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First … the rule is that a uniform is not required to participate in scouting. But … I think where I agree with @Mrjeff in that scouting should be a place where we set aside our personal agendas. I discourage scouts from wearing campaign pins on their uniforms. I’m okay with earrings, but when they are being used to set scouts apart from their fellows, it’s a problem. This includes behavior. I would not let a Venturer misquote the Quran to slander Muslims. I insisted that they not use “backward” when referring to those with a restrictive sexual ethic. The “protest tutu” is in that category. It’s kinda like the knot thing. Stack on too many rows, and it seems like the person is setting themselves apart from, rather than uniting with, other boots-on-the-ground of scouters. That said, an opportunity was missed here. Rather than grousing about someone not enforcing rules, it would be worthwhile asking the scout what happened that compelled him/her to drift substantially away from dressing like one’s fellows. It then would have been worthwhile to offer to help in any way that conformed to practicality nd conscience.

Kids don’t look at the press about abuse either, yet all you all worry about how it affects BSA membership. Why? Because parents write the checks. Parades are fun. Setting up camp in a park where your friends can stop in and see you do what you do is fun. Sitting on a dunk tank in full uniform is fun (even when you friend who pitches well puts a buck down for a few throws). Sitting and listening to some SM spout off about how great it is to have been a scout is as stupid as it sounds.

Hope this link helps https://extension.psu.edu/tree-of-heaven We have plenty of cardinals, and the mantis should be coming round soon. But it seems like most of the nymphs will have matured by then. Time to keep an eye out for those egg sacks.

About 24 KIA when I found them on a surprise ToH sapling that had grown up through my hedge this spring. As many escaped. I saw squished specimen downtown at a bus stop. Who knows where it was hatched from? On a walk around the block at work and I found another ToH sapling yet to be infested. Multiply that by as many blocks with hedges in this city, and that’s their habitat. We ain’t winning this one. Look out Ohio.

Examples of great marketing that we scouts did: Parades Ringing the kettle for Salvation Army in uniform Setting up camp in a community park Doing the same at the fairground for the week long Bicentennial, this included a gateway with every topo map covering a famous trail that traversed our county Reading the opening script for fireworks at said celebration Volunteering at dunking booths in uniform Giving a talk at the Elks club Regarding @Eagle1993's link. Thanks to friends who obsess about such things, I know several excellent cigar shop owners who would slap our moniker on one of their imports if BSA allowed us to use their brand. Over the past couple of decades dozens of movies and TV shows that had actors portraying characters in some kind of outdoor/patriotic/service organization, but their uniform is not Official BSA simply because of brand protection.

Or, the weak learn how, with teamwork they may thwart the strong. Don’t want our scouts learning that lesson!

Oh, help me out guys. Where is that ban on water balloons written? @Scoutcrafter we don’t have any of those, or super soakers. We only have portabke heat stroke abatement devices.

Regarding scoutbook, as an ASM, it took me all of 2020 to get used to it, two months to realize that I didn’t have access to the records of scouts who transferred from troop that merged with us last year, four months to realize that I didn’t have access to this year’s crossovers, a month to realize that everyone though I had access and fix it. We have one ASM who dedicated nearly all of his scouter time to troubleshoot all of the glitches. If it weren’t for him, we’d be toast.

@Cavan, welcome to the forums! @Rip Van Scouter, if you're still out there, you've dropped a pebble that's still rippling through the pond! So, there's these things called troop libraries that should hold old books, pamphlets, and magazines from well before Al Gore and I invented the internet. There was even a Book-Binding MB that showed scouts how to turn old copies of Boy's Life and Scouting into bound volumes. Moreover, may public libraries preserved them, and many of us who read the write-in sections even saw correspondence from girls who were avid readers of those volumes. Sadly, many libraries are in disrepair, and book-binding skill may be lost to history. The digitized versions, although they get lots of hits and likes, pale in comparison to the circulation of these magazines in their time. I have met young men in search of Boy Scout handbooks from well before their time, and I would have never imagined that they couldn't simply walk to the local library to discover what they were looking for. So, unlike you, I find it crazy that many a great correspondence from a century ago is relatively inaccessible to the average teen. Let that be a cautionary tale. Without the diligent assistance of your generation, all of this great literature spawned from the largest youth movement in history will be hidden from youth of the future.

