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I have to agree with Bob White. I never thought of Webelos as preparatory for boy scouts. It is its own program and should be run for fun. The extent to which the boys can influence the program through planning and direct participation, the better. But it still should not be looked as a kind of kindergarten for boy scouts.

Our area used to be a pear producing area before it became urbanized. There are still some remnants of orchards around and groups of pear trees on some church property. Some of these trees are possibly over 100 years old and still producing fruit. In the fall various groups go in and pick the pears and take them to homeless shelters and the like. I believe some scout units help out with this.

The adult patrols I have worked with are rather fluid, but the adults on larger outings do usually cook by themselves and try to stay out of the way. On backpacking treks and other significant expeditions with smaller numbers of people the youth and adults usually do everything together just to simplify the logistics.

Similar to the system described by rlculver415, our troop in Southern California planned board of review nights in advance and put them on the activity calendar. These were scheduled about two weeks ahead of courts of honor and were not scheduled on regular troop meeting nights. There were a lot of advantages to this because everyone knew well in advance what the schedule was. It was still the boy's obligation to contact the advancement coordinator to get on the calendar. Emergency boards could also be scheduled if there was a good reason for it, such as running up against a time in grade requirement for eagle.

Was that a guidon or a full regimental flag?

Just couldn't resist adding this post. Some people just never get the word...of all the days to implement this policy. This was in North Carolina. West Stokes high School president Chelsi Zash said she was told by principal Geneva Dockery not to say the phrase "one nation under God" when she led the pledge of allegiance over the intercom on Sept. 11. War On Terror: At A Glance Join A Discussion On A Hot Topic How Much Is Your Car Really Worth? Dockery said she thought a California ruling earlier this summer declaring the pledge unconstitutional, which was later withdrawn, applied to North Carolina. Dockery allowed Zash to recite the pledge Thursday saying "one nation under God."

One can be registered with more than one unit simultaneously. This is quite common when you have multiple sons, some in cubs and some in scouts. Within a unit one is registered in a specific position and that is it. If you are registered as a generic committee member the extent of responsibilities you may take on is not visible to the system and you may wear multiple committee hats. Not advisable, but sometimes unavoidable in small units. In another thread Bob White made an interesting point that, if a chartered organization sponsors more than one unit, e.g. a pack and a troop, then the same individual must be the chartered organization representative on the roster for each unit.

I have found that the hard copies of the G2SS available in most scout services centers may be out of date. I recommend going to the BSA web site and downloading and printing one from that source. It is somewhat cheaper, more time consuming, but also more likely to be current.

According to the committee guidebook, the advancement coordinator is responsible for scheduling boards of review. We rely on the Troopmaster software. Most of the boys understand that they have to speak to our advancement coordinator (AC) regularly to update their records and they are generally pretty good about this. Therefore, when a boy gets his SM conference he usually immediately goes to the AC to advise him of his progress. Our AC attends almost all troop meetings, laptop in hand, and is readily accessible to the boys. Thus our AC usually is highly aware of who needs a BOR. As it turns out, our committee chair likes to handle most of these, so our scouts are advised to talk to him to arrange a BOR. This works well for us and does put some burden on the individual scout to take the initiative. In a well functioning unit the SM should not have to worry about dealing BORs at all.

Cavalry troops correspond to infantry companies and artillery batteries. Company level units never had more than a guidon. Battalions and regiments are currently equipped with a full set of colors. In the US army today, regiments no longer exist. Divisions are composed of brigades that are composed of a mixture of battalions with no separate regimental headquarters. The unit flags carred by battalions are actually regimental flags. As I recall, the base color of the regimental flags corresponds in the US army to the color traditionally associated with the branch of the service. I was in the artillery and our regimental flags were always red. It seems to me that armored units, descended from the cavalry, carry yellow flags. Someone currently in the army can help me out on this. All this leads to the question as to why a white base color was chosen for boy scout troop flags. Probably out of convenience.

Everybody agrees that this treasurer needs to become the former treasurer as soon as possible, if this has not already happened. I still suggest seeking restitution more quietly once the facts are known. Threatening criminal prosecution may be leverage to arrive at a repayment plan, but I would be surprised if the authorities would show any interest in such a small case, particularly if the records are incomplete and/or not clear. It is true that an attorney is not required to go to small claims court, but having an attorney at least do the leg work on a pro bonon basis would be very helpful. ScouterPaul's perspective is also quite valuable. But the bank is limited in what it can do, depending on the nature of the account. Since the CO is the legal owner of the account, maybe there is a path for some help there. You need to ask yourselves how much time and energy you want to put into this.

One should seek maximum participation from your chartered organization.

Count yourself fortunate that the loss is no greater. Unless you have a parent who is an attorney willing to follow up at no cost, it probably is not worth your trouble to go to small claims. I think a more fruitful approach would be to take her off the account immediately and do an audit as best you can. Have somebody with people skills sit down with her, with at least one other person present, to see what she has to say. I think the best you might hope for is to get a note from her for an agreed amount with fixed payment terms. She doesn't sound like a skilled crook but more like somebody in over her head. She might easily agree to a settlement out of a sense of shame. If she fails to honor the note in the future then you have something more solid to take to court. A good lawyer can draw this note up in ways that will make it much easier to enforce. This approach will be less ugly, less draining for everybody, and more likely to get at least some money back. This sad tale illustrates forcefully why BSA recommends dual signatures for unit bank accounts.

