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I’ve put that burden on scouts who wanted a crew. I told them if they could bring me 5 buddies who weren’t in scouts, we’d get rolling. Yep, cover the twelve steps. That will get the DE involved. It will also build the mindset that you need. Regarding churches, they really need to be able to dedicate the space and provide a COR willing to give oversight.

Thanks @HelpfulTracks. The larger problem, I think, is that Eagle rank has been oversold. I fight this constantly in my troop. New parents come in and think that our troop is something special because some of us adults are Eagle Scouts. Meanwhile, the majority of other adults have put heart and soul into the life of the troop, helping us in countless ways. We Eagle Scouts don’t do all that much besides wear a nice knot. There’s a lot to be gained in taking pride in one’s advancement — be it Eagle or Tenderfoot. And it always breaks my heart when someone says, “I only earned [insert award that’s not Eagle here].” Drop the “only.” Remember your scouting career with pride!

What point diminishment? And wouldn’t the converse be true? If all a person can do is a point increment and nothing else, then that would not be contributing anything either. If it is true, shouldn’t you be aggressively asking someone to expound on why they might agree with you, if they haven’t taken the time to do so? Anyone who doesn’t see things the way I do, they are welcome to downvote. It means a lot to me. I won’t bully you for anything beyond that. I believe the only correct reply (if it didn’t clutter up the forum) would be, “Thank you for weighing in.” My apologies to anyone who expected that from me and didn’t get it. For those of you who’ve ever upvoted anything of mine, please consider getting professional help.

But, the CPC will be permitted to publish its own evaluation of changes (or lack of change), no? That alone could serve as an advisory to concerned parents. My biggest problem from a boots-on-the-ground perspective is that my parents aren't concerned. They think I and my SM's are saints. I am happy to say that we are worthy of a little elevation, just like the old Handbooks said. But parents should be raising the bar on us. A report from the CPC would go a long way to helping them understand that.

I thought I made clear, @David CO, that if it's just a paper Eagle story, it should stop there. But how would one troop know if it is just that? The political angle is a significant one where I live. Scout alumni in my district have been elected to public office. Scouters in my unit have run and are running for office (and even have their campaign signs on my property). If there was a hint of pretension in any of them, not only would they have my endorsement withdrawn, they would have my vocal opposition. If it were just me being a curmudgeon, I'm sure my observations would go nowhere. But, if someone in more than one or two other spheres also noted a cutting of corners ... it would amount to a lack of public confidence worth exploring. And, that's what reporters are for: to connect dots that we don't have time to observe.

I agree that the editor would not (and should not) publish a single letter regarding a single incident. However, it may be receiving reports of a pattern of incidents. The pattern could be regarding this one Eagle scout. (For example, he runs for office touting a prestigious resume. However, along with this evidence from the troop, the paper has on file a report of grade inflation, questionable signatures on a petition to be put on a ballot, etc ...) Or, it could be regarding multiple scouts. (E.g. -- this locality might have a spate of paper-pushing parents sweeping up accolades from multiple youth organizations. It might be a cultural phenomenon.) It could be that this council sweeps other things under the rug. (E.g. -- malfeasance with Eagle applications might also parallel a failure to report abuse to authorities.) Before taking such action, it is fair to consider that the troop might be in the wrong. Maybe they've raised such a high bar that paperwork moves ridiculously slow, and the scout and his parent felt they had no other choice but to seek help beyond his own unit. It could be that this troop is unique in its troubles; however, If @UpstateNYCC is accurate in the depiction of events, the troop might wrongly feel alone, isolated, and left out to dry by council. One way to break this cycle is to communicate to the Fourth Estate. To be clear, I would not want to do this. As a rule I've kept the press at a distance from matters involving scouts. And, if a reporter asks for some exclusive interview from your leadership about some written statement, decline. Your statement should speak for itself. (Yes, I've disappointed a reporter by saying just that. Still, the paper quoted the statement, and we all saved time.)

Specifically, the troop can send a letter to the leader’s COR and IH advising them that, with regard to the advancement of a scout in your troop, this leader broke trust. Regarding publicity, the troop could write a letter to the editor of the newspaper that this scout claimed an award under false pretense.

One forum member is verbally bullying members who down-vote his (her?) posts. This person claims to want more explanation, but to my knowledge has never asked for an explanation from anyone who up-voted a post. This abusive behavior puts a chilling effect on forum members who, with no further comment, may wish to disagree with our posts (a service that I value highly). IMHO, this is unacceptable. [Note: I am just pasting here so there is a standard note when one needs to report unacceptable posts.]

The scout leader who falsely reported a scout’s advancement is untrustworthy. A scout is trustworthy. Remove the leader, he’s not a scout. You should have suspended the scout immediately upon hearing that he conspired with his mom to violate the 1st point of the Scout Law. You now live with the consequences of your inaction.

JMHO, fretting over scouts in various states of undress does nothing to deter a predator. Ten years from now, shirtless might be the cultural norm, and harping over uniform shirts might be considered CSA. (Come to think of it, one of the victims who has been kind enough to recount their story here mentioned how their SM obsessed about scouts’ patch placement, getting out a ruler to measure them during inspection.) If YP reporting is flooded with these kinds of complaints, it will be completely useless to anyone.