By the way, now that we have 13 scouts in their 1st year, signing off each and every scout rank requirement is an exhausting proposition. Kudos to our troop guides who have accomplished that for most of the boys. The ones who completed it quickly had earned AoL and it was a matter of an older scout having a relatively quiet moment to go over those requirements. One scout told me he was having trouble memorizing everything, and asked if we could let him skate on requirement #1. He's very active and bright, definitely a fly-before-you-can-walk type. I made it clear to him that there are scouts -- much older than him -- whose brains cannot memorize things. He's not one of those, so on their behalf, he has to put in the work. Meanwhile, he's welcome to make it a priority mastering the skills for the other ranks until he is ready to rattle off the Oath and Law and Outdoor Code on his own. It might just take us another few months before every boy in the troop is at or beyond Scout rank. But, based on the skills that I've seen them accomplish, those who earn it later will probably be in a good position to earn Tenderfoot immediately.

@Scoutcrafter, welcome to the forums! For anyone following, the Troop Committee Guidbook and other resources may be found here https://www.scouting.org/programs/scouts-bsa/troop-resources/adult-publications/, But please don’t think you can talk fellow scouters out of a situation you don’t like. You can’t find a statement in definitive sources supporting how you think the committee should be able to push the SM (or any ASM) into a particular program strategy. What does that tell you? I think the flaw in your logic lies in that there is no reason to rush the advancement of first year scouts. And the SM’s not wrong. Good food and the ability to make a decent shelter are critical skills. (I loved it when son #1 came back from summer camp able to make pancakes for us on he weekends.) Your scout is being prepared to be a good citizen. I’d call that a win. There are some things in scout rank that are critical you go over with your son … specifically the protection from abuse requirement (#6). Youth face a constant barrage of bullying and sexual propositions, and parents still continue to worry me about the way they set up boys to be vulnerable it.

When Greater Pittsburgh Council merged with Penns Woods we had a naming contest and then design competition for the patch. As fun as it was, the name Laurel Highlands would give an outsider little clue of where we are. Highlands from the Catskills to the Smokies are full of Laurel. And you ain’t finding any of the stuff in the boundaries of the old Greater Pittsburgh Council — except for Heritage reservation which is enclaved in Westmorland-Fayette council.

Being one who opposes ageism, I’m not about to insignia wonk a guy (or, now, gal) who still has their Eagle or any other oval, on their left pocket. If I wrote the Insignia Guide, I would insist that all you all wear the rank you achieved. (Doing so could reduce “knot noise” by two — since AoL and Eagle knots would be redundant.) that we’d issue ovals with distinctive borders (or, perhaps, distinctive size/shape) to anyone who went back as adult leader and mastered the skills to earn their next rank. that we’d have an even more distinct oval for a rank mastered by adults who were never in the program. councils would go back to drab shoulder patches — matching the color scheme and font of unit numbers — with the name of the largest city and state in that council. (Want your municipality to have its name recognized? Build up the board and the membership to have its own council.) epaulets could be striped or checkered reflecting the multiple divisions at which a scouter may served. An alternative is to be rid of epaulets, and put those colors on the borders of the council patch. standard issue chord and instructions for making a woggle or bolo tie suitable for holding mentor pins. But, I’m just a stranger on the internet.

Adult volunteers are extensions of paid staff. I don’t know why anyone would think otherwise. Every time I’m at camp for a full week, I check in with the camp director and ask where I can pitch in. (It’s usually aquatics. Not many scouters keep up their guard certification.) This is nothing new. When I wanted to earn First Aid MB, my SM walked us over to a neighboring campsite and introduced me the their SM who would be my counselor. The challenge these days for scouters is that simply keeping up with training is sucking a lot of bandwidth. (I really admire the COPE volunteers who keep the climbing courses rolling.)

