Stosh

Hello from WI You will find a ton of help on the boy-led issue here on the forum. However, quit lurking and get involved in the discussions, you may learn something about how others are doing things, but they may learn something just as valuable from you! Stosh

In the past 15 years, I personally have had to catch a runaway horse three times. So that begs the question how many times have any First Class scout had to perform CPR? NONE? Gee, maybe we ought to drop that too. I have had to do it 7 times and I'm glad I've had the training. Hmmm, lets do the math here. 3 horses in 15 years, 7 CPR's in 60 years. That kinda averages out to once ever 5 years for horses and once every 10 years for CPR. Yep, gonna drop my bi-annual CPR training and buy a rope. (Don't cha just love it when people start tossing statistics around?) People just have to make sure their brain is engaged when they give gas to their tongue. Stosh

I tighten my Turk's Head knots on a dowel the diameter of the PVC pipe normally used. If the dowel fits inside the PVC pipe, it's the right size. One can also "weld" the two ends of parachute cords at the end to affix them permanently. Stosh

You have found it, you are simply ignoring it or don't understand it. The Guide to Safe Scouting is the definitive policy on your situation, and we have explained it amply. If that doesn't satisfy you, you and/or your troop are welcome to have your own requirements which are more strict than those in the GtSS, but understand that you are doing just that: Setting your own rule which is more strict. The language in the GtSS is plain, and I have found that the only people who are confused by the two rules are people who have never read them. The answer to your question is simple: You may coach a youth in the MB as long as you are in the presence of another adult, or another youth. Basically adults can do anything they want when it comes to G2SS. If some scout is ticked off at you, all they need do is accuse you and you are out of Scouts and into court. Now, if that's the risk one wishes to make, that's fine. We all live by the choices we make. However, it is a GUIDE TO SAFE SCOUTING, that includes both the safety of the boys AND the adults. If push comes to shove, it is best to have as many witnesses as possible, both youth and adult. If it comes down to your word against a kid's, you automatically lose. Plain and simple. Stosh

I have done MB's in my home with a single scout. However, either my wife or the parents of the boy are required to be in attendance, if only one boy is doing the MB. I.e. Bugling is difficult to get one boy to attend, let alone 2. Two-deep does not require two registered adults, just two adults one of which must be registered (MB counselor). Preferably my second has always been the boy's parent(s). Stosh

No, but thanks for the link, it looks cool! Mine is nothing really all that elaborate, If anyone were to tie a normal man's suit time with the cheater knot rather than the Windsor knot, you would know what I'm talking about. Usually one end of the necker is longer than the other, but pulling on it releases the one end of the necker. The slip ability of the knot would make it easier to remove than any other knot. The nice thing about it is the ends of the necker hang straight down rather than sticking out as they would with a number of other knots, and that by pulling on it slips the knot open and is a bit safer if snagged. Stosh

The value of anything is determined by the individual. If the wearer thinks it is of value and the observers don't, well, that's what it is. Nothing more, nothing less. Of course the opposite is true as well. Stosh

Duh,... take the necker off when playing rough games. Nothing special about the necker knot. It's real close to the way one ties a slip knot in a regular tie. Stosh

In order to be embarrassed, one has to have a certain level of caring about the situation. If people do certain activities because they don't care whether it matters or not, then they will never be embarrassed. Stosh

Why would anyone take WB for any other reasonthan for the boys? Well maybe as an ego trip...

I had a boy in Scouts that was a year off in school and so he turned 18 between his Junior and Senior years of high school. He signed on as an ASM. He took adult training that first summer while at summer camp with the troop, then went immediately into WB that fall and finished up before graduating high school. He did just fine and is now a crew chief in the US Air Force. Stosh

There is a way to tie the necker in a knot and have it hang neatly down the front. A slide is optional, other than that, a rubber band works nicely as already mentioned. As a matter of fact I have all my boys tie a knot or use rubber bands so the slide doesn't slide off. I have no sympathy for lost slides.

The gun laws are such that in my state a person can open-carry a gun on their hip. However, if they put a coat on, they need training and a permit. ??? Say what? What's a coat got to do with one's ability to have a gun on their person? So now we move to BSA. If you wear a uniform shirt you can't drink, but take it off after the meeting, well, then belly up to the bar, pardner. Carrying a gun and having a drink is not the problem, it's only the clothing you are wearing that makes any difference. One could be unable to pass a background check for a permit, so all one has to do is get rid of the coat. Now there's a solution. A person could be a alcoholic, but just don't wear a uniform and drink at the same time. Yep, another good solution. Stosh

