Stosh

I know what goes on in the band rooms in America. 6th grade through college with some professional along the way. Minored in music, competed on the national level in the arena of jazz ensembles, still play guitar for church every week I'm home. I started college as music education, but dropped after a year. I enjoy music, don't want to do it as a job. Of course I do not play Guitar Hero or enter any air band competitions.....

Which ones are mandated by state and federal laws? Which ones are mandated by BSA? Which ones mandated by BSA are destroying their own camps?

Unfortunately if it is not BSA official, it needs to be removed for flags, etc. The choices are garrison hats, baseball, beret, expedition and campaign. Those are the only official BSA hats. When not in uniform, they can wear any hat they want.

I had one patrol adopt the BSA expedition hat as their patrol hat. They stood out as well as the campaign hats do.

Sounds a bit like boy led right into the ground. Any church youth group can pull off summer camp with those parameters.

The demand for up-to-date everything including BSA Spa and Resort facilities have priced many out of the market. It's a lot easier and cheaper to run a commissary than a mess hall, permanent shelters vs. rain flies, tents with floors, flush toilets, running water at each site, WIFI, and the list goes on......

Taking care of others kinda falls into the "helping people at all times" scenario, but that's just my opinion, not everyone's it would seem.

The more things change the more they stay the same.....

My ASM uses it all the time. I don't, this is why I have an ASM to do the paperwork.

The transition is tough enough without having to do the "sink or swim" method of learning.

Any river, most people spend a lot of time working up blisters and hauling heavy loads on their backs when doing the river route thing, camping on sandbars and navigating the natural backwaters is far more relaxing and can still be a great adventure.

What's wrong with boiling them in their shells? Seems like a whole lot easier than ziplocks.

If done right one can actually do well for various situations. Currently I am doing quite well with a carry on bag and a small back pack that will fit under the seat. I will be gone for three weeks. Not all nights are in hotels. Hopefully the boys will eventually learn to go from two check sized luggage to a small back pack for summer camp.

Old school? How about mess kit cooking competition? Multiple categories, baking, frying, desserts, open and originally.

A couple of years back a group of women (55-75 year old) kayakers came to me and wanted me to teach them about maps and compasses. I went down to the Scout Shop and purchased a Orienteering MB book for each of them, taught them out of that book and they were thrilled! They even got a book to keep! Wow, if my boys where half that excited I'd be on Cloud 9. Until then, is the little round patch what is important or is the knowledge gained the real reward. There is nothing in the rules that says that Venturing crews can't use the MB program to enhance their adventures. For some of the gals, the knowledge and adventure is what they are after. I have bins full of patches in my garage they could have if it was really necessary. Who's to say the S->FC requirements might be good for the Venturing gals to get them up to speed on outdoor skills. Just because the gals can't get the diploma doesn't mean they can't get the education.

We try for one service project, one outing and one fund raiser for every month. The troop is in a depressed area so if one were to dump the fund raising, that would cripple the whole program. We have boys that can't afford to pay the registration fees. We work from there.

I think there's always one in every Philmont crew that doesn't really belong there. We had one in my crew as well. I didn't know a kid could whine for 9 days in a row.

With all the kids in the basement doing their electronic games, and/or wandering around the neighborhood with eyes affixed to a glowing screen like a zombie, I wonder if your nephew is really all that far off the Spectrum when it comes to socialization with other youth of that age today. I'm thinking that one your nephew learns to at least say "Hi" to people he meets, he'll be a major step ahead of a lot of others.

Then you're doing more than most I've seen. Keep up the good work!

Given time, he'll figure it out. He's smart and it will take only one or two boys to break the ice with him and then maybe things will start to normalize. He won't be the center of attention, but maybe some of the fear will subside. You're on the right path and it sounds like you're doing everything correctly for him. Even if the scout thing doesn't work out in the long run, he will definitely remember the effort you have put in for him and that will count more than anything else for him.

I'm pretty much paddling the same canoe as @@desertrat77

When the boys join the troop they are told there are three rules, #2 is "Look and act like a Scout". That pretty much covers any and all situations if the chance happens to arise where we can't find a place in the woods to crash.

Professionally speaking, it is well known among the churches of our society that there are a lot of pastors that are really not all that good and seem to find problems wherever they go to try and serve their calling. A pastor can be very well received by some in the congregation and vehemently disdained by another. It's all part of the politics of the profession. But what people don't understand, reputations are acquired for congregations as well. Six different pastors in 6 years? Do you really want to go serve that church? Considering having to pull up roots to go somewhere else 12 months later? Probably a major consideration to review before moving in the first place. So, we hear about all these terrible SM's out there, and as one who has been conditioned by other dynamics, the first thing that comes to mind is: "Our new pack (1 year old) has thrived with great success..." "I started this pack after leaving a previous pack that let their personal problems enter the group setting with children around. Their morals and values did not align with my own, or the way I wanted my child to be raised. Myself as well as all our leadership worked very hard to develop and maintain the phenomenal pack we have today. My dedication does not falter as am in this for the long run. I am looking to start a Troop as well." "With this being said, our pack now has a problem, and it's scary:" @@Cubmaster35 I really sincerely hope all the professional red flags going off in the back of my mind are all false indicators of this situation. I have had many instances in life where @@SSScout would have reminded me, "We have met the enemy and it is us." SSScout would have been a great Poncho to my Don Quixote.

I see a problem with the setup of the CO. Contrary to what one might think, the pastor of a Lutheran congregation is NOT the IH. The President of the Church Council is. The pastor is a non-voting member of the council and is not representative of the congregation. The pack was registered incorrectly in the first place and now it is obvious why an ever changing pastor should not be the IH of a static organization, the CO. Instead of program controlled by a voting committee, one has ended up with a single tyrant who does not speak for the congregation.

What synod of Lutheran is it? I'm thinking it's either LCMS or ELCA. LCMS is pulling back on it's support of the BSA program so there might be some directive coming down from on high on the congregation that isn't being expressed. ELCA is very liberal that I can't imagine them being political with a scout troop. The other Lutheran synods would not be suporting BSA in the first place.