Eagle69

It's been 30 years since I went through WB and it was a Walking (Backpacking) Course. We didn't do all of the stuff that went on with a normal static course, but if you didn't catch on to fact of what everybody's role was you would of had trouble with the course. To this day I remember two things from my course 1. Asking the Senior Patrol Leader a question about something related to the day's schedule of events and being asked "Did you ask your Patrol Leader" thus teaching the chain of leadership 2. my patrol was always late because we couldn't get our act together and be a patrol instead of 8 individuals. We always got sung to. The last weekend we sat down and made a plan so that everybody had a job and if he finished his job he was to go help someone else. We were on time that weekend for everything and were so proud. The course was a lot of fun and informational

It is possible to have one trip be able to get two awards, but for the Merit Badge part it depends on what the Counselor says and thinks. Looking at the requirements there are a lot of prerequisites that would have needed to be done before you went that relate directly to what you did while on the trip. There are some common requirements between the two.

From what I remember hearing the Arkansas site was outside of Little Rock to the West along Ark Hwy 10 & 9. There is large amounts of wooded acreage out that way that could be had for the right price. I heard that the powers that be had even offered to build a large lake for aquatics use. Little Rock has a major airport, two major Interstates 30 & 40, 1 major US Highway 67, is close to two government installations (Little Rock AFB and the Pine Bluff Arsenal).

We here in Arkansas would be happy to have them and we were on the final list.

If it's a younger scout there might be an issue, but with an older Scout I see no problem. My older boys tented by themselves lots of times. If all of your tents are designed for 2 boys then you would be crowding things to put 3 to a tent.

As has been said you can walk around and look, but not participate. If you go be prepared for a lot of walking, a lot of people, and long lines. I went in 89 and felt like I was doing my 5 mile hike again to go visit the Council Contingent in it's campsite, they were that far back. I didn't get lunch because of the lines and was rescued with food by a member of our contingent. To get something that night before the big arena show I stood in line for over an hour.

I can't speak for now, but 40 years ago when I was on Camp Staff we got off at Noon on Saturday and had to be back before Noon on Sunday. The Troops usually started arriving right after lunch and we had to be available in Uniform to escort them to their campsite, Health Lodge, Pool, etc. I doubt if our Camp Director would have would have been happy with you if you told him you were going to be later, for any reason. His philosophy was that you signed up for the job knowing the requirements and schedule and if you weren't there then somebody else would have to pick up the slack so maybe you weren't needed.

Ok, I'm a bit confused here. There was a comment in this thread saying something like "make sure your MB Counselors are registered/approved by District/Council or the Merit Badges signed off by them will be null and void". Who is going to know who signed off on a boy's Merit Badges? As far as I know in our council nobody ever sees a blue card outside of the troop advancement chair. I was SM for 28 years (1979-2007) and now am an ASM and have never seen a blue card leave the troop. Shoot we do Merit Badges without a blue card ever being done at times. I'm sure if I asked about a District/Council Merit Badge Counselor List I'd get a blank look from out DE.

1. No 2. 1969 - at least two years before my 18th bday

If the SM is present then it falls on him to make the call and he is ultimately responsible for the decision. I would hope he would consult with the other adults present and any youth leaders who might be more knowledgeable than he about certain things. If majority feel that what they are about to do isn't safe and SM disagrees, then someone in the majority needs to step up and do what is right. I started as SM at the ripe old age of 26 and was always happy to have older adults around me. Sometimes they didn't know any more about things than I did, but it was always good to sound them out and see if their gut feeling is the same as mine.

As long as all requirements on the Eagle Application down through #6 have been signed off prior to the 18th birthday you are fine. We just did an Eagle Board this week on a young man that was 40 days past his 18th birthday. No problem.

In my troop we did it all. The Eagle Kit we present is the standard one that you get at the Scout office since it is free if the unit is a FOS participant. I never got into the letters bit, but we planned the ceremony, bought the cake, reserved the church for the reception and ceremony, developed and printed the programs. The Scout got his own speaker.

To say something to him about staggering the number of boys is a bubble call. Yes you want him to learn by doing and have to figure out how to fix his problem of too many at one time and not enough jobs, but I've reviewed many an Eagle Project write up and seen things like "I've going to do X" and you know that he is going to have a certain tool in order to do "X" but it isn't mentioned anywhere in the write up so you bring it up rather than letting him get to the execution stage and everything halts because he doesn't have and can't easily get the tool he needs.

You can read the requirements here: http://www.scouting.org/BoyScouts/AdvancementandAwards/MeritBadges/lifeg.aspx

I was SM for 28 years of a Troop sponsored by the United Methodist Church and for the most part all the church did was give us a place to meet and a small donation every year. We had a Methodist Men organization during that time, but they didn't have anything to do with the Troop, we were chartered to the church. In the 43 years we existed the church never got interested in our finances and has no idea and doesn't care that we have a bank account with over $1000 in it for a non-existent troop. I can somewhat understand about the church not wanting to funnel donations to Scouts through the church. Except on rare occasions we discourage members writing checks for anything other than the Church Budget. It is a headache to keep up with. Personally if I was the SM I wouldn't want it to be done that way since that then makes you accountable to the church and it's members.

In our council once the packet comes back from National it is mailed to the Scoutmaster.

I was on the District Committee when I finished mine and had it done at one of our meetings. My reasoning was that these were my peers and they would understand better than anybody else the significance of the award.

Just checked the paper's website and found this updated story. Bass Pro will pay them, but it is still a bad decision on the troop's part. http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/020509dnmetscout.1be980b0.html

Here is an interesting story from the Dallas Morning News regarding a Scout Troop that let their boys be used as laborers for Bass Pro Shops expecting a big payout and in the end all they got was $200 so now they are talking about suing. http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/020409dnmetscoutwork.3e70d53.html

2 hours and 10 minutes for an Eagle Board of Review is ridiculous. It shouldn't last more than an hour.

I have to agree with Kenk, that is a cheap tent and is basically a piece of junk. Here is a nice A-Frame from Eureka that is sold by a company called Campmor: http://www.campmor.com/outdoor/gear/Product___40324 or a Dome http://www.campmor.com/outdoor/gear/Product___28225 As a Scout Leader I've used both tents and like them. Campmor has lot's more tents just go to www.campmor.com

As has been stated, each Troop and Council/District has it's own rules, but when I was SM more times than not the boy had already checked into several different projects before we met to talk about the project and there was nothing wrong with that. If he hadn't then I would make suggestions on groups that could be contacted to see if they had anything to be done that might qualify as an Eagle Project. I think it shows good initiative by the boy.

Even in Arkansas I've been camping in the teens, but I knew the boys knew how to handle it and had the equipment to handle it. As has been stated if the parent doesn't want their child to go don't argue, know your kids and their abilities and equipment and make your decision based on that.

With it being for a 14 year old boy, I'd vote for synthetic for the same reasons the other poaster said; if it gets damp it will still do a decent job of keeping him warm whereas down won't and the possibility of it getting wet is high.

In our District the Troop contacts the Eagle Review people and tells them the Scout's preferred time, date and place and if that doesn't work for the District people we check calendars to find a match. The EBOR of review consists of a District Rep and Troop supplied people. The District Rep usually takes and active role and guides the other members of the Board.