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Growing up, our troop would loan its gear to Girl Scouts and Youth Groups. Same for our current troop. Even for most of us scouters, our personal collection of gear is stacked and the garage/barn is unlocked. There is water for the horse, and the trough is deep.

I belong to this thing called Venturing, BSA which actually provides volunteers (including boy scouts) to help local GS/USA troops do more activities, period. There is water for the horse, and the trough is deep.

Just checked my drawer. Not only is the "1" that I have not shimmery, it's a little dingy. Just my opinion: There's something special about insignia with a little age and mismatch. It's like inheriting a bit of the careers of different scouts and scouters. If you can't find used matching #s, help your scout save up for a new set with her own money next year.

Our SMs (and the one Crew advisor ) rotate into ASMs. They are awesome to have around. There is no "new regime". We all know how it feels to be "the guy" and we pitch in accordingly.

If he served as den chief for four months while First Class, earned Star, and served as den chief for six months while a Star scout, it can be used as his PoR for Life rank. In general, at this level, we want boys serving in some PoR continuously (only taking a break if sports or other activities are too demanding) so that they can be building skills while contributing to the life of the troop.

The boys totaled three cars last year. Some friends asked me how mad I was, and I told them there's nothing sweeter than the sound of your child's voice instead of someone else giving you the news. I've walked through the valley with friends who had to endure the alternative. Make good use of your Christmas miracle. And if your son is ever discouraged about the hassled with insurance, car dealerships, etc .,,. remind him that those are small trade-offs for happiness.

Well, it's a good thing we have "Scouting History" for tangents like these!

@gblotter and @DuctTape are revealing two confusing extremes. One insists that duty to God is something apart from all the good things one does, the other insists that doing good things is in essence duty to God. Truth is likely somewhere in between. From what I gather, Baden Powell insisted that kids weren't theologians. Therefore, they need to experience a more practical religion of service, ideals, and the outdoors in order to intuit God. Then as they mature, they can bring the faith of their parents (and friends) to address the questions that naturally arise during the application of practical religion.

I'm pretty sure Dad was on most of my BoRs, including Eagle. He never said anything, though. I was proud of him.

It's new to me, but I like its old-school feel. I now get why I was sent around to other patrols asking for a left-handed smoke-shifter. I saw a lot of different camp set-ups that day! I could have really used that line with an SM who insisted on setting up the troop dining fly and chow table on the opposite end of the dam (trailers could go no further) when the SPL figured they'd just cook their pancakes and sausage in camp.

As one who let's his tongue slip more than I should ... Yes! Please remind guys like me that it's wrong in meetings to take advantage of language others don't want to hear or use. Iron sharpens iron.

Let's not whitewash things. You probably won't hear it from BSA units. But ... I have met plenty of GS/USA members who effectively said their organization's use of the word is mere window dressing. They were shocked when I made it clear that such rhetoric was not tolerated in my crew (or in our VOA). My reply was very simple: "When you want to stop complaining and do something about it, I'm here for you."

I make a point to assure everyone that I was a pompous windbag long before I was assigned to the Crow patrol. If anything, WB helped me tone it down. I wear my beige neckerchief because, 1) it shows that I am ready to serve and 2) it's the only one that's sized right. Regarding camporees in general. The lessons learned from this thread: Have a lean, but effective, committee. If a small group wants to do their thing, let them form a subcommittee to make it so. Give them space (or award scouts for visiting their station) according to their reputation for doing it well. Don't let new regulations throw you completely off the rails. Ideally, ask each troop/crew to contribute something (e.g., run a station, direct parking, etc ...). You've heard from leaders here who don't think much of district events. Contact the leaders of troops/crews in your district who haven't attended recent camporees. Ask them if there is anything specific that has led their youth to stay away from them. Bringing in girls? If you have female venturers who've shown up at camporees, ask them about for a summary of the good, the bad, and the ugly. By the way, we should have been inviting GS/USA to these kinds of things all along. Our council and area Venturing Officers' Association certainly made that effort, and these kinds of synergies needed to be elevated by BSA, but they weren't. I want to also add: if you have young leaders who want to plan something adventurous for their district, bend over backwards to promote their idea. I've seen us lose really good leadership because the naysayers held sway.

It is a big country, so their will be wide opinions. Heck I'm second guessing myself all the time. When we agreed to suspend our dealer, it wrecked my crew. I knew the chances of him joining scouts again were slim. I see him around town and let him know I miss him around the troop. Same for his buddies who he dragged down with him. They found other activities to occupy their time where their parents could watch them like hawks. On the other hand, our younger boys and their parents know where we stand and that we are there for them. But, the bottom line, BSA doesn't want us to confer Eagles to boys who aren't scouts. When you choose to reject the Oath and Law in your daily life, you are not a scout. The best love that can be given you is a denial of the privileges accorded to scouts.

