Eagle92

AMULLS, Welcome and YES GET INVOLVED! I also moved around alot, try 5 different councils in 7 years with being registered in one of those councils during 2 separate time frames. It was worth it, and gave me a bunch of ideas on how scouting is done aroudn the US and what can work.

Yep it's possible, but I don't know how it's done or how the paperwork works out. I was registered in 2 troop for 2 years. I was registered and active with my primary troop, aka Old Troop, and met weekely with them. Then a troop was created that's sole purpose was to go to Canada for a 50 Miler expediation. That troop was made up of scouts already registered with troop throughout the district, met a few times to elect leaders, do fundraisers, do prep trips, etc. Once the trip was over, the troop was disbanded. Also while we were on activities with that troop, we HAD to wear the unit number for that troop.

I am also asking why no meetings over the summer. In my old troop, summer was usually when 1) we had the mosty attendance 2) the best campouts and 3) more work and play at the meetings without the parents complaining about going over the meeting times.

I'm going to play Devil's Advocate here Parents should NOT be asking ANY querstions, the PROSPECTIVE BOY SCOUT should be askig the questions of the SPL or his designate, usually a PL. On a reality note, I have the advantage of working with OA and know the challenges and benefits of all the units in my district, save two who do not participate in the OA at all. Some units are advancement oriented, but focus soo muchon it, that it appears once the skill is learned, it is not honed. Another unit is very regimented and is very similar to my old unit to a degree. Another unit has a good program and adult leaders, but b/c they are a relatively new troop, they don't have a cadre of older scouts passingon the knowledge. And I can go on and on. Just find out about the various units, have a discussion with your son, and then let him visit and make his own decision.

Form somoene who has "been there, done that," I would call all the instructors and give them a heads up and an option to come or not. I would also contact the 1 individual who registered in advance and inform them of the situation AFTER contacting the instructors. I was suppose to conduct an all morning training one time for membership. Took me a week to prep, 1 hour to drive to the training 30 minutes to set up, and I had no one attend. I was frustrated and ticked off, but at least I was a pro at the time and it was part of the job.

I personally like the Eagle candidate showing up with a almost outgrown shirt that has "tan lines" from where he's changed temp insignia and removed patrol patches from his uniform, a necker that has a few unremovable stains from when he used it for FA, a MB sash that is a little small from when he bought the regular size a young First Class Scout, and pants that are obviously second hand, and well worn. BUT he has taken the time clean and iron his uniform, and added a few religious and trail medals to the uniform. But that's me. (This message has been edited by eagle92)

Boomer, Unfortunately there are times when a scout will ignore the counseling of leaders and push on with a BOR. if that happens, the the BOR has no other choice than to deny advancement. I almost had that same situation happen. One of the scouts in my troop was a fast mover, really blowing advancement requirements like MBs and service hours out of the water. BUT he was having a very difficult time in his leadership role as PL. SPL and older scouts counseled, no dice. SM and ASMs counseled, still no dice. Finally it came down to the time where he would be ready for a Star BOR. SM and CC had a meeting of all the leaders to work out the chalenge, b/c the Scout was not going to be recommended by the SM for a BOR, and the BOR members were not going to pass him, but he was bound and determined to have his BOR. Long story short, a plan was developed to work with the young mann and was relayed to him no no uncertain terms. He followed through, leanre alot of things, and eventuially passed his Star BOR and got Eagle.

Call me old fashioned, but I like the idea of Scouts signing off on advancement, with some limits. I also like having Scouts on the BORs for T-2-1, but that is no longer acceptable, and to me that is a shame, but I digress. What limits would I have on a scout signing off? 1)PLC members only signing off EXCEPT for a scout who is appointed by the SPL and approved by the SM to do so, ie a Scout teaching FA skills to earn his FAMB. 2)All advancement sign off by scouts is limited to T-2-1. reason being is that those are the basic skills that ALL scouts should have. Going to S-L-E is more challenging and should be the SM's perogative. 3) PLs can only be signed off by SPL or ASPL, and any other senior scouts approved to do so, i.e Venture patrol members IF used on the old LC model, i.e. experienced scouts taking on essentially troop staff duties (Instructor, QM, etc) 4)IMHO only the SM should signoff on SMC for all ranks. 5) Relatives cannot sign off on advancement, i.e. brothers, cousins, etc.

