KoreaScouter

Our Scouts thought the official hat was dorky, too, and it was before the new redesigned one was available. So, we had them design their own, they did, and as an indicator of "coolness", many wear it to school or out running around. We get 'em made here for $6 a piece. We have a troop activity shirt, too, red with a troop logo on the chest. KS

Hops: I'm an Air Force officer who's done a number of things, currently up to my eyeballs in anti-terrorism. LastEagle: Let's see, how best to put this? Campaign hat from BSA catalog: $80. Chin strap and band from BSA catalog: $20. Plastic cover to protect campaign hat from the rain: $10. Hat block to keep campaign hat in shape: $25. Look on Scoutmaster's face when he sees his Scouts using campaign hat as Frisbee: Priceless! KS

I, too, thought the S2B was odd when I looked at the materials, but since my daughter's a Junior with a ways to go, it wasn't on my scope. Call me strange, but I don't see a GS hidden agenda or anything. I'm as involved as I can be with my daughter without being a registered GS leader. While many of their policies are different, I don't see them as inferior. Cumbersome, sure; confusing, you bet; inefficient, sometimes. But, I do like the way the program reinforces self image, esteem, positive values, and so on. Interwoven with a solid family and religious background, I think it's a good thing. My daughter's almost finished with her Bronze Award project, and I think it's neat that they have opportunities for that kind of recognition at the Juniro, Cadet, and Senior levels... KS

Okay, I've had enough! I usually don't give in to the service rivalries, but here goes. HopsScout, I'm very familiar with the Ranger motto, but bear in mind that those Rangers are riding BEHIND USAF pilots who are leading them to the DZ (self-loading cargo, I believe is the term)! All kidding aside, I had an opportunity to work with the 75th Rgt to plan and execute an air base takedown a couple years back -- a good bunch, and quite well-turned out, too. KS

Most of the guys with those symptoms are unwilling to change or go to training. If that wasn't true, they would have already been trained and/or changed with the times. It's not my intent to appear pessimistic, but you may have just two practical choices: suck it up or start your own troop. I don't recommend sucking it up; the lads get this experience only once -- it shouldn't be substandard. Starting a new troop is a lot of work in the beginning, but in the long run, is probably far less stressful than trying to change an old leopard's spots. I respectfully disagree with DSteele on one point though. The ASMs are not optional, in my opinion, especially with a startup. If you don't have any, you're doing everything. I'd be wearing an "I love me" jacket and eating with a spork without ASMs. I'd also insist your DC detail a good Unit Commissioner to you. KS

Hey Matua; How many laps around the island to get 50 miles?! KS

When we lived in Virginia, we learned that our kids' elementary school was named after a Confederate Army Colonel, who got killed in a battle nearby. There were several other things nearby that bore his name (reservoir, street, etc). Nobody cared, and our school was as diverse as they come. As a mildly humorous aside, there's a beautiful area of Richmond lined with statues of Confederate leaders. If memory serves, it's official name is "Monument Boulevard". The transplanted Yankees have unofficially renamed it "Loser Street". My apologies to SST3RD... KS

Here's a little more irony, if you can stand it. Lad in our neighborhood, 7th grader, good kid, friends with my son and about six other Scouts in our troop. He's tagged along to Eagle COHs, troop meetings, bowling outings, etc. On weekends when we're camping, he's got to be lonelier than a Maytag repairman. I've asked him why he doesn't join the Troop, and he says his mom won't let him, because of BSA policy on gays. While you're busy scratching your head over why a parent would have a 12-year old boy pay the opportunity cost of her self-defined social responsibility, bear in mind that the BSA policy mirrors almost exactly the DoD policy (don't ask, don't tell). And, this woman's husband is on active duty and by extension supports the DoD policy. Last I heard, she's not insisting he resign his commission on the same grounds. KS

The worksheets are a great idea; we strongly encourage their use too, as a way for the lads to organize their work. In my experience, the Scouts who keep those worksheets in 3-ring binders have the best "retrieval" rates. For keeping the blue cards, I've also seen Scouts stick one of those adhesive 3 1/2" floppy disk holders inside the back cover of their handbook, and keep the cards in there. One lesson I learned with the NSP is to get blue cards to them early for MBs like camping, swimming, personal fitness, and others that they'll have to do eventually. Prevents the "woulda, coulda, shoulda" dramatics later on. KS

