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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.

There's a whole lot going on at the cub level. Just being a parent doesn't qualify them. They've had at least five years to find out how talented with kids they are (or not). As @David CO points out, the best some parents/guardians can do for the unit is bring their child and hang back. It's not merely a matter of them having an adverse history. It's that they know they aren't up for the task. Other parents/guardians have not learned that they may have a lot to offer. At the very least, they could hold the rest of you accountable. You really need them to surmount that training hurdle. If you've identified one or two folks like this ... it's time for you to become a cheerleader and let them know you think they are the right person for the job. Other parents have just said "yes" to too much. And this isn't just kids' activities. They've committed to some American dream with a house too big for them to clean/repair a lawn too big for them to maintain, vacations too far from home, and a financial profile that precludes hiring laborers. If one of them is right for your team, you're gonna have to convince them that they can say "no" to other things and do something that will yield biggest return on investment they have ever experienced. Sort through your parents, get to know a few a little better, and see if anyone seems to click. If nobody's available, some of your program will have to be curtailed. It really is just that simple.

@IndyDad, welcome to the forums. And, thanks in advance for all you do for the youth! If you have a scout with a baseball, and an old house, you have needed a pane of glass replaced! Yes, blinds can be made/replaced/fitted/repaired to your house. With old artwork, the paper backing can wear off of antique frames. Waterproofing is often a matter of reshaping a lawn or cleaning out clogged drains. But, we've also had our kids digging and chinking! If scouts do take you up on this badge, your are about to learn a lot of what a scout can do! Some "new house" projects: Run Cat-6 cable safely through a house to avoid tripping hazards, etc ... splice a connector on cable. . Replace an outlet with wall-mounted USB ports. Check the water temperature/pressure on the house main. Install a wireless router, determine it's optimal location, tune it to avoid interference with neighbor's signals. Install a rainwater collector. Test the quality of collected water and determine appropriate uses for it. Safely replace incandescent fixtures with LED. Install energy-saving timer switches. Help program a "smart" thermostat. That's what I like about this badge, there are lots of possibilities.

If you want to gripe about this organization's marketing doublespeak, you'll have to take a number behind a formidable list of parties. Case in point: at no time has BSA touted a sex-segregated program with the same awards and recognition for all, yet here we are.

Shame on Dave. The unit should report to the CO at least yearly. For churches, Scout Sunday is ideal for that sort of thing. If you don't have a meaningful conversation with your COR and IH (institutional head) at least once a year, you are doing your troop a profound disservice. Now, it's time for Dave to start having meaningful conversations with the new COR ... that would be Bob. Bob's belligerent, we gather. But, is he wrong? Has he met these leaders whose applications he holds in his hand? Has he called their references? Is he representing the CO well? If Dave is concerned that Bob is not representing the wishes of the CO to the troop, the only recourse is to contact the IH and make up for lost time.

There has been some psycho-social research internationally that touched on the topic of scouting in specific. If I find the articles (again) I'll share. I agree with @David CO -- not because of any concerns about socialism per se -- but because I think the cost-benefit in health-care dollars won't tip for or against underwriting youth programs. However, if the point of the class is to work through that calculus, this one is pretty creative. We all have taken the public health ramifications of youth education for granted. The ability, for example, for large numbers of people to swim in open water without dying is intrinsically linked to the proportion of individuals trained in aquatics, first aid, and lifesaving. Loss of life and limb due to forest fires is inversely proportional to the percentage of campers with training in fire safety. And so on ... FWIW - there are tax incentives for youth leaders (writing off travel, uniforms, fees, etc ...) if their contributions push them above the standard deductions.

The World Scout Jamboree is in 2023 (South Korea). Scouters will be spread thin regardless.