A few of my observations. 1) BOR was NOT legitimate b/c the time requirement was not met. As others have noted this can cause SERIOUS problems when it comes time to get approved for Eagle. BEEN THERE, DONE THAT AND DON'T WANT ANYONE TO GO THROUGH WHAT I WENT THROUGH (caps for emphasis, not shouting). Let's just say you always want to make sure council has THEIR records straight and the registrar puts in the info as reported on the advancement report, not when she puts it into the system. 2) The illegitimate BOR was NEVER completed as the scout left before the decision was made. Again if a scout leaves BEFORE a decision is made, he has left the BOR early and it cannot continue. This really, really surprises me. A scout who is going for Life SHOULD know the process by this point, going through it for the previous 4 ranks. 3)If parents wanting to leave is the excuse for the Scout to leave the BOR early, then it should be made clear that it was the responsibility of the SCOUT to inform them that he is waiting on a decision as he should have known the process at this point. Also the parent should hav known the process as well. Edited: being asked to wait outside while deliberations are made is differnt from going outside, and leaving. And in my expereince, you can be asked to go outside twice during a BOR for deliberations. (This message has been edited by eagle92)

Now these prices were in the late 80s early 90s. Dues: $36/year paid $3/ month Monthly Campout/Hike: Varied depending upon what type, averaged approx $10/ trip x 11 months= $110 Summercamp: $95 Estimated total for average year: $240

TWH, actually it's not individual council's standards, rather it is based upon each and every individual Cub Scout, Boy Scout,Sea Scout, and Venturer and the situation they are palced in. Perfectly good example would be an old friend of mine who did first aid at a car wreck when there was the possibility that the car would lite up as gas was leaking. He was not a trained EMT, etc and but did what he had to do. Therefore he received the award with crossed palms. Then there is the 18 YO Sea Scout who is a certified YMCA lifeguard being trained as a BSA Lifeguard who rescues a very panicked and active victim while doing swim tests at summer camp, just as dangerous a situation as the one you described, but hte Sea Scout is ineligible b/c he has the training and it is a job of his, although in this situation he was a student. Then you got the 9 yo Cub Scout who has Readyman who sees a teacher having a heart attack and goes into action.

Playing Devil's Advocate here. One thing we need to remember is that even IF a SM doesn't advise a scout seek a BOR for advancement during a SMC, the SM still gave a SMC and needs to sign off on it per regs.

75th anniversary award. Don't remember the details to earn it, but do remember that I did and my lodge submitted paperwork late for it. national ran out of them too.

Yes talking to your scout service center will work. Another option would be ebay as it is collector's item. I was told National didn't make a lot of them, and that those lodges that turned in paperwork late didn't get it. trust me I was one of those scouts whose lodge turned in the paperwork late and I never got mine.

I'm going to change my view a little. I think I can see why some folks would not wear the official pants. Oldest son used his money to buy a pair of switchbacks.He got them in time for the cold weather, and I got them hemmed. He's worn them twice now: once on a campout for dinner,campfire, and chapel (about 6-8 hours total) and to a meeting last week, about (2-3 hours max) getting him dressed, I notice that the crotch is coming apart. While he did wear them, with a safety pin, I can tell you I'm not happy about the situation. Yes I know about the lifetime guarantee, and I may be taking advantage of that since all I need to to is zip off the portion I hemmed and replace the body. Still not happy

Also let's not forget that if you have some specialized training, i.e. BSA Lifeguard, then the rescues may be expected of you, i.e. water rescues are expected of BSA Lifeguards.

Stosh, Not trying to argue with you, and in fact admire your pthriftyness. Very similar background, except I haven't been divorced yet,(close due to Scouting though), and I was stupid enough got to a private university for the BA, and then got a useless MA resulting in over $30K in student debt that I am in the process of paying off now. Also ditto on the mortgage, in process of paying off. What I am trying to say is that while a scout saves up the money to buy his uniform, whether new or used, why not get something similar for the time being? One example, while my oldest saved up to buy his uniform shorts over the summer, he had a pair of navy blue shorts he wore temporarily. Also he had a pair of blue pants that were similar to the switchbacks that I was prepared for him to wear until he bought his switchbacks just before a cold campout (I hate hemming but got them ready in time!). On a different note how many units have Uniform Closets? I know my pack is just starting one, and the idea I proposed is to "sell" the uniforms for $1-$1.50 an item. From my experience folks take better care and have more pride in the uniform if they buy it themselves. Know I and my friends did growing up, and now oldest has alot of pride in his uniform that he bought.

