qwazse

I'm no historian, but the general thinking seems to be that the time for combat may be upon a lad soon enough. Scouting on the other hand, comprises a set of skills that gives your fellow combatants the edge.

Miki, And here's hoping that if a crew of girls needs a chaperon for their expedition, you'll find yourself "trapped" on the trail (or the reef) with them too!

R., blessings to you. SM's spouse is the hardest job on the books IMHO. For the Life scout, he needs to have a conference with him and ask, "What position can you hold for six months straight that will benefit your troop (or, your venturing crew, if you're in one). I'm looking for something that may take up 2-3 hours/week of your time. Something that, at your EBOR, if someone asks, you'll be able to answer with pride." An important question to ask boys who "have a life" is "what can the troop do to be a bigger part of your life?" Maybe they could be the color guard at your sporting event. I'm not a fan of percents. But I am a fan of "The troop commits to providing 30 meetings throughout the year. We hope to see you at at least fifteen. For the others, we would love for you to contact your PL each time and apologize for your absence." You then train your PLs on how to handle those calls (e.g., "Thanks for letting me know. Is there anything you'd like me to say at the PLC? Are you interested in X activity?") Likewise for outings. The troop commits to scheduling 12. We want you to be at 4. Around here CoH's wind up at inopportune times (depends on church availability, the families reunion schedule, etc ...). So make sure that 4/5 figure is reasonable for everyone. Keep in mind that, collectively, boys can set unrealistic goals for themselves. So yes, "try" to abide and "we want" (rather than "must" and "we demand") are operative words. Then at SMC it is fair to ask "I haven't seen you around much, so I'm not a fair judge of your scout spirit. Have you been showing it? If so how? Is there anyone I can call and talk to about your character?" Basically, you want your husband's attention to be on the boys, not their stats.

Whitewater stressful? Hmmm. That may explain why some of my committee never again want to be in a raft with me.

we ALL know that if it had truly been "some" (i.e. 3 or 4 scouts) there would have been NO need for an e-mail. They sure didn't sent an e-mail saying that "some" scouts had gotten a cut or a scrape, did they? And I'm sure it happened. You are generalizing our ability to extrapolate a second hand message. So, how many boys fron your troop succumbed? I agree that you didn't need that message. But there was no way they could be more specific. The only obligation your leaders may have had was to call the parents of the boys who were in the worse shape. Sticking to that would have marked them as pros. As it is, they are a bunch if a amature dads. If this is the only way they give you grief, you have it good!

I might add that your boys should plan their breaks where they can filter water and top their tanks. The temptation to push on through to a campsite can leave you high and dry. (That said, our boys never seem to complain about taking a walk back to the nearest stream once they've set up camp.) As their map reading skills improve, their ability to identify locations of brooks will help them make more efficient hike plans.

Our boys own their own tents, but that doesn't always guarantee that they'll be more responsible and air them out. The cleaning advice will come in handy. If you can't identify the boy or parent, sounds like you all are cleaning a tent at the next meeting. If it bothers the boys enough, they can have the QM set up a check in/out system.

Back when reliable filters were expensive and my troop was poor, we placed caches (gallon containers) of water strategically along the trail the day before our departure. It took some of the mystique out of it, but we didn't have to worry about contamination on ridge-top pasture land. If you are just starting out, and gear purchases are getting in your way. Re-purposed half-gallon plastic juice containers (especially the ones with little handles) make for fine canteens. Troop meetings should involve a lot of shake-downs. The first one, SPL and you bring your gear and unpack it in front of the boys. Next meeting the boys bring their gear. That weekend you hike. Practice water usage at the meetings. Evaluate after the hike.

I've talked guys (and some ladies) down from a few metaphorical ledges. Spent too much time growing up in the beer business to put myself anywhere near where gents on the verge of fisticuffs. I know my grandma, uncles and cousins were respected (and feared) bar tenders who did not tolerate threatening behavior from patrons. I've broken up fights between scouts who had spent who thought their season of boxing lessons gave them the right to "throw down." Some parents thought that was dangerous, but nobody dared give me a MYOB lecture. When youth friend me on FB, they find out that I am not complacent about their speech. When friends of their friends are uncouth, I try to contact the parents as discretely as possible. I don't consider MYOB an option. One guy who was a mutual friend of the family started posting girlie photos. I contacted the family member -- who happened to be a pastor -- and we both confronted him. Turns out the guy was recently jilted and needed to talk. Again, if I have to see your crap, you're going to hear from me about it. If boys from another troop are in imminent danger, I'll intervene. Otherwise, I'll find their SPL and ask if he could help resolve the issue. On the flip side. The advantage of having a troop with bad kids is that we expect about 50% of our visits are because someone needs to talk to us about our boys' inappropriate behavior. And yes, we have adults who would go on the offensive and throw out the MYOB lecture. That's why the SM and I try to meet visitors before they come too far into camp! We can't be everywhere our boys are causing trouble, so those who intervene on our behalf are doing us a service. And, it has had a positive effect in those boys' lives.

