nolesrule

I know of several youth couples in separate troops that attend OA events regularly, work summer camp staff together and are even in the same Venturing crew. The reality is the potential is already there, and no one is staying up all night to supervise.

I don't have a problem with it per se, but I feel like it's going to ultimately kill off all but the strongest girl units in an area. I'm ASM in a girl troop and we struggle with resources, have barely enough scouts to maintain 2 patrols. If the boy troop we share facilities with were to start accepting girls (as unlikely as that seems based on the attitude of their committee toward us), that annual barbeque fundraiser they do that knocks off $500+ from the cost of high adventure trips is going to look awfully attractive compared to a smaller troop with limited resources. Losing units won't look good for the DE metrics either.

Sure. Seems likely. But that'll take more effort than registering a DBA and filing a federal trademark application (I've done both before, it's easier than people think) and isn't even required to put the name change into effect.

That legalese is called a DBA ("Doing Business As"). Seeing as you aren't aware of that, you'd probably be surprised how often the public name of a business is not actually the same as the official registered name of the business entity.

Shouldn't that have already been the case under "Boy Scouts of America"?

Things clearly have changed since you "retired". I provided the current Scouts BSA joining requirements that went into effect April 18, 2022. While you are correct on the disabilities portion, it is not relevant. The question is about the earliest point someone in Cub Scouts (or not in Cub Scouts) can join a Scouts BSA troop, not how long someone can stay a Cub Scout.

@fred8033 They never updated that FAQ. Shocking. here is the current youth application with a revision date of 04/2023. https://filestore.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/524-406.pdf I agree the wording is somewhat ambiguous, but it's been clarified elsewhere (by some national volunteer somewhere) that the intent is that it must be on or after March 1 of the 5th grade school year. The idea behind this particular clause was that a kid not already in Cub Scouts would be allowed to join at the same time as their buddies already in Cubs would be crossing over.

No, the joining requirements for Scouts BSA changed on April 18, 2022, and are as follows: At least 10 years old, currently in the fifth grade and register on or after March 1 or At least 10 years old and have earned the Arrow of Light Award or At least 11 years old (but not yet 18)

My daughters are both on their way. They also left at the crack of dawn today (so even though I'm not going my day also began at 4am today... need more coffee). They are handling things much the same way as BAJ's jamboree troop. Other than a handful of designated times where there are pre-scheduled unit activities (such as the flood bucket service project mentioned above), they are free to do what they want during the day with buddies.

I just want to address this, because I think it misses the point of uniforms. Uniforms are part of everyday life, sometimes subtly, sometimes not so subtly. A uniform is really just an outward expression of an individual's commitment to the aims and ideals of the group the uniform represents, and can act as a mirror to help reflect that back at yourself. It adds a level of outward expectation to strive to live up to. When I worked as a bagger at a grocery store in high school, I had a uniform (branded polo, black pants). When I worked at Blockbuster Video in college I had a uniform (light blue oxford shirt, khakis, dress shoes.... it was before they switched to branded polos). In both of those jobs I held, there were certain expectations that came with uniform whether the customer realized it or not, and in a subtle way it helped me live up to them. If you've ever compared grocery stores in the south east, you know that baggers at Publix are generally a step above other stores (if they even have baggers at all). At Blockbuster, there was an expectation to follow the "G.U.E.S.T." principles for interacting with customers. In Scouting it's an outward expression of your commitment to follow the Oath and Law. Sports teams also wear uniforms. And it's not just so you know which team someone is on during a competition. The "uniform is "just" a method, but it's more widely used than people realize if they stop to look around. On the other hand, I have this huge phobia of eating in my field uniform. Especially on spaghetti night at summer camp.

I don't know about Arlington, but my youth troop was posting photos placing flags at the Bay Pines National Cemetery in St. Petersburg, FL this weekend. And it was good to see them continuing to do that service project 30-something years after the last time I was involved.

In April, our troop SM's and CC's training records disappeared. My brother had to dig up proof he took IOLS from his emails recently because it never got recorded by his council (he was not in an SM/ASM position at that time, so it wasn't imperative to double check accurate data entry).

I'm not sure I understand. The 20 miler has been part of the requirements for as long as I can remember. The recent requirement change is from 5, 3 x 10, 15, 20 (6 hikes, 70 miles) to 4x 10, 20 (5 hikes, 60 miles) They have reduced the total distance by 10 miles and the number of hikes by 1.

This topic is covered in GTA Section 4.2.3.6 I like what it says about service hours and service projects. By the book, anything done toward a requirement may also be used toward another requirement, as long as the requirements for one of them do not expressly forbid it, and all requirements are met as written.

I'm not sure that matters much. You can have high quality regalia and it still will appear as cosplay... just highly dedicated cosplay. I can't tell you the number of times I've heard the word "cringy" used by scouts in reference to the Native American aspects of the OA. And yes, I do recognize that my screen name refers to a university that uses Native American regalia and symbols... with permission (although there is no doubt in my mind that permission comes with a price tag).