echaney

Thank you everyone for your great advice and input. We now have options and know what we will be doing. To finalize and briefly answer eisely, in a perfect world you are correct about the charter removing a scout. However in our case, the Troop does whatever it wants and the charter blindly accepts all decisions without investigation. Basically the SM and CC hold all the power. As for my son's documentation, the previous SM signed off the project indication all merit badges are completed and POR have been met. This was done before the project was approved by Council. I do know that the SM will not sign off that the project was completed, but according to the advancement guide there are ways around this. In reality, all my son needs is the signature of the sponsor of the project. We have since moved to a new troop, and I laid all of this out to the new SM. He is willing to help my son finish his Eagle rank advancement. He knows firsthand what my son has done for the other Troop and has seen his leadership in action. Also several other scouts (5 as of writing this) and their families have also transferred to this new troop and they have also seen my son's leadership involvement. My son will get his Eagle rank advancement at some point, whether he has to do a new project or not. He is determined and the previous SM cannot do anything about it. In fact, my son is considering working on the Hornaday Award. I know my tale sounds extreme and one-sided, but the facts are what they are. I am not imaginative enough to dream up this kind of drama or would wish this upon anyone. I am proud of my son's attitude throughout this ordeal and he will be a better person because of this. I would never wish this mess upon any boy. Thank you all again!

NACAP, Thank you for your insight. This is exactly the kind of questions I have asked others and have not yet received a clear answer. I have often wondered if the SM's actions could be considered bullying. I guess I don't understand what exactly constitutes bullying. Would you care to expand? Thank you.

..."It is more like scout was kicked out and 70% of the troop decided to walk with him in support"... You are correct. This is exactly what has happened. I originally posted this question because I was wondering if this sort of thing is common in scouting, and maybe to have some insight on other peoples' experience. All of these comments have been extremely helpful, and I welcome and appreciate all.

Thank you, Beavah,for your insight and perception. Perhaps more information should be provided. Yes I am the father of the scout, and yes I am emotionally involved, however I am trying to keep an open mind about the situation and not let emotions rule reason. My former position in the troop was ASM. I say former because I don't currently have a troop since my son was removed. My son is considered by everyone else in the troop as the "model scout". He has helped many younger scouts obtain up to 1st class rank advancement. The decision to ask him to leave was made solely by SM and CC (whom he handpicked for the job) and only a couple of CM (not the whole committee or even a quorum). There have been do documented behavioral issues with my son, only his disagreement with SM over whose project it is. As for the project itself, the SM approved it. However when it came time to do the project it did not fit into his schedule and as such he pulled his support when my son wanted to do it anyway (Council did tell us the SM did not need to be present at the time of the project). The SM became furious with my son and sent him a long, nasty e-mail announcing his pulling of support. According to Council, a SM cannot pull support like this and the e-mail was very unprofessional. I have this e-mail, but don't feel this is the appropriate place to post it. Next the SM went to the sponsor (a young school teacher) and badgered her to the point where 2 day before the project (which she just a few days prior said she would be there and was looking forward to participating) she basically copied parts from the SM's message in an e-mail and pulled her support. She has since told other people she felt in the middle and was uncomfortable. There were no holes in the project. The project was initially approved by Council, SM, and sponsor and went as written up and planned. Again this is not just opinion, but facts that have been documented with our Council. The Troop has been around for over 50 years, and the SM has been in position for 7 years. He has a reputation in our area of skirting the requirements to get whatever he wants. Council does not particularly care for him. It is a known fact the the District Executive does not care for SM at all. The district representative is helping my son because she sees everything the is wrong with this situation. She also runs a Crew in town and has invited my son to join. I don't think she would do this if he is at fault and troublesome as the SM makes him out to being. I agree scouters mainly see the good in boys. However this SM only sees the good when the boy agrees with me. When the boy does not agree, the boy is disrespectful (SM words, not mine). The COR and CO have been informed of all that is going on, but chose not to get involved. If I were wrong, why has 70% of the troop already left? Finally, I agree that you are only seeing one side of the situation. But lets look at the documented facts. The SM intentionally rejected a council-approved project. SMs are supposed to help boys, not stand in their way and definitely not kick them out without reasonable cause. Again any insight and suggestions are extremely welcomed, whether agreed or not. I have nothing to hide. Thank you for your input.

Unfortunately this story gets worse. The SM kicked the Scout out of the Troop because in essence the boy was acting like a boy scout. The SM handpicked the CC and as such had a "secret vote" only including those registered CM that were in his corner to pass the vote. The rest of the CM knew nothing about the situation. The scout and his family are currently looking for other Troops, and numerous other boys are leaving the Troop. My fear is a couple of the boys may become so frustrated they will leave scouting altogether. I am working with our local Council to attempt to convince these boys to remaining in scouting somewhere. I am not making any of this up, and it is all well documented with our local Council as well as charter organization. The fact remains that in my opinion the SM is mentally unstable and as time goes by proves it more and more. Because of his great attitude, the Scout in question will be fine but there must be some way to get the SM removed before he hurts other boys. To answer Shortridge's question, the scout quietly asked his friends, schoolmates, and other scouts to help him finish the project. A leader from Council is overseeing this process and is acting as his adviser. The sponsor will not sign off on the project, but the Scout is good with this because he knows the items he created are badly needed for the students of the elementary school, which was the intended beneficiary for the project.

Has anyone heard of a SM that intentionally sabotages an Eagle Project? That happened in our Troop basically because the SM always takes control of the boys projects, and one Scout fought to reclaim HIS project and as a result the SM pulled his support (according to 2011 BSA Guidelines to Advancement this is not to happen). The SM then went so far as to badger the Eagle Project sponsor until she got so frustrated she pulled her support 2 days before the project. While taking the higher ground, the scout still completed the "project" and donated the end products to the school, as was originally planned. He did this not for the Eagle credit, but because in his opinion it is the right thing to do for the school/community. Now he is forced to complete another Eagle Project, which again he is good with because as he says "it is for the community". Our local BSA council has been notified all along of this situation and is supporting the Scout, but the fact is the SM intentionally sabotaged the project and did other unspeakable things to the Scout. The charter organization is turning its back to the whole situation and the BSA council is doing nothing about the SM's actions. I just want to know if this is a common occurrence? Thank you in advance for any insights.