This SM may be doing very well with the favored few, but he is doing a great disservice to those whom he drops (probably in violation of BSA policy since he doesn't have the unilateral authority to do this) without even telling them. He at least owes people, boh scouts and adults, the courtesy of telling them he wants them out and facilitating a transfer. It is great that he gives his time to the favored few, but what about the unfavored many?

I got the McCullough book on Adams for Christmas. It repays reading.

I saw a quote from Napoleon recently to the effect that, "History is an agreed fable." Another quote from some source I saw a long time ago is that, "History is the propaganda of the victors." There is some truth to these, but we must rise above cynicism. We can teach the facts without denigrating ourselves. There are unpleasant facts, such as slavery. One should also point out that the injustice of slavery was redeemed quite literally in white mens' blood. Thomas Sowell wrote a book a few years ago. I forget the exact title but it incorporated the words "Cosmic Justice" as in the search for, etc. One of his main points was that the United State was held up to ideal standards while other countries were held up to lesser standards. Too many people in the US today dismiss the achievements of their own country because it does not meet all their ideals. Not a sound basis for policy making or teaching.

Every CO has to agree to abide by BSA policies. But is there a policy about unit meetings?

ScoutNut raises an interesting point. I have never seen a charter agreement between a council and a chartered organization. I presume there is some kind of contract that is formally executed. I wonder what is in such a contract. I presume that there are obligations assumed by the CO, Perhaps Bob White can enlighten us.

There is not nearly enough information provided in the newspaper story to judge anybody's actions in this matter. I think that Bob White's questions are on point and he places a greater burden on the SM for letting the situation continue up to summer camp without apparently finding ways to deal with the issues of this boy. It also smells like this is a mom looking for people to sue. There is a lot to this that we do not know. I suspend judgment.

I am not aware of any formal requirement to have regular meetings, but I cannot imagine a successful scouting program without at least some meetings. As Bob White said, this is a camping group, not a boy scout program. Most troops meet weekly. I have known successful troops that have met less often, but they met regularly on a published schedule. The approach you describe is surely a strange way of doing business and deprives the boys of important elements of the total program. If another troop is available you ought to consider moving sooner rather than later.

The following is excerpted from a piece by William Bennett appearing in the Wall Street Journal. Our schools are failing our students again in the teaching of history. "Sept. 11 has underscored the importance of teaching morality and patriotism, two ideas that have lost favor. American students should be taught what makes this nation great. They should learn the bedrock principles of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, ideas like equality, freedom and justice under law. They should know about the honor and courage of 1776, what Abraham Lincoln did to preserve this union, and how so many laid down their lives to defend freedom in America and abroad during the world wars. Nowhere else has freedom flourished like it has in America; never before in the history of the world have so many around the globe benefited because there is a land of the free and a home of the brave. Even with its faults, America remains the best nation on earth--which is one lesson never to be forgotten: We were attacked for our virtues, not our sins. "Am I embarrassed to speak for a less-than-perfect democracy?" asked former Sen. Daniel P. Moynihan. His answer: "Not one bit. Find me a better one. Do I suppose there are societies which are free of sin? No, I don't. Do I think ours is, on balance, incomparably the most hopeful set of human relations the world has? Yes, I do." Because our greatness is being denigrated, unlearned and forgotten, it has become a moral imperative to teach it. And a fair reading and teaching of our history will reveal, once again, that we truly are the "last, best hope of Earth."

Coming in somewhat late to the discussion, I agree strongly with the other posts that state that there has to be a high degree of two way communication between the parents and the adult leaders at the front end of a special needs boy's scouting career. If parental presence at all functions and acitivities is required then the parents should be willing to do that. Scouting is for all boys as long as they are not dangers to themselves and others, but as a volunteer there is only so much time and energy I can be expected to devote to one scout. I am willing to try, but I reserve the right to say that I can't deal with any particular situation.

A reimbursement request form is one procedural aid, but not a solution by itself. For a small pack it seems to me to be another piece of paper. There is no way you can avoid the grief when you refuse reimbursement without committee approval. But referring to the committee is the right answer, particularly if a budget has already been established. In my experience dens were always one their own for funding their own activities. The exception was when the pack bought some leather working tools that could be passed around, but then these are not a consumable item. Whether or not you choose to have the pack under write a portion of the den expenses is a committee decision, but then it must be policed and adhered to. That is an unavoidable responsibility for the treasurer.

I find it hard to believe that anyone who knows about the advancement report process and is capable of filling out the form did this accidentally. I suspect an intentional fraud was attempted. Your approach is correct. Play it straight and don't make any accusations whatever suspicions you may harbor. Just send the boy around to properly recognized merit badge counselors and satisfy those counselors as to whether the boy has satisfied the requirements. If the boy is legitimate in his claims he should be able to do that very easily.

As other posters have noted, membership is not a right, and the COR can remove any member, scout or adult, from the unit. If this is the intention of the new SM and committee, then this really should be done in writing, whatever the reason. I would also send a copy of the letter to the council executive. As far as I know, council will not automatically correct its rosters until rechartering time. The fact that dues were paid and the youth's name was included on the rechartering document does not mean that the youth is automatically a member of that unit for the rest of the year just because the parents say so. As far as financial assistance for camp is concerned, the information is a bit murky. If the boy was considered a member of the troop and went to camp with the troop, then I would think that whatever policies were in effect at that time would apply, regardless of the boy's current status. If he was removed from membership with the troop prior to camp, and did not attend camp with the troop, he is out of luck, IMHO.