OA entry was as a youth in 1959 in a defunct council. Have the cards. But, also misplaced a few items and simply redid the update rather than wrestle with it.

Oh the tangled webs we weave.... Many moon ago, I signed up for some "advanced" training which required previous "advanced "training", which I knew I had had, seeing as I I had the patch and the certificate. BUT.... the course I asked for said, NO, you do not have that previous training. I said.... So I phoned, knocked on various email doors, and found out that I had three (3) different membership numbers, same name (but variations of initial/name, "junior " or not), same Troop number...., same address, each with a different list of experience. I went down to the Council office, sat down with the registrar and my shoebox of stuff, for 3 hours, and went home with ONE membership number , ONE Scout Curriculum Vitae.... Keep those little pieces of paper.....

OK, so the solution from National was to create a third ID number for this Scout in our Council, and import his record from the other council to this "New Primary" membership, as well as merging the record of his existing "Multiple" membership in our council. This all went in overnight, and the Scout's record looks OK. Moving forward there... But with all that, his parent now has three ID numbers tied to this Scout. One of the parent numbers is also still in the old council, where he was a leader, and so it has all of his training records tied to it. (He wishes to become a leader in our unit as well.) So, I'll call my friendly neighborhood Registrar this morning, and begin working that piece of the puzzle. Our Committee Chair says he is gonna TRIPLE my pay after this one What is 3 x $0.00??? P.S. I wonder if Scouts, BSA's membership numbers went up by three (instead of one) with all this?? LOL

Probably the only question to be determined in this case will be, "who was responsible for supervising the 5 year old".?

As a unit CC I was once given a trouble ticket when I attempted to clarify a policy issue that had been unresolvable at the council level. I sent the policy, explained the issue, and then went on to receive numerous phone calls from BSA staff who updated me regularly regarding the status of my ticket. This went on for several months as the ticket worked its way up the org chart. Every time I got an update from a BSA staffer it was delivered with conviction that my ticket was being handled with utmost scout professionalism and responsiveness. Finally, I was called and informed that my answer was imminent by email. When I received it, with my trouble ticket number noted in the subject line, it was a three line recitation of the exact same vague policy I had sent in in the first place. They almost don't know how cheerfully incompetent they are.

If its a nation registration then national is responsible for your action a local registration moves the liability to the local concil level and then to unit CO level. Not sure if you can register as primary council level position.

There is an indeed.com commercial about a manufacturing line gone amok. The women says does anyone know COBOL? The guy says Whats COBOL? that all you need to know about BSA IT. 😜

Yes, why not just have a National Membership, with that registration portable through all councils and units. You can already establish multiple memberships in multiple units, with one remaining primary. Why not let the member determine where their primary membership resides? Seems like a no brainer to me, but I'm sure there is something I'm not seeing, or remain ignorant of, in spite of my best efforts to understand the system...

Yet another reason I, and many others, do not trust National's IT systems.

Perhaps being a 70s kid, I don’t see the point. Our scouts seem to be earning different elective MBs. And they’re doing it honestly. I would discourage revising a program around those who will try to short-change advancement. It only makes it more confusing for the straight shooters.

Sounds about right. The IT structure was built on the assumption of a certain number of staff available to address unique cases. Keep up those calls and this will get cleared soon enough.

We have a Scout whose registration records are a bit messed up. His family moved here in 2024, from a different council. In getting him registered here, rather than transferring his primary membership from the other council, he was made a "Multiple" in his current Pack. I use the passive voice there, because we have no idea who did this. The Parents say they did not do this through my.scouting, the Pack Committee Chair says they did not do this through Scoutbook, and the Registrar says she did not do this. Parents say they filled out a paper application here, but no one can (or will) produce a copy to figure out how it happened. But that is minor, and will only show who took what actions. We need to fix the registration issue at hand... When the Scouts registration became due, the parent dutifully logged into my.scouting to pay it by credit card. But, the registration (and the parent record) was in the original council. So, when paid, registration renewed as primary in the original council. And the multiple membership here continued. No one in either council caught this. Scout has finished his Arrow of Light, but we cannot transfer him to the Troop because of his "Multiple" status in the Pack. We have been working with the Registrars for a while on resolving this... The parent has receipt and order number from my.scouting to show paid registration. Yesterday, our Registrar told me she (and the other Registrar) cannot fix this with the tools they have, and our Registrar has had to put in a help ticket to National to try to get this resolved. I am astounded. With no transfer to Troop, parents cannot see Troop calendar in Scoutbook to help their Scout look at upcoming events and RSVP, leaders cannot help track advancement in Scoutbook, and committee cannot track financials (dues payment and trip charges) in the Scoutbook tools. For the interim, we have told the council (and they agree) that we are going to forge ahead with this Scout in our Troop while they fix their system. The Registrar agrees to back-date his Date Joined Scouts BSA to the date we tried to initiate the transfer. (This is because he cannot have his Scout Rank, or any other advancements, earned before his Date Joined Scouts BSA.) We'll use his Scout Handbook to track his advancements, and have sat down with the Scout and parents to review all upcoming events for attendance and conflicts. I cannot help but see this as a symptom of a dysfunctional system between councils and National. Add this to the long list of IT-type complaints we have endured over the past years. With the tremendous burden of administration we already have to make a Scout unit function well, it'd be nice not to have friendly fire incidents like this.