I don’t wear a suit jacket to church anymore, so my mentor pins go on my uniform. If it bothers someone, and they own a “proper” outfit on which to wear them, and they wear it regularly, I’ll send them one for them to wear. I’m not a fan of rows of knots. I love seeing temporary patches and Jambo patch’s on everyone. O/A flaps are cool too. Things with words that carry real meaning. BSA dug it’s own grave. They deserve scouters who overbling if they encourage obscurely titled council patches that can be seen from space at night.

I once told some scouts that I’d double their tip next time if their booth has some photos … including one of the scoutmaster dropping off the tower of one of the council climbing events.

Welcome to the forums. So you really have three options: 1. Use your old uniform. Remove rank patches and replace them with knots. 2. Get a new uniform. Preserve the old uniform as is for historical purposes. 3. Don’t bother with a uniform. Focus on helping your scout look sharp.

Gains approaching what you described haven’t been observed since the mid ‘60s … before the ageist policy against adults earning Eagle was nationalized. I have not heard talk of any radical program reversal of that or any other policy that would reverse trends in membership.

This might not apply to scuba -- or to scouts at Seabase who are coached in LNT, but a lot of snorklers are tempted to walk on reefs. I guess socks would do less damage than fins. Have any coastal folks seen this as problematic? Or, are people wiser about how they behave at low tide?

Let’s face facts. It costs real time and money on BSA’s part to vette volunteers. Those of us who are in “fee” positions are fronting the bill for those who are only in “no fee” positions. It’s worth it to us boots on the ground because we hate the thought of sending scouts to a sketchy adult just for the sake of a lousy patch that someone with a clear record could provide if we knew we needed to recruit them. Moreover, any further improvements to YPT are most likely coming from increased fees. So, if your only position is MBC, and you have more to offer a unit or district, consider setting aside funds (and time) for the registration fees and the training. In the long run, that will ease the burden on the rest of us.

What does the merit badge pamphlet say?

Being an MBC is tangential. ASM’s have to pay … to register as an adult leader with a unit unit dues (if any) to attend IOLS training Vehicle maintenance, fuel, gear, literature time taking YPT, hazards training, etc … advanced courses (BSA guard, Wilderness First Aid, Woodbadge, etc…) depending on how you choose to assist the SM. My unit pays for adult leader registrations, so I try to sneak the $’s back in … donating to fundraisers, getting snacks for an activity, etc … But the bottom line: if you want to be an ASM, set aside some coin for it.

I am afraid any resolution of the problem will not comfort the accused scout … If the accused scout’s defense is true, then the accusing scout is either delusional or manipulative. In either case, she can’t be trusted and is therefore disqualified as a scout. Such scouts in my troop or crew have been suspended for six months. We can work with crazy — a little; but lying crazy — not so much. Sadly, it can take years to recover from being suspended from a volunteer organization, and we have not had suspended scouts return. So the accused scout’s wish for reconciliation is unlikely to happen anytime soon. It doesn’t matter if lying scouts are removed officially or not. If they aren’t brutally honest about themselves, they will erode the life of their unit. What scout will want to tent with this scout? What leader will want to have any kind of personal relationship? It won’t be long before the unit suspends operation for lack of membership and adequate supervision. There simply aren’t a lot of winning scenarios.

Not necessarily. It may not be an actionable offense. (Most bullying is not.) Since the scout has been given scant information, we don’t know which authorities have been informed. Although we’d expect them to interview the scout by now, sometimes they do not. Moreover, it may be a false report. In which case the accuser could be in very deep trouble were this taken to the authorities. Even if it is not taken to the authorities, this could be a very difficult time for the accuser if her claim cannot be verified. @scoutlaw74, if your scout is a victim of a false report, he may need counseling in a few months. Vindication is not always enough to overcome the trauma of false accusation.

Good luck, but there’s room for pessimism.