NickP412

weather you agree with ti or not does not matter. the fact is most boys and parents arent comfortable sending there boys into the woods alone for a weekend with a gay boy or adult. do you want to risk the pristine reputation of the boy scouts just to let a few fruits join. why dont they form there own "Gay Scouts of America" "GSA" instead of trying to get in and ruin our organization.

sherm why you may not agree with it the fact is most parents and boys alike are in agreement they dont feel safe or comfortable with the thought of camping alone n the woods with a gay man.

okay where do i start lol. Yeah he would have been a cub scout, but talking about archery and camping in cub scouts? I really would like to meet that cubmaster. I'm with Beavah, looks like somebody trollin ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- we do at our day camp when i was a cub scout 10 years ago. now let me say that i think i may be one of the only "kids" here. a lot of members here are adults, im only 17. so let me offer a "kids" perspective. atheist i dont really care about, im not afraid to be around them. however in scouts you should lead by example and the scout oath says a scout must be reverent. its sorta like a heath teacher eating junk food and telling you to eat good, you really should lead by example. so i see why there not allowed in scouts. we have a few in my troop and as long as they dont complain when we take them to vespers i dont care. as for gays; i dont think they belong in the troop as adults or kids. i think most parents agree that one of the last thing they want to do is send there boys into the woods with a gay for a camping trip. as a boy i really wouldnt want to have a kid in the troop gay either. i mean we gotta change in the same tents and shower in the same shower rooms with the other boy troop members. i wouldnt feel comfortable changing with a gay guy around just like a girl wouldnt want a boy in her locker room. i hope the bsa does not fold on this, and when im a dad i hope my kid can join the scouts that i grew up in.

ill try some of these out, the next troop camp out isnt until September though so it may take a while for me to get back to you lol

i just found online you can still buy the old knee highs for like $6 http://www.scoutstuff.org/BSASupply/ItemDetail.aspx?cat=01RTL&ctgy=products&c2=UNIFORMS&C3=USOCKS&C4=&LV=3&item=BSKS&prodid=BSKS^8^01RTL&

ive always wanted my troop to at least wear the zip off pants, but due to money and 25 years of lax scout master we dont require it.

i like that, i may pick one up!

sounds like he got what was coming to him. i hope he hasn't hurt any other boys. the bad thing is that the news will get a hold of this and play it over and over again making the scouts seem corrupt and full of pedophiles. but they dont play story's about scouts doing good things, and when they do its not near as much as these story's get played.

wow my lodge must be different then all of your lodges from yester-year. there are 3 pocket flaps still being sold, go to the trading post with $10 and you cna walk out with any one you want as long as your a OA member of course. we also have council patches just for OA members all funds went to rebuilding our dining hall. we dont have nekercheifs. i see what you all are saying though, i like the flap from 1970's a white pocket flap a Indian head marnoc lodge 151 and www. but i use the flap i got when i became a ordeal member. we never had different border colors, ive looked at our archives. i think some of the full pocket patches are neat, however you are right the OA isnt about sash, pocket flap or a free ice cream social at summer camp once a year its about cheerful service!

CalicoPenn i hope this dosent make me sound bad but i think people want recognition and maybe some bragging rights. its the same reason we have different rank patches, most study s show people like to be recognized for their accomplishments, in boy scouts we do this with patches mainly. i know actions speak louder than patches but still there neat to have i think. my lodge does not have border flaps that distinguish ranks, so i dont really care about that. i never wear my pocket rocket because it would block my philmont patch. i guess the reason ill miss pocket rockets if there gone is because when im around other arrowmen we show the rockets to show our membership, also im a collector i always thought they were neat. i know scouts isnt about recognition, but i like my patches

all these ideas are good, im going to the scout shop late in August to pick up the new hand book (i think it comes out at the end of August?) when i do i may buy the cooking book. the walking taco idea sounds great! it sounds like a fast make and a fast clean up which would work great with lunch!

let me first say that if there is already a thread for this im sorry. i searched it in the search bar and couldn't find it. however one thing i want to bring up at our leaders meeting in August is more variety in meals. when i first joined we had hot dogs, ramen noodles and foil packs a lot! i mean it got sickening. thankfully in the past 2 or 3 years we got better meals and we have come a long way but now were in a rut again doing the same old breakfast burritos, dutch oven pizzas, gyro's and Mac & Cheese w/ ham. i know there are some good meals out there we haven't tried. so please share them here. right now i think philly cheese steaks might be good, my dad is a butcher and gives my troop a good discount and from my calculations it would be affordable. what do you guys like?