No list of hypotheticals can catch all situations. All Scouts are different, as are their families, likely reactions to a situation, and situations themselves. I don't have a cookie-cutter "school solution", or matrix that tells me when to speak with parents. I decide that on a case-by-case basis. A situation with one Scout may warrant a call, while the same situation with another Scout won't...again, depending on the other variables. A lot of what the Scouts say at camp, on hikes, or at any activity away from their parents, are not necessarily things they'd say if their parents were present. That doesn't necessarily make their comments inappropriate, immoral, or illegal. Maybe, just something they feel more comfortable with around their friends rather than family. I'm not implying dysfunction or abusive relationships, just adolescents feeling awkward, for whatever reason. We have to have patience with them while they work through it. To complicate things, I've taken another oath and have a professional responsibility to deal with suspected criminal activity, whether I'm looking at a victim, witness, or suspect -- and I can't turn that off when I put a Scout uniform on. We all have to be able to survive the harsh light of public scrutiny, or as an old boss of mine told me once, as one way to assess a decision: "Would you be comfortable explaining what you did to Mike Wallace on 60 Minutes?" KS

SilverShark; You got me on a technicality -- I'm 4000 miles from my bookcase! I thought the minutes/games were at the end of Volume III? KS

1. Make the resources available to help them plan the activity, the resources including the brains of their adults as coaches. 2. Good; encourage the SPL and PLs to follow through to make sure that what gets assigned, gets done. 3. Try to help them find a win-win; for example, does summer camp and the HA trip need to be the same week? If not, he can do both. 4. Nothing wrong with that; variety is the spice of life. 5. I'm okay with that, too. I might discreetly check with the treasurer and see what that would do to the bank account, and ensure the PLC knows that if it's a problem, the troop may need to conduct a fund-raiser at a later date to make up for the loss. 6. The name alone (Perseus meteor shower) sounds cool -- how many chances does a fella get to witness that? Give 'em a later wakeup next morning... 7. I'm writing this from Hawaii right now...anything they needed to do in order to get here would be worth it! And, I'd be in there helping them do it, too! 8. A-ha, trick question! No hazing. 9. I'd give the SPL a few seconds to jerk the rest of them back to the Scout Oath/Law...if he didn't, and nobody else did (unthinkable I hope), I'd do it for them. There's a place and a role for every Scout; all have a talent for something that will benefit the troop. Challenge is to identify it and capitalize on that talent...that's how teams are built. KS

Amen to the fleece, whether a pullover or a Polartec-type zipper jacket -- what a superior item of clothing! Good by itself on cool evenings/mornings, complete with armpit vents and useful mesh pockets. Or, put a nylon shell over it for colder standing-around activities and you're all set! I use mine with my Council windbreaker. A beret has been my duty headgear for 25 years -- they're terrible! The only practical purposes they've served for me is an emergency compress when some clown raided the vehicle first aid kit, something to put the brass in on the firing range, a very poor Frisbie substitute, and something to put all my pocket junk in when I get home at the end of the day. Berets offer no protection from the elements -- strictly ornamental. That said, you can use the same logic trail to debase the campaign hat...but I think that one's cool! KS

Every leader's different, every troop's different, every Scout's different, every environment's different. If cell phones, phone cards, playing cards, whatever item that isn't on the personal overnight gear but also isn't on the contraband list either (the "grey area"), is presenting a problem or a distraction, make it so it isn't a problem or a distraction. Don't create false dilemmas though, and don't broad brush to the point where everyone gets punished for the next 50 years because of one mistake, misjudgement, or indiscretion by one person two generations ago. I've had much better luck trusting and treating them like young men... KS

Scoutldr; Thanks for your concern; same inhaler, same dosage, not prescribed for anyone else. Again, my life's relatively simple...I count my blessings every day. KS

They sound like the Action Packers. One of our troops here uses them. The plastic's lighter than wood, and they do have wheels it's true, but they also have their limitations. We built boxes out of lighter wood, and like them very much. KS