We also want to commissioners to be on the alert for scouts sputtering crackers while saying "Zombie Snowpocalypse" 10x fast. ... Somebody needs to get that video!!!!

I disagree with how you're reading into YPT. Requiring a male and female adult at all times for every enclosed space would mean that every Den Chief training and merit badge pow-wow would need a male and female registered adult in every classroom. That would spread resources so thin that it would set up a very predictable situation for a predator to take advantage of. Again, several teams of commissioners, each made up of the opposite sex, roaming the halls and checking in on classrooms would do more to make sure our youth are safe. I am really concerned about over-interpreting YPT because I have been in several situations with venturing where it was really important for the adult females to be on elsewhere in camp while a couple of us guys were advising the female youth in a training course. We could hold the fort for an hour or two between visits by the female adults. A couple of men at a camporee station (enclosed or not) visited by a patrol of girls for 15-20 minutes will be in compliance. We really want the commissioners to be on the alert for a single male or female adult giving undue attention to a patrol of youth between stations.

Although I think it's a really good idea, by way of training, to invite a newly female leader to join staff at every station, it's not essential for YPT. The activity is the camporee. If you have commissioners of both sexes making regular rounds, I think you will do a better job of fending off predators and false accusations than if you station your female adults (or males, if they happen to be the minority) in one place.

To keep us all on the same wavelength, we have the Eagle advisor go over any 'hiccups' scouts come across. The main thing that I'm looking for is if the scout can get it done in a couple of months, and if the troop, the scouts' friends, or someone else in the community will get behind the scout's project. Some projects demand a lot more detail than others. Some of them require the scout going over the project with multiple parties, (e.g., town council meetings, service organizations). Other's have been pre-approved by the beneficiary, and the scout has been given a lot of latitude in execution. Note: when I was a scout, my project was approved on a handshake. My report was three pages long, triple spaced, with one hand drawing. The only "fancy" part was the transparent cover with the decal lettering. So, I'm not looking for foisting a lot of bureaucracy on a scout. On the other hand, my paycheck is the result of grantsmanship, so I have a good idea when more up-front detail is needed. The demand for detail is a function of the beneficiary, the project, and the skills of the scout.

This works better for venturers than scouts (age and internet access being impediments): Google docs/sheets come in handy if you have small numbers of youth (<50) youth who are working through an award at roughly the same time.

You know what? Back in the dark ages, some people used to write memos addressed "To Whom It May Concern" regarding "Partial Completion of Award X" when it came to a scout's progress, that note was given to the scout, and the counselor kept a copy. It counted as good as a blue card -- especially a partial one. The last counselor to see the scout could add his "completed" signature to the scout's copy, copy the memo himself, and the scout could take that back to his unit. Or, the last counselor in the chain would just sign off on the blue card, or in this case, fill out the completed advancement report. It's a pity nobody has plain white paper just lying around to do such a thing anymore.

British Ex-Mil with good camera presence who made his name simulating survival situations for TV. His shows are fun to watch. He's been Scouts UK's Chief Scout for some time. And, yes, he gets a lot of attention. Flys in on helicopter to scout conventions, signs autographs, gives motivational speeches/videos. Projects a likable personality. Genius move on the part of Scouts UK. He's a good choice for highlighting what scouts do.

My religion is intrinsically linked to fundraising. Jesus spoke more about money than anything else! It's hardly a diversion from the topic!

You describe a pure hypothetical, and one that simply does not apply based on facts in evidence. Every event that @CodyMiller351 described made it clear that two or more 21+ers were present. It's also a problem if they take the boys pistol-shooting, or quad riding, or if they go swimming without qualified supervision. There's a laundry list of such pitfalls a troop -- especially a very small one -- should avoid, but if it looks like the troop is being compliant, bringing up such a list doesn't address any imminent problem. The imminent problem is an adult who doesn't want to step in line. Honestly, I don't think that has much to do with the young 1st ASM. I think this has to do with a dad who is insecure about how to take care of his boy and how to relate to others, so he is trying to carve out his niche in this group and do things "just so" for the sake of his personal comfort. Most of us have witnessed this in one form or another.

First class by Memorial Day is definitely achievable for any who crossover on MLK day. By Thanksgiving I could envision that some of those scouts would be looking at Star and yet be 5th graders (either by earning AoL quickly or by repeating a grade).

Reverent and cheerful are two sides of the same coin. But at the cub level, both translate poorly. Too serious sometimes for the one, and as this topic points out, too silly sometimes for the latter. We tempered this by, in addition to cub camp, going camping with the family and sending the kids to skills-based church camps.