Eagle92

Dead, Welcome to the forum. In reference to the Tenderfeet in your troop, it's my understanding from when BSA has doen this before that, that one the next rank is valid, i.e. Tenderfoot Scouts can contuine to use the old Second Class requirements, but must use the new requirements thereafter. Trust me it's a pain, scouts in the situation hate having to deal with the stuff (trust me on that one ) but it's a fact of life that life ain't fair at times. Just be thankful that they aren't Star Scouts or Life Scouts.

What's the deal with trailer's and popups? Seriously I've never seen adults in them until I moved from LA. Now you go to an OA event, and they are all over the parking lot.

Eagledad, Then you may be more in favor of what the Finns do in memory serves. They are coed at Cubs, then split into Guides and Scouts, but essentially workign on the same stuff and advancement, then coed again for the Venturing age.

Actually I was refering to callign the Field Uniform an activity uniform or Class A's. As for uniform pants I am all for pants, but uniform shorts are fine as well.

Yep that is the form. As for having to attach the blue cards to an advancement report and being double checked against the council rooster, WOW! My district is lucky to have an updated list, let alone the council.

I don't recall a definition of active for Cub Scouts, but I would guess it's the same definition used for Boy Scouts: being registered with a unit.

The way I've seen it done, and I beleive is suppose to be done but don't have the Advancement guidelines in front of me, is that whenyou fill out your application to be a MBC, there is anotehr form that you fill out from national that lists teh MBs you want to teach, and whether you got the expereicne through Work, training, or Hobby. For example I am currently a FA MBC b/c of work, Swimming, Canoeing, Lifesaving, and Rowing MBC b/c of training and a Indian Lore MBC becaus eit's a hobby ( I dance Northern Traditional and Southern Straight; ) ) The advancement committee is suppose to review the applications and the extra form to see if you truly haev the expereince to teach the MB. Now does it happen that way everywhere, no it doesn't.

Oak, Problem is a MBC is supposed to be registered as such to cousel a MB. Grant you I know that in some districts/councils they don't even have uptodate lists of MBC and aslo teh advancement report that is turned in doesn't list who has the MBC the scout used, but by the regs a MBC must be registered as such, in addition to any other registrations.

It depends on what the topic is if council can add to the rules. For example, council's can age an age requirement for shooting sports, ban sheath knives outright, etc if it violates local laws (NY gun laws, some counties in NC) of if they feel it's a safety issue. Advancement they usually leave alone b/c that is BSA policy made without regulations from outside influences, and are easily appealable. As for the council policy on no more than 5 MBs from a single counselor unless they limit the number of MBs a counselor can teach, I don't see how that's enforcable since SMs select the MBCs a scout goes to. At one time I was an MBC for Swimming, Canoeing, Lifesaving, Motorboating, Rowing, First Aid, and Sailing as I was duel certified as a BSA Lifeguard and YMCA Lifeguard Instructor, with some expereince via the Sea Scouts.

That's WAY below 40 Degrees Yep I understand where ya coming from SAFETY FIRST!

SMT, A few ideas to help with Webelos/new scouts and winter camping. 1) start inviting Webelos to troop campouts as Webelos 1s. That way you A) have a head start on recruiting them as most troops wait until Web 2 year and B) they start becomign more familiar with your scouts and parents with the leaders 2) Have a few older scouts, esp the Den Chiefs if you have them, talk tot eh WDL about having a class on camping. The troop that is chartered with my pack tries to get the webelos involved early. And it seems to work as we had 8 crossover this month, and 7 went camping with the troop 2 weeks later. Also my old troop did "survival" camping as our webelos campout in February, which can get cold in SE Louisiana. We ahd folks go in and teach them some basic camping tricks to keep warm. Also went over lashings and building shelters. Webelos were divie up amongst the patrols, and each patrol worked ontheir shelter. Good time was had by all. On another note, as you can guess I am of the "get them into Boy Scouts as soon as they are eligible" school of thought so that they and their parents become comfortable with the troop, and can start getting prepared for summer camp.

Oak, Good commentary and questions. Since the event happened 12 years ago and I wasn't there, all I have to go by is hearsay from the volunteers, the questions I was asked in reference to insurance at events (and tehre was alot of those b/c of the inicdent above) and what I read in the newspaper about the courtcase. In reference to the accident itself, I don't know if it was bad or not, but there was no legal action against the council becuase of it, other than the Scouter suing to be reinstated as a leader. In reference to the insurance, again I don't know what type was involved. There may have been more involved though as I heard hearsay about other insurance matters being involved, and the SM was questioning why they were not implemented. Again that is hearsay. As for why the DE wasn't kept informed, I can understand keepign some thigns close to the chest, but when a DE doesn't find out a person is reinstated as a leader until after he sees the guy in uniform at a RT, there is a major disconnect. I will say this from what I have gathered and knowing how the SE and DFS worked, I agree with the volunteers that the rescinding of membership was to get rid of a troublesome leader.

BACK ON TOPIC, One thing I did with my TCs and their partners two weeks prior to the council's family campout in Oct was to give a very basic class on what to bring to a family camp. Some of the things I talked abuot included bringing extra blankets, putting more underneath you than above you, wearing only PJs and a hat, placing clothes and hat inside the sleeping bag, etc. Also made sure that yes they could just come for the day too, leaving whenever they felt like it.

Well i'm mad at my UC 'cause he's moving to SC My UC is one of the most dedicated and motivated folks I've ever met. See him at least once a month, if not more, attends teh special events, i.e. CSFC, cubmobile, etc, and has a world of advice when needed. Like I said he's moving to SC in the very near future Our lost will be someone's gain as he is addicted to Scouting like I am.