If you look at your SM handbook or the SPL Handbook, they discuss the annual Program Planning Conference. That's how your PLC selects their monthly themes, from the 36 in Troop Program Resources. Through a vetting process that includes the patrol members' review, committee coordination, review of the District and CO calendars, etc., the troop calendar is prepared. There's no order for the themes, other than ensuring that the 12 your PLC selects make sense. The themes in Scouter are exact copies of the ones in Troop Program Resources. The Troop Meeting Plans need only responsible persons and time durations filled in, in most cases. I've found that they're about a 90% solution on average. Recommendation: use all the resources provided to you, let everyone including the green bars do their jobs, and you can't go wrong. KS

We tell all the parents at registration when they fill out the Class 1 why we need the med info, and then again with class 2s and 3s. I think they get it, because we've never had any "surprises". We're in a bit of a unique situation here, though, because all family members have to be medically "cleared" by the military before they can come over here in the first place. Out of 27 registered Scouts, we don't have any on behavior meds, and our only other Scouts with meds are two lads with athsma (I carry an extra inhaler in case one forgets his). KS

I've found that we don't have to over-regulate cell-phone use. Many of our Scouts have them (they're very cheap to own/operate here, and there are no coverage gaps), and understand the responsibility and etiquette issues involved. If one of my lads doesn't have a phone, but wants to call home, for whatever reason, I hand him mine as long as he promises to tell them he loves them and cant' wait to see them (even if it's his little sister!). Never been burned or had the phone call result in a meltdown. KS

Bob; I'm a NLE instructor; no particular training from BSA to do it, although I've been a college instructor and commanded a military training school (with the accompanying instructional systems design work to go along with it). I don't embellish the NLE class; I've found that the 3 hours BSA says it takes is woefully short if you engage the students in discussion, fight for feedback, actually do all the exercises, and so on. I have significantly modified our Troop JLT, basically rebuilding it based on the content of the SPL and PL Handbooks. I found (and I wasn't alone) that all but one or two of our Scouts had been through the BSA Troop JLT program at least once, and we'd lose them if we offered the same program for the fourth time. We used the BSA Powerpoint template, roughly followed the chapters in the SPL/PL Handbooks as lesson topics, and included end-of-lesson activities to get them off their feet, developing teamwork, and problem solving. Bonus: Using the Handbooks as follow-alongs in the course got the green bars into the books, got the rosters filled out, and gave them the confidence of knowing that issues they ran into in their troop/patrol were in the book, they remembered it, and sent them scurrying to find it and refresh their memories. KS

An "affirmative" to all above, and a strong encouragement to use the recently-published SPL Handbook to guide your PPC -- most of the advice you've been given is in the SPLH. It and the PL Handbook are in my opinion two of the best things to come out of Irving in recent memory... KS

We've not had a "bank" at summer camp, although the camp tradin post lets Scouts put $$ on account in there...I like that. I've never tried to control phone usage. Many of my Scouts have cell phones, and although many traditionalists cringe, I haven't had a problem with misuse (I use the "...Scout is courteous..." point to manage it). If one doesn't have a phone, I carry one all the time, and he can use it if he needs to...he determines need. I haven't been burned yet with this approach. And, there are so many other indicators of homesickness that I'm not worried about overlooking a phone call or two. KS

We keep going year-round. It gets whacky in the summer, with many families moving between June-August. Sometimes, our permanent patrols are down to just two Scouts. But, as families come in during the same period, they don't want to wait until September to get back into Scouting. If we ask them to, some will find something else to do. KS

I agree that we shouldn't get our units hamstrung by too many rules, and that BSA doesn't require bylaws. That said, the reality is that each unit is different, and if by-laws help them deliver the program, comply with CO and/or community preferences, and prevent misunderstandings, then draft by-laws. For example, in areas where families and leaders turn over frequently (such as ours), a document that describes when the annual parents' meeting is, what the troop pays for, etc., is the only real continuity from one year to the next. A previous unit I was associated with used a community center for their pack meetings. The community center required any private organization that wanted to use the facility to have elected officers and by-laws -- a formality, but one that we complied with. Whether you call them by-laws, a parents' guide, a welcome letter from the unit, or whatever, if a unit thinks it's necessary, they should publish them. If not, then don't. KS

I'm still laughing! KS