I was working semi-professional for a BSA council at that time and I remember the pressure to "meet quota" at all cost. I happened to be responsible for helping the old Explorer program division and brought into light 43 new units on a variety of different hobby/career basis. It wasn't easy, but all of them were legitimate. However the effort was huge to be able to pull it off. By the time I moved on after 2 years, I had schmoozed just about everyone in town. There were some very good units that were developed, interest surveys taken and huge mailings along with the beating the bushes for adult volunteers. If done right, it was a really good thing. I don't know about other councils, by my efforts were sufficient to overcome the district shortcomings in both the cub and scout divisions. I don't know as if this effort could be duplicated today in that it required cooperation between schools and businesses in the area. All 8th grade students in the geographic area of the council received a survey and it was collected back up. Then it was accumulated into a huge database inputted by many local companies that at that time relied on mainframe computers. This information was then decimated into mailing lists and letters of invite for first nighters were sent out to everyone who showed interest in any of the areas we set units up. All three hospitals in town had a medical post, law firms had law posts, every police/sheriffs department had law enforcement posts as well as all the fire departments had rescue/first aid posts. General interest posts (high adventure) were plentiful and were sponsored by multiple organizations, mostly churches. I'm thinking the Explorer program took a major hit when it was broken up in the late 1990's. I don't see that kind of effort being promoted in BSA today. Stosh

Yous guys are really god.

Why would pledging allegiance to a foreign country be a prerequisite to take a hike with your buddies? Pledging to one's own country should be sufficient for World Wide Scouting! It may be a good time to get new BSA glasses, so they aren't so myopic!

MattR, was your wife referring to volunteer help, or more along the lines of professional help? Good luck with you're plans, they sound good and worthwhile. Stosh

I'm with Venividi on this one. Why would advancement even be a consideration. If his new friends are into scouting, sign him up, get him gear and a bit of training so he will at least enjoy the outing and then go. If he's a scout back home, maybe the boys will learn something new from him. If not, I'm sure he'll learn something new about American scouts. He's probably going to only be around for a year, so there's no use in suggesting he is ever going to make BSA Eagle. There are times when over thinking things is not a good idea. Stosh

Always has been. Animal Husbandry, Bee keeping, Rabbit Keeping, surveying, plumbing, gardening, vet medicine, etc. (more agriculturally oriented) were all prior MB's

How about a knot tying game? Have a brief orientation/instruction to a few (6) basic knots, then let them play the game.

I have not ever used the 3 tub method for 50+ years now. After looking at some of the wash water the boys use, I just do my own thing. First of all I don't use soap unless it is bio-degradable. If it's available, it gets buried in the sump. Soap is only good to get the grease off anyway. I then rinse off my metal mess kit with water and hold for a few minutes over the fire to heat up and sanitize. That dries it quickly as well, then hang it up to cool off. If backpacking I do the same thing but use a metal cup instead of a mess kit for weight reduction. A small chain allows me to hold over the fire using a stick. The utensils and mess kit handle have holes in the handles. A few minutes over a fire gets the dishes hotter than any sanitizing water. If one were to question the practice, just ask yourself how does one clean the dutch oven? Stosh

The only MB I got was stamp collecting.... I have no idea where that collection ever went. I do coins and Boy Scout books today.

I never got past 2C for the same reason. After four years I went into Civil Air Patrol. I promised myself I would never do the same thing to a boy when I got to be a SM. I have been an avid outdoors person all my life. Eagle would have been nice but it isn't all that important as some make it out to be.

While one's activities, interests and participation are one thing, having done the paperwork is quite another. It's an easy mistake to make. Same for the fantastic GrubMaster that whips out fantastic food on the campfire. He's been having so much fun doing what he's doing he hasn't got the time to do the Cooking MB paperwork. Never assume a thing, when they are reviewing a scouts records for Eagle, they assume nothing but what's in the records, i.e. blue cards and registrar's report. This is why troop record keeping is so important so the boys don't get surprises along the way like you did. Stosh

And I have had the Commander come over to the area where the scouts meet to "see how things are going" only to have to deal with the consequences that the boys knew full well he had had way too much to drink. And yes the Commander has offered to buy me a drink which I graciously accepted a Mountain Dew, straight up in the can. They do serve non-alcoholic beverages at all bars. As far as the other comments about drinking at scouting district events? Well scouts can and do attend and have commented as to knowing who is going to be drinking and who isn't by the clothing they are wearing. Hypocrisy take a significant amount of justification to pull off, so much of the comments haven't really addressed the issue. Of course there are the scouters who smoke in uniform, too. Both legal vices. And if "sneaking off to get a drink" is creepy, then when we discuss why we can't get boys into uniforms, we have adults dumping them so they can have a drink? I find that kinda creepy too. Stosh