Hendricks, Not only units but entire districts and councils. One thing that I did was conduct a training survey of all troop leaders in the district, as that was my area of responsibility at the time. I created a form using all of the available codes at the time and distributed to all the troops. those that were returned, I copied, transcribed to make it easier for the registrar to input into the system, and gave it tot he council to input. Alot of councils are going that route, especially with 2011 coming about ( or 2010 for thsoe BETA councils)

THREAD HIJACK Stosh, Now I'm sure some of your hardware will fall into the historical/ heirloom exemption, just avoid Charlotte and Chapel Hill among a few others to be safe. Goldsboro is a safe bet, but we also haev a battlefield nearby that have the living historians coming to.

FREEZE, UNIFORM POLICE YOU ARE UNDER ARREST FOR USING IMPROPER UNIFORM TERMINOLOGY! (caps for humor) Seriously, I don't think anyone will have a problem with terminology, just remember that at one time BSA did have an official Activity Uniform ( the aforementioned khaki shorts and polo shirt options)to go with the Field Uniform and the Dress Uniform. EDITED: Also remember that for the longest time some folks had a problem with the terms Class A, etc, and you will find that term is a few BSA publications.(This message has been edited by eagle92)

Sctdad, Thanks for throwing gas on the fire I'm BALOO trained, will be at NCS while you are at WB21C (you lucky dog), And I am holding off on the OWL training until after next year when national comes out with the new weekend program for all outdoor training, gonna serve on staff for that one since I already have BALOO and staffed IOLS before. Everyone else, Thank you for the info and please keep it coming. our CDSC is small, only 27 cubs last year, and the program has stagnated some. One problem I see is getting the volunteers, and I htink a tot lot will help attract some more folks.

Stosh, Be careful in NC with your knife. I just ordered a repro 1800s knife from CCTP to use camping. I was advised by a retired LEO that there are some state prohibitions to some knives, and certain counties and cities have laws prohibiting knives over a 3 inch blade. Hopefully since my knife is a repro of a historical knife, it falls into a class exempted by state laws, ie historical and heirloom weapons. County and city laws don't have those exemptions from my quick internet search.

I'm willing to concede the 'urban scouting," affect on the BSA. I was basing that on my own personal observations. However the numbers fudging I won't. I heard from professional friends about the "numbers game" one council was playing. I read about the numbers fudging and lawsuits that otehr councils played. And I saw it first hand in another council. Heck I quit my job as a DE b/c I wouldn't play that game. A Scout is TRUSTWORTHY. Upon reflection, another reason why I say this was common place was that the numbers fudging was actually brought up 2 times in my PDL-1 class. While the staff said you don't do it and need to report the problem to your SE. But when your SE or DFS tell you point blank what to do, or it's your job, some folks will do what it takes to save themselves So TAY is a major factor in Scouting's membership stats, and thank you for posting a link to the info. But I also state that the numbers fudging is another major cause. If it wasn't such a problem, why would national create a new membership verification process?

I must have been old and feeble for the past 17 years as I just now have a child in Scouting Seriously though a few things to remember 1) BP was 50 when he started Scouting, and yes he put those 'young punks" through their paces! 2) As a British Scouter once told me "Youa re only as old as you think you are. HMM thinking about #2 above, "I'm only 3 1/2 years old"

Oak, Actually I know of a leader who violated G2SS, i.e. he let Scouts ride in the back of the truck at a council event, that had major insurance problems with BSA. I don't know if it was the accident insurance or the liability insurance that wouldn't cover the accident (I beleive it was the BSA's liabuility insurance that wouldn't cocver it), but the gentleman eventually had his membership revoked. This caused me an unbeleivable amount of grief as the accident happened before I arrived in the district as the DE, yet I had to deal with the consequences with my volunteers. SE and DFS kept everything close to the vest, and I had to learn about the accident and lawsuit to reinstate membership via the local newspaper reports. Heck the SE and DFS didn't even tell me when the court reinstated him while the lawsuit was pending (this was pre-Dale decision in 1998). Lot of Scouters were very concerned, and some viewed the revokign of membership as payback from the SE and DFS as the volunteer was a very long-time Scouter who was critical of some of the decisions and policies of the council. Most of my volounteers viewed this as revenge.

Ok what the deal with CSDC and Totlots. Why do I need to know, well at the moment I going to be the PD this summer, and will be attending NCS in Feb or Mar (forgot the exact date and I say at the moment as I may become the AS instead). BUT I need to know ASAP because I'm in the process of revamping the entire CSDC program for my district. SO how do Tot lots work, are fees charged? What activities do they do ? Who can attend? Who supervises them, Any and all advice and recommendations on this topic are gretaly appreciated.

Everyone keeps mentioning the membership stats being down. Could part of that be the fact that membership stats have been inflated by some council, i.e. Greater AL Council et al? Could it be that the the disasterous introduction of "urban Scouting" left bad taste in folks' mouths that lasts until today? Could it be that the Total Available Youth (TAY) is not as high as BSA's heyday in the 1960s, when all the baby boomers were members? In reference to my first question, I beleive that today's numbers are more accurate than earlier ones, esp. since BSA has implemented a new accountability program, and I bet our number do grow, albeit modestly. In reference to my sceond question, urban scouting DID leave a bad taste, and it will take some time to get over it. Yes we are still facing that moneky on our backs. In reference to my thrid question, if I remember correctly US census data did show more available youth than in 2000 census, sorry don't have the tiem to look for the exact stats. So more TAY= More Members. A more accdurate look would be %TAY involved in Scouting.

OGE, While I am not involved in GSUSA, a good friend of mine has been until his daughter joined Venturing. He's an Eagle, served his country, yadda, yadda, yadda. The rules and regs he had to follow since he's male could be called severe compared to how the BSA treats its female leaders.