Basementdweller

Not to trash up the other thread. I was curious as to what those freedoms might be?????? and who is to blame for it???

Why does absolutely everything have to complete a requirement or be tied to advancement??? Go have fun,

Become den chiefs to several local Packs, Have a couple of webelos/Troop campouts, Host the den and provide the weekends activity. Get permission to recruit at your local intermediary school. show up with pictures of your events and your gear. Recruiting isn't that tough retention is the issue.

Does your Troop and Crew function as one unit? Met at the Same time and Place? Hold join outings or just plan one outing????

So annie, whose idea is the trip to the cascades or Glacier?????

A few public caning's for vandalism and chopping off hands of shoplifters would give a moment of pause to the offenders. All human life is not equal and there are more than a few that are no better than the dogs that get euthanized for attacking people.

Had the old SM bring his grandson camping with him. He was a tiger cub in what ever town they lived in.......the boy scouts would sit around the Campfire whittling and next thing ya know SM's grandson had his knife out too whittling. the boys complained that they hadn't been allowed to whittle as a tiger.... The old SM said that the tiger was under his control and it was ok. After the last outing I pulled the now ASM aside and requested that if grandson comes with him on future scout outings that he follow the BSA guidelines and a tiger should not use a knife.

High adventure is many things to many people. A city kid might think sleeping in a tent is high adventure, while another thinks high adventure is eating food he has cooked himself. Some suburban kids think coming to our CO is an adventure. So what is high adventure???

If it is like the Merit Badge councilor sign ups..... We will have food service and retail workers, landscapers, painters and security guards mentoring boys who are doing engineering...... No it isn't right or proper, I don't give a hoot what ya think. I think a bachelor degree in an engineering field should be a prerequisite to be a mentor. If the councils approve every tom dick and harry to be a mentor then the program will be as irrelevant as the merit badge program is. Bring the BSA back add some integrity to the program.....But then again you have dads, moms, uncles and grandpas rubberstamping everything so they can be an eagle. There is no way it will ever improve.

I am an eye for an eye kinda guy.

More and more I am reading and hearing about Troop's summer trips becoming Family vacations. How common is this????? I know of two troops locally that function that way. they have gone to Glacier, mammoth cave, gettysburg, DC bringing the entire family along. Is it a good thing or bad thing?????? I don't think is was what was intended,

Passing a bottle around the camp fire with friends is nice.

in a factory with no emergency exits or fire alarms.

So brew what you are saying is we should kill the cub program????

So engineer, why did ya post it? Slamming poor judgement by the leaders or the fact they had to be rescued. The group was located at 1:30 am.....is it any surprise they didn't try to walk out in the dark. I would have stayed put as well. Now why hadn't they packed up and headed out from their campsite sunday afternoon????? No idea.

It is irrelevant. I will keep showing up to the meetings on monday nights and camping and hiking a couple of times every month as long as the boys keep showing up. Other than that all of the blogin and hatin are irrelevant because I don't get any support from the District or council and only on line training from national.

Q in the dolly sods you need to keep an eye out for unexploded ordinance.

MOAB is high on my list of to do's Montana outdoor adventure base. Looks like an A #1 trip.

Guess I am just lucky enough for my boys to be the bottom of the barrel.... I am including my own son in that......

Solar battery chargers are a waste for the most part...... I use solar to charge my cpap machine battery at summer resident camp. I have 4 large panels that generate 2 amps at 12 volts.... The one from REI does not have an integrated battery Pack to charge, so you will need to leave your phone or device under charge in your tent or where ever the solar panel is to get charged. it is only 1/2 an amp hour max rating which means because of sun angles and air temp you will get 1/2 to 2/3 of that.....Best situation you would need to leave your phone in camp hooked up to it for 4 hours during peak sun. if it delivers half the advertised current you would need to leave it in camp 8 hours. I have a number of brunton panels and they never ever deliver the advertised current. my son is using this at Jambo. I found it cheaper elsewhere, I paid $32..... http://www.jr.com/verbatim/pe/VBT_VER97926/ It is a 10,000 mah battery pack. I use one on our backpacking trips to keep mine and my ASM's phones charged works great, I use google tracks on the trips to record our routes. It will charge a droid maxx 3 times. I have one and will buy a second for him.....I am going to bet that he can probably recharge it at one of those at&t kiosks if need be...... If you would rather use regular old batterys here is another option. http://www.adafruit.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=14&zenid=0e15cf000b195d580b43197911a08e19 I have made a couple of these.....The work for what they are......

I think we are having a couple of different discussions. Cub Scouting.....Nike and I are seeing boys who do not have issues leave the program because of those who do. Parents of boys with issues using the Pack for babysitting. With a bad experience in Cub Scouting either program or member wise there is next to zero chance of them becoming a boy scout. Boy Scouting....Boys who are in the program and hide the fact. Loss of the popular and high profile youth as members. Bottom line is I believe this is a local issue. As noted by other member that their scout son are popular and all star's in both athletics and academics. This is not my local experience as Coachs and band directors both discourage boys from participating in scouting and athletics.

Q I don't think the money is the issue. My local experience is that the young ladies and men love the IDEA of outdoors, camping, hiking and backpacking. But when the rubber hits the road, they go once and quit. they can't stand not showering or the isolation of not being connected, they don't enjoy making their own meals. Even for my area, $15 for crew registration isn't the barrier.

Nike...... I wonder if every district needs to have a Pack and Troop that specializes in these kinds of boys. I have attended some courses on add/adhd and autism and I am fully aware that I am not qualified to deal with these boys.

I am seeing exactly what Nike is seeing. The normal boys try scouting for a while and because we have such a collection of misfits they leave to be with boys with less issues. Same goes for the parents, they come in and see the dysfunctional boys acting out they take their sons and leave.

Ya it's uncool I have struggled with how to write a response that was even close to PC. First I enjoy my boys for who they are....... BUT. Bottom line is I look at my boys at summer camp lined up for flags at summer camp, No quarterbacks, class presidents or kids popular with their peers at school. A couple of weeks ago, I Stopped by the webelos meeting and there was one scout crying staring at the wall and two hiding under the table......the WDL response was they do that. Great........ Just sayin.......