Eagle92

never been to Northern Tier, But did a 64 miler in Canada. Plus anothe rtrip in FL. A couple of things I notice are missing. 1) a few garbage bags. They are super lightweight, and have lots of uses. 2) twist ties. see above 3) Small transceiver. On the FL trip, we had an emergency that called for an airlift. Luckily we were able to get to a park and use a phone. But NT is pure wilderness if I'm not mistaken. If that was to happen on my Canada trip, I don't know what the results would have been. 4) Wide brimmed hat. I use a boonie hat. One guy I met uses a Vietnamese rice paddy hat. He actually had it set up were some things were stored in it. I second no ponchos. Learned the hard way. HOWEVER, you can do a "Rambo" and tie the painter around you. It helps, but not as much as a rain jacket. Also second good jungle boots as wet shoes. I bought a cheap pair prior to a prep trip. Heel and part of the sole came of. Get the real McCoys and not imitations. Somethign I've been told and haven't tried is Vitamin C tablets if you are using some type of chemical purification. Vitamin C cuts down on the taste I'm told.

@FSH LOL UR FNE

Short, You're evil, I LIKE IT!

John, I believe, stressing believe, that the que feature for online rechartering is a result of membership verification. Don't quote me on it, and as you can guess a very important topic to me.

'Groove, 1) Welcome to the forums. 2) If you offer a competitor to Troopmaster, and Packmaster as well, then GOOD LUCK as it will be an uphill battle. My suggestions would be easier to use, CHEAPER, and able to hook up to SCOUTENT as some requirements off the top of my head. I'm sure others can add can other ideas. I am serious and sincere in the good luck comment. I am in the process of replacing a well known, respected, and, by the key users, loved product with something that is new, just as easy to use, and cheaper. BUT it is not as well known as it has been aroudn half as long as the old product. While the new product does not have the depth of content of the old product, new product has other items included and affordable options the old product have priced beyond our budget. Plus the new content is strictly evidenced based, so there is a lot of science behind it. Again good luck.

We didn't sell popcorn, we did cleanups instead. But the incentive was whatever you earned, you could use for your activities during your time in the troop: dues, trips, etc. Troop didn't take a cut out of the youth's money. HOWEVER, the committee did set up a concession stand as well, and that is where troop funds came from.

OGE, I think the OP is in refrence to ad hoc patrols, or troops creating ringers. I could be wrong on that. I think that the normal patrols should be used for events. You shouldn't create ad hoc patrols. Just my $.02 worth

A few comments. 1) 99.999% of public libraries will have computer access for folks. And most folks do have access to them. 2) Most schools have computer labs that he can work on during the free time. 3) Even if he cannot find a public computer, someone in his patrol or troop will have one he can use. That said, this slip does not sound right.

I said some things in Scoutfish's spin-off thread, so please bear with the repetition. The BSHB gives us the foundationof the entire scouting program: the patrol. Everyone else is just support: QMs, instructors, Buglers, SPLs, SMs, District folks, ad nauseum. If a troop is not large enough for support roles or you don't need them, then don't use them. If your troop is large enough for them or you need. then use them And to define need, I am not talking for advancement purposes, but for keeping the patrols in your troop functioning well.

'Fish 100% correct that Scouting will survive. that is as long as we continue to have passionate leaders, and youth wand excitement and adventure. One of the great things about Scouting is that it is adaptable. When you look at the history of Scouting, BP didn't want to create a new program. Rather he wanted to help existing programs like Boys' Brigade by given them info on scouting. When the articles came out, troops started forming on their own and scouting came about. One thing is that while Scouting is a national organization, and really an international one, the boot hits the trail at the local level. the BSHB gives us the foundation of the organization, the patrol. Everything else: QMs, SPLs, Historians, SMs, Districts, councils, ad nauseum are just support. So to paraphrase an old infantry cartoon I saw: you're either in a patrol or your just support.

By stating that the members of the winning patrol also get the honor of serving on staff. Most of the camporees I've been involved in have adults in charge of events so that youth can participate. So makign it an honor to join the adult staff may be an incentive.