Patrol cooking allowed for our best learning experience, which was: DEEP FRY!!!! One patrol was asking if the could make potato chips instead of mashed potatoes (the assigned menu for Thursday's steaks night), so I told them how to set it up with their mess kits. They wound up making fries. The other patrol raided the trailer for some pancake mix and made batter-dipped onion rings. To top it all off, they dipped the Mrs. Field's cookies in the remaining batter. My arteries couldn't handle the thought of that dessert, but it looked delicious! The boys did miss open program that night, but it was game night and the adults were happy to break the tradition of someone needing to see the medic!

Fashion statement I figure. Bug's gotta eat: they'll go through your socks if they know there's fresh meat to be had! I prefer taller socks for compression. Pushes fluid from my ankles. Joints seem to ache less.

Oh, I get it. Super mom wannabe. Best solution (easiest for me because it's my favorite activity): more back-country hiking. Second best: shakedown ala Seabase style. All personal gear must fit into a 12" br 24" mesh duffel. Sleeping bag presented empty and rolled before packing. Backpacks presented empty. Trailor provisioned and loaded. Packs provisioned at arrival site. Drivers may only drop off boys and no gear. I prefer the former because nature does a lot of the work for me!

Thanks. Will pray.

So, no winter camping, anyone? I'm asking because that seem's to be my crew girls' Achilles heel. Whereas the boys have already spent a couple of cold seasons overnight, the concept is foreign to most of the ladies. One of my youth also has a circulation problem, so I haven't pressed the issue. But a girl shouldn't have to wait until she's a venturer to gear up for sleeping out in the snow!

Oooo, a WCC censure! Folks in these parts would wear that as proudly as some Orthodox brag about the papal bull the got 9.4 centuries ago!

Got my first mentor pin. It's on my collar for now. But, I really like w's nameplate idea. Wait, are nameplates in the IG?

Unit EBORs with a district rep for as long as I can remember in these parts. For most scouts, it's their last chance to frankly address the committee about what the troop should do differently. Boys have been very helpful in that position. And we listen to them VERY closely. I suppose with district EBORs, the reps might get a better feel for what the district could improve upon, but from the way you all describe it, that doesn't seem to be the case. Have what candidates told you at your district EBORs had an impact on district program?

Really CC? Struggle sessions vs. singing? It's time for a word from the "A song from every boy and a big shiny brass whistle for every lifeguard" camp. In a related thread, I've already discussed how leaving your stuff behind is a heinous offense to your troop, your country, and your momma. Won't go there again. Let's consider the law of salvage. 'Fish rescues a boy's imperiled vessel. He has rights to a salvage fee. (Any of you who've actually had someone recover your boat after a flood or storm should know this.) By rights, he can claim recompense proportionate to the value of the property recovered plus his time and effort in recovery. But, he's a scout, so instead he asks for nothing other than a song! Why? Because cheerful thrifty and friendly are more fun than "here's your knife kid, you owe me one." Later on when the boy's in front of a salvor bartering for his boat, he might be able to knock down the fee a little by replying, "I'm short on cash, but I know this really cool song that I learned for occasions just like these!" And yes, as an adult I had to sing for my gear. I did it loudly, proudly, and somewhat in tune. (They haven't asked me to sing since. ) I was greatful to burn the calories and not lose weight from my wallet. In short, if it's not fun (for everyone including the scout), stop it. Otherwise, carry on. But please don't delude yourself into thinking you're adhering more tightly to the twelve points by not calling out for a song from myself or that slacker scout!

Anybody use cast aluminum for a box? how lightweight can a composite material be?

I couldn't imagine it being any worse than sending a text saying: " A scout died in accident at camp - we'll contact you later." All that message does is create a ton of anguish and worry. I don't have to imagine. I can tell you that all the cell phones in the troop (including one with the FD dispatcher on speed dial) could not outrun the state trooper showing up at that parent's door. Simply put, the names of the dead or injured are not broadcasted until the families of the afflicted are notified. The SM couldn't hazard a guess until I (the trailing car) showed up, then we went over the roster, and he took the siblings of any who would have been in that car to the hospital. He was not permitted to call us with any info until the police were certain that next of kin were at the coroner confirming the identification of the scout. Even moms of injured boys were not told of the fatality until they were in the ER with their boy. All of the texts and calls in the interim (except to the CC) were useless rumors which I did not repeat to the next caller. The boys who had cell phones did not want them on. Point is, moms, when it's your kid, folks will do their best to make sure you're the first to know. When it's not, the most you can expect is general info. We do that for belly aches so that we have that discipline down for dehydration, broken bones, and worse.

Learn your gifts. Excersize those. Learn other folk's gifts, ask them to use those to do the jobs ypu're not good at.

What don't they do? Winter camping.

Just thinking how buff I'd be by now if only our troop did ...

There already is a badge for scouting for boys. It's called First Class Rank! What you are talking about is a BS Beurarcracy badge! Leave it to the earner to decide what the "BS" stands for. That could even be requirement 9b!

Scouting in this context has served as a yard-stick. It gave a boy a fairly simple "test" of his level of responsibility for his gear. Highly responsible (the end of the stick) would have been all gear returned to home and promptly placed in its rightful location. Completely irresponsible (the other end of the stick) would have been all gear set ablaze and left in a dumpster to avoid having to lug it back to the trailer. There are all sorts of marks in between. The convenient "parenting"/"policing" served to point out to the boy which mark along that stick applied to the boy. Thanks Eng61 for providing that useful service. I assure you that there are some parents who don't even do that for us!