well i wonder if one day all OA pocket flaps will be the same? or at least be all the same except have a different lodge # and name printed on it. just being on this forum has opened my eyes to a lot of policy's and politics i was previously un-aware of.

scouter760 i think your right! there were a few boys in my troop who said OA was over-rated and wasnt fun. however i decided to do it anyways and i love it, unlink the boys who didnt like it i volunteer for it and do all the events i can. you all have offered some insight, ill talk with a scoutmaster and see if he will talk with these boys and get to the bottom of the problem.

while were on this topic can you all clear something up for me, a lot of people say once you turn 18 you cant even wear your eagle medal, however some people say you can wear it on your suit lapel is this true? or once your 18 can the medal go in the collectors case along with all the other patches and medals a scout has earned?

i mean this with all due respect CalicoPenn you said: Order of the Arrow and private life. A different "pocket rocket" scheme for Ordeal, Brotherhood and Vigil Honor is not allowed. That's part one. now does that mean that in the future our sashes wont indicate our brotherhood membership from an ordeal membership? i dont want to come off as rude but i worked hard to get brotherhood, i had to dedicate myself a lot to my lodge before my OA rep would let me petition for brotherhood and i would hate to see brotherhood recognition on our sash's go, it may sound outlandish but it seems like it could be the future at that rate. could i be over-reacting? absolutely i probably am.

well unlike most of the other men here i for one am not a master on all of the BSA bi-laws. thankfully ive never had anything like this happen to me or my troop, the closet thing was a boy brining sparklers. that only lead to a ban from a camp out. however im sort of surprised they can do this like that, banning a boy from the troop i 100% understand but to just do it without warning seems out of place. i would have guessed that there are some hoops they have to jump through such as warning your son, then talking with the parents then some sort of paper work form they had to fill out. i dont know your son but being a teenage boy myself i can bet theres something he may be hiding? you should call the scout master and try to get both sides of the story then maybe talk to someone in your district. if i were in your sons shoes i may just want to move troops because it sounds like theres some animosity from the scoutmaster

yeah i dont know why national has a problem with it, it could all be rumor who knows?

http://s43.photobucket.com/albums/e398/agravain3/?action=view&current=oapocketrocket.jpg http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e398/agravain3/oapocketrocket.jpg one of those better work lol.

well the benefit i see to a patrol of 1st years is that they would all be on the same page in terms of advancement. we put there den chief in as there PL and then they all do there req's together for there next rank. but again i was put into a integrated patrol when i crossed over in February and by the fall after my first summer camp i was a first class scout. although i guess it helped me and my friend always tried to beat each other to the next rank.

lol i take it your not a fan? i was sort of fond of them. i do however have universal arrow if by that you mean this. http://s43.photobucket.com/albums/e398/agravain3/?action=view&current=oathingfornow.jpg if that is what your talking about, i bought one at my scout shop a few weeks ago, i just want to know if they man one for brotherhood?

at summer camp i heard a few people in my lodge talking about National BSA putting a end to our yearly pocket rockets. i heard they dont view it as part of our official uniform and dont want it to continue. i liked them and it was a good way to know who paid there dues and who didnt lol. so to those of you know anything about this could you offer some insight? is it just here say rumors or is it really going to be a thing of the past? to those of you who dont know what a pocket rocket is heres a link to a picture of one i took http://s43.photobucket.com/albums/e398/agravain3/?action=view&current=oapocketrocket.jpg every year we get a new one with the year on it and a new color scheme. theres one for vigil, brotherhood and ordeal. i dont see why they want to ban these? i think there nice and go where the temporary patch go's. (btw i know this past week ive made a lot of threads, i hope you guys dont mind. ive just got a lot of down time at work =/ )(This message has been edited by NickP412)(This message has been edited by NickP412)(This message has been edited by NickP412)

oh im sorry OGE, ill take the tailoring merit badge.

i will take the sewing merit badge

i for one like camping with others, gives me someone to talk too and in the winter have 3 to 4 people in a 2 man tent is so warm lol. cramped but warm.