pepper

Ed Mori What if one of the 18 year olds is not even registered with the BSA? What if the other is registered as an adult, but they both go to camp as Boy Scouts because they lie about their ages? One is not registered as an adult. And neither boy is trained as adults.

Now to clarify- Two 18 year olds go to Philmont, both as Boy Scouts in a Boy Scout Troop, even though one is registered as an Assistant Scout Master and the other isn't registered at all since he turned 18 in April. What should happen to them? IS this Ok?

Making up rules is sometimes a problem in Boy Scouts. How about a scout master who says you have to be a life scout to be an spl or aspl. How about him picking the patrol leaders, using the excuse that the boys are not ready to be leaders yet, instead of helping the boys learn the leadership by doing? What about skipping SPL elections because the scoutmaster either doesn't want to train a new leader or he likes the job the current SPL is doing? What about having a family being in charge of planning an outing (like cub scouts) instead of the scouts themselves? What about having only scout master and assistant scout masters signing off requirements instead of star scouts and above? Some people like to make it up as they go.

I have a question and I'm not sure if this is the forum, but here goes. A scout turns 18 in April and goes to Philmont in July. Can he go as a scout or does he have to register as an adult in order to go to a Boy Scout Camp? Does his registration end? I would appreciate if someone could help me with this. Also, what if the troop lies about the ages of these young men? Thanks Pepper

To Sctmom I was aware of the fact that Girl Scout badges are harder to get. The leaders are better trained as well. I just feel it is a shame that the highest badge in Girl Scouts is not recognized the way the BSA Eagle is. If the two were combined then maybe there would be some fairness. By the way, did you notice that either the Girl Scout Oath or the Girl Scout Law mentions fairness. That word is not found in the BSA Oath or Law. I still say that these organizations should be coed.

What a shame that the country that brought the Bill of Rights and stands as a symbol of opportunity to much of the world still has separate but "equal" programs for our youth. The belief that the Girl Scouts is providing the same kind of program that Boy Scouts of America provides is delusional at best. When was the last time you heard of the Girl Scout Gold Award? I believe it is the highest award given to a girl in that organization. It certainly isn't recognized by most of us. Now, mention an Eagle and the proud owner gains entrance into a military academy, congress, employment with a major corporations, and can travel in outer space. I would be very much in favor of my sons being in a troop with girls. Females are about 50% of the world's population and I feel that my sons should learn how to be part of a team that includes girls.

You have interesting thoughts on changing the rules! I think that changing the rules must be very common. My son belonged to a troop where the rules were ignored. There were parents who openly consumed alcohol on outings and in the parking lot during scout meetings. I've known of fathers who carried guns in their backpacks, even though these fathers were not in law inforcement. This must be no big deal, because when complaints were made, both the charter rep. and the council treated the problem as if they were dealing with two groups of squabbling parents, those who didn't agree with this practice and those who did.

Is there and offical BSA rank requirement for the SPL, ASPL and Patrol Leaders? I know many troops will set a rank. Who in the troop sets this requirement? Also, can Star scouts and higher sign off requirements for lower ranking Boy Scout?