While this seems true, I am not convinced it is. On the other hand, I do perceive that many have turned inward, so to speak, and are tring to find the path that will allow the real Scouting to again bloom. But, I also am seeing far too many "giving up", or simply retreating to do what they feel will work, regardless of pressures from the outside. Scouting is best in my worn views when shared with a broader group of youth and adults. BP called it aa brotherhood, and it still is if we allow it. How to allow it with the issues we face is the greater struggle. I hope my great grand nephew, who has an Eagle father, and a Scouting believer as a GF will still experience the better possibilities. Would I live to see him also become an Eagle, or simply like his GF, a firm believer in the Spirit of Scouting. We have a gathering of Leaders locally at a breakfast on Saturdy coming, and the interhanges from the first two of these recently institued sharings has proven worthwhile. The Merit Badge events, for example have been over hauled and are getting better and more focused on the actual requirements. Also, they are nown being broken up to fewer badges, instead focusing on just a dozen or fewer. Still a long way to go, and I am still fighting with them to recognize the need to put our history forward, as well as sevice beyond the "big" events. Community is still silently behind the ideas of Scouting, but they too seem to be holding their brath to see if we can fight our way back. Time will tell, and hopefully I may hold on long enough to see the larger steps.

At least in my area, parents are pressuring for Eagle. Units that do try and focus on adventure, fun, personal growth, etc instead of advancement do not get new Scouts as parents look elsewhere. Even my new troop is focusing on advancement. Yes it has. And be told by the rules lawyers you are "gate keeping," "adding to requirements," etc. @InquisitiveScouter sadly the leadership at the top is encouraging this, and they do not care what the old boots on the ground want who want to maintain standards want. Heck there is now a majority of volunteers support for them and their decline of standards.

Unfortunately, it is the new morality, which is "I got mine, the hell with the rules". I saw it when BSA started admitting girls, and Cubs were the "trial run", with supposedly separate-sex dens. Then supposedly separate-sex troops. I heard more than one "leader" on here and on FB admit that they had gone fully co-ed, because "that's what works best for us", while maintaining the charade on paper. I "retired" from Scouting in 2018 after having been a continuous member of the same Council since 1963 (Eagle 1970) as a Cub, Boy Scout, OA, Explorer, and adult leader in nearly all positions including District and Council Committees. When I let them know I would not be re-registering, the response was "ok, thanks" and thus it ended. I do not regret leaving as I feel the BSA has lost its way, as evidenced by the plummeting membership numbers.

It does. And there is "chaos" and cheating all around. Be responsible for what you do. I have been asked many times to sign off something a Scout has not earned, or that I have not witnessed. I politely refuse. This is the best example we can give. And to admit our own mistakes and how we have tried to correct them. If you go looking for offenders, they are easy to find, but you will not win the day by identifying them, pointing them out, and imposing your will to make things right. In their hearts, they know they are cheating, being dishonest, or gaming the system. So do their parents. When their heart is right, they will ask you to show the way. Pray simply that God and our consciences will convict us, so that our hearts would be right, and that we will follow the truths of the Scout Oath and Law. "So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets. Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it."

It does matter, but the train left the station long ago.

This old guy feels as if it does matter and we should stop accepting these types of things and putting some honesty back into our units and setting a better example. Probably, and sadly, you are likely to be more correct than I am, and we seem to have lost sight of much of the best Character examples we have tried to exemplify over time. But, maybe not??

I don't think either of these apply to this situation. If the narrative is correct that a 12 year old basically romper stomped a 5 year old; like how do you plan for that contingency? How is a total beat down that results in broken bones that occurs in a crowded room full of other youth, adult leaders, and parent partners even on the radar for non-jail based cub scout packs?

I am not sure what your point is here. Putting yourself at risk by not following the advice of legal is always an option; but again go read the article, get informed, follow the rules or get burned. You're welcome for my warning.

Sadly I do not think it matters. The focus has been on MBs and Eagle, no one focuses on fun, adventure, and personal growth. Besides, a lot of places are giving MBs away.

Good idea. Currently there are more options within the required list than when I was a scout, but not like before. Apparently these always fluctuate. Sadly what is not fluctuating is the continued erosion of the mB part of the program by summer camps, "universities" and troop only counselors. Scouts are less and less benefiting from the mB process by having the badge be the sole aim.

One of the things that has I have often felt as a leader is that the concept of breadth in merit badge options should be reinstated. IN the fifties and sixties we had the required badges of the time, but also a "selection" from a number of categories which broadened the picture. It was similar to the once required college breadth for graduation that included classes from the less common areas, including art and music. That, in my opinion, leads to a bit more depth of knowledge and the world in general. What might be the thoughts on this being reinstated in a more modern manner?

This is a good point. For those of us at the far end of the org of a large corporation, legal requirements are just that, requirements. I was on a church board with someone who was pretty high up in a large org. When we said that legal said we shouldn't have wine at a church auction, some of were like that is settle, legal has spoken. This person made it clear "that is the advice from legal, but legal doesn't set the business direction". That was an eye opener for me when you are at the level of a company that sets the direction which may or may not align with legal.