BSA agrees ... https://filestore.scouting.org/filestore/merit_badge_reqandres/safety.pdf Note the bibliography, page 79. Both Home Repairs and Safety MBs have Underwriter’s Laboratory in their listings. Has anybody taken their scouts on a tour of an underwriters laboratory? There’s one near a favorite camp of our scouts. This conversation is inspiring me to add this to a list of potential activities.

Let us note that the name of the MB is not Home Building, or even Home Remodeling. Corded blinds will not disappear any time soon. Scouts will need to repair them for decades, as recommended by the consumer products safety commission: https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2001/CPSC-Window-Covering-Industry-Announce-Recall-to-Repair-Window-Blinds If you leave scouts ignorant of how to repair such things, they will do it wrongly … or not at all. The carnage that you claim to prevent will ensue. Keep the requirement, revise the pamphlet if needed, forestall death.

As long as girls can dress like an authentic young Pocahontas at Jamestown …

If one is to assume that the rate of victimization in scouting is on par with what has been reported in general population(s), the majority of victims did not bother. Either they saw the "talk of equitable compensation" for the large compromise that it would be, solicitations never reached them, or monetary compensation at the expense of today's scouts was never part of their formula for healing.

These are all non-problems. 1. We don’t need a lot of scouters to have done every scout skill. Only one in every troop. As far as I knew, my SM was the only person in my troop to have mastered them. And I never saw him swim, but there was a WAC vet who made it her mission to make sure every child in the county could keep aquatic death far off. 2. Have no idea what you mean. A skill mastered in a troop is valued at deer camp — as some of my scouts realized after receiving multiple invites to work them. 3. Again, I don’t need most scouters to read the book. I need them to find me property to camp on, ranges to shoot at, lakes to fish in, community leaders to visit, people to serve. 4. MBs? Guard certifications? Venturing?

While unjamming some window weights today, my recollection of that diagram of a window-sash in that merit badge pamphlet borrowed from the troop library umpteen years ago came in handy.

And, BSA could exact some coin for what scouts could learn by routinely camping with a troop. I don’t miss them.

@BadChannel70, welcome to the forums. All this site can offer is a place for you to hash things out. But, I hope it helps in the healing, and makes all the wiser those of us who were fortunate to avoid such malefactors in our childhood.

Modern tents are almost knot free. Teaching scouts to make a shelter with tarp and ropes gives them a life skill.

In general, quiz games have limited education value. But, building fun into the process is always good. Zombie fences, first aid meets, water rescue drills, land navigation to dead-drops of dinner/dessert ... these are the things that build scout skills.

Let’s all stop thinking the worst of one another and roll back the last three posts. @SiouxRanger’s wishing contagion on the innocents among an adversary’s family is unacceptable ad hominem (even if no such man exists), and as we see, opened the gate to taking umbrage in kind. Think well of one another. Read twice before replying. Ask clarification rather than denounce. Make only one point, send, sleep on he other.

Well, you’re in for it now! (Welcome to the forums BTW.) Seriously, there was precious little more rewarding than advising Daughter’s crew. (It was also Son #1 and #2’s crew as well, but having spent 13 years on the outside looking in, I think it meant a lot more for her.) Identify your troop’s female ASM’s immediately and get them on the same training page. If the CO can recommend someone from their ranks — all the better. If you’re claiming to stand apart, you need a couple of adults with that frame of reference. FWIW - most of us on this forum push patrols to operate independently. So, what you envision isn’t much different than if you said your son and 8 friends were joining an existing troop. Also, brace yourself for younger scouts who want to kick it into high gear while those older boys want to camp so hey can kick back and relax. It’s a global phenomenon.

Mandates, historically, have tended to backfire in the long run. BSA’s statement is better nuanced. Although it may leave room for spread in units/districts where members are avoiding vaccination for reasons other than an established personal risk for adverse reactions, we do no service to our nation for people to avoid scouting in order to shirk a mandate.

You’re welcome. I assure you, setting up and maintaining shared passwords is a life skill that our kids will bear for the rest of their lives. But, maybe that’s not the important part of the “repair.” Mounting the router and running cable is probably more significant aspect. But you definitely have a lot of latitude with this one. You’ll find the biggest challenge with counseling this badge is that scouts might think it’s not a fun one to do.

Death is a strong word. Worst case scenario is the pack will be dissolved. Let me rephrase: Your family didn't fund the entire program, you all enabled a co-dependent relationship. Your wife doesn't want to give up her 50hr/week job for the sake of some scouts' smiles. We all have priorities. You did more than the adults were asking you to do. It's not fun to have your work go un-appreciated. The best favor you could do for everyone involved is for one pack meeting, announce "Sorry folks the kids will not be getting their patches because we couldn't fit in time to order them. We're just going to announce what they've earned." If nobody complains, you know you don't need that as part of your program. If someone does complain, you might have just found your next volunteer. I'm not criticizing your enthusiasm. But, enthusiasm needs to be channeled or burnout ensues. Let everyone know that your Mrs. ArmyMutt is done with extra jobs now. A family emergency is brewing and you all need to handle it. Ask your kid(s) what is the most fun thing about the program and commit to that. Everything else should be handed off to someone else or dropped.