One interesting thing I should note. About 6 or 7 years after we left the original CO, they got a new IH. He was an Eagle, and wanted to know why there wasn't a troop at the church. In those short years, the church changed so much again that no one remembered us. So they started a troop, which was very surprised to learn there once was a troop.(This message has been edited by eagle92)

I have to agree that a new uniform IS expensive. But it's very doable to get experienced unifoms on the cheap. Don't know if the thrift stores is true or not, does sound plausible though. But I can tell you folks will go into lcoal distributorships, and even nationally owned scout shops, get uniform items for Halloween and Mardi Gras costumes. Had that happen to me twice when I worked for national, and used the old, "can I see your memerbship" routine to the dismay of my manager wanting the sale. Wanted to know how I knew the girls buying the den leader uniforms were fakes and told her #1 know the girls from college, and #2 heard them mention using the uniforms as costumes for their sorority party. But I digress. While my old troop wasn't 100% officially uniformed, you couldn't tell it from a distance when I first joined and they had the cargo pockets on the sides of the pants. And once they got rid of the cargo pockets you couldn't you tell unless you looked at the snaps of the pants. While we were not 100% officially uniformed, everyone wore green shorts/pants. I didn't mean to open up a can or worms. I just wanted to knwo why some folks don't think of alternatives to the official pants. A blue pair of pants very similar to the offical CS ones are out there from Walmart. I rather someone wearing imitation stuff than jeans if they can't afford the offical stuff. Trust me, been there, done that. But that is my opnion.

Pack, Welcome aboard. My advice would be to start talking to other organizations about chartering your pack. My troop went through 3 COs in about 4 years. Long story short, the demographics of the original CO changed as well as the IH who was not supportive of scouting. the troop started loosing storage space, meeting rooms on the same nite we had for 20 years, etc. The writing on the wall was when there was a break in to our storage closet. The straw that broke the camel's back was when the CO used a brand new fiberglass storage shed as the background for the fair's dart board. We lost over $10K of equipment due to all the holes in the shed: tents and tarps mildewed, broken lanterns, etc. We looked for and found a new CO, and got the old CO to sign off our number since we were almost 25 years old. Now the 2nd CO's IH welcomed us with open arms, and we moved there without a hitch. It was a great relationship until he left and a new IH came in, one who was bitterly opposed to the BSA. We started looking for a new CO after the 2nd IH called the cops on us for trespassing b/c we were late cleaning up an ECOH. Luckily no one was arrested as the officer responding was an ASM and thought the IH was talking about someone else trespassing, as the CO was near a playground. 3rd CO had a pack but no troop. Again welcomed with open arms and the relationship has been wonderful. Most of the members are now coming from the school and church, parents are involved with church council, and the troop has been there over 15 years.

Welcome to the boards At the CS level, which TCs are now filly part of, "Do Your Best" s the key tp ALL advancement. So yes sign them off as they go along.

If memory serves, the BSA uniform and US Army uniform were nearly identical, and one reason was that the US Army supplier was also the BSA supplier. I would go with the reenactor route. harder to get proper insignia though.

As most of you know, I'm a medical librarian. If you think healthcare is bad now, just wait until this bill passes. While reform does need to occur, a good bit of the reason healthcare is so expensive is that medicare/medicaid does not pay the full cost of of the actual healthcare expenses, leaving the rest of us with private insurance to pick up the slack. Also if universal healthcare is so great, why do so many folks who can afford medical healthcare out of pocket in the US do so, when they have universal healthcare in their home countries, ie Canada, UK, France, etc? Also if universal healthcare is so good, then why is France looking to the US as a viable healthcare model to reforem their system, and the person who basically created Canadacare sayignt hat it is a wreck and needs to be reformed?

Ah yes the end of year inventory. Always hated those.

Yes it is of interest and THANK YOU! (YES I'M SHOUTING AT YOU )