SSS, Sorry to hear about it, but don't let it get you down. After I left being a DE, I said I would continue on as a UC, completed a application, etc. etc. My old DFS refused to approve the application, and I was not registered. This despite the fact that I was still attending district meetings, doing unit commish service, and best of all attended the district workship and had him sign my "trained" card as we had no SE. When the District Commish, found out I wasn't registered, let's just say I would have loved to have been in the room for that one . Moral is things do get better.

Howabout making the winning patrol members serve on staff the next year? Or howabout Life and Above are needed on staff?

I used the bleach and water solution 2xs on a canvas teepee that had mold.. Worked well removing the odor and getting the bulk of the stains out, but there was still some discoloration. As for old tents, if you take care of them, they will last a very long time. My troop did away with their original tents 20 years after purchasing them. And they only replaced them b/c our shed sprung a bunch of leaks and and they got mildewed beyond repair. That's a different story though .

I second Mike Row for BSA's Chief Scout.

MD, My son had the complete opposite. Jambo scouts and other he approached were very helpful and courteous. Then again he was a CS and was trying to trade patches.

One thing that may help elimnate ad hoc patrols is uniform inspections. Everyone must have the same PM on their shoulder, and no patrol has 2 folks with PL patches on. EDITED: a group of folks with 2 or more PMs amongst them and 2 folks with different PMs and wearing PL patches. Unfortunately I've seen that.(This message has been edited by eagle92)

I know the copyright lawyers scared the heck out of me.

I am a big proponent of training. But I also do not beleive in wasting valuable time. I know I have a hard enough time balencing things. That said, if you read the fine print somewhere in the IOLS manual, sorry I don't have it so I can't cite it for ya, it says that individuals with the IOLS skills can "test out" of the course by demonstraiting them to an instructor. Many folks don't know about it, I know I didn't when I was doing training, but it is i the book somewhere in mice type. As already suggested, become a trainer. I know one guy who is now offially trained in his current POR, despite his 3 WB beads, b/c he has finally taken IOLS by teaching it at Summer camp for new leaders. He definately had the skills down pact as he was a Camping, Hiking, Backpacking, Cooking, etc MBC, he just didn't have time to take the course with his involvement with a troop, crew, and on the district committee.

RS, Don't know if it was a council organized trip, or a bunch of volunteers who organized it, But when I went to Canada, we were underbudget, and everyone got about $20 back.

Pack, In all seriousness I am glad public schools are doign well somewhere. Unfortunately that is not the case where I am at now, nor where I grew up. Public Schools were so bad, that nearly half the student population is in a private/parochial school. I know folks who worked for the public school system in various roles, i.e. custodians, food services, teachers, and even two principles, who sent their kids to private schools. My mom was one of those. One intersting thing about Louisiana, under LA law, every student is entitled to access educational resources: buses, books, etc. So in elementary school, irregardless of if they went to public or private school. We started after the public schools, so the busses could do 2 routes. In HS those who lived in the parish (county) it was located in were leigible for free student bus passes on the RTA. Also all books were provided by the state, except for those religious curriculum books, and those the schools decied to use instead. Then it came outof our pocket.

Kudu, They have already watered-down BSA Lifeguard IMHO by removing the boating aspects, and, from what I've been told, the "hand to hand combat," i.e. escapes, releases, and holds of the old program, so that it is really an ARC program with BSA modifications. heck they even use ARC videos now. So please don't give anyone more ideas about BSA Lifeguard

One of my most goosebumpy memories is during my HS JROTC unit's Change of Command ceremony in which they did "Echo Taps" with two buglers on opposite ends of the field.

VE, Sometimes I "cheat" in that I'll wear my Venturing, and most recently Sea Scout, uniform pants to work, and then bring the shirt on a hanger. Only time someone called me out on it was when I attended a council CS meeting in a Venturing uniform. Had to remind them that Venturers can support Cub Scout programs, i.e. den chiefs, staffing events etc.

HICO, Please, please, please don't get me started on the ncentennial uniform fiasco . I ran into something like 10+ pages on MYSCOUTING on the topic of the stupid changes, lack of info/constantly changing information on the new uniform, and lack of stock.