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We get that a lot! The place is vast. But, the black rasberries are in, and it's worth hiking some distance to the sweeter ones. @Sentinel947's scout who works as an EMT at one of the basecamps said that they are out of crutches. But "jamboree" is no joke! The sounds of songs and games and laughter and swapping tales all night are continuous. For my part I calmly go about my day letting everyone know that the best coffee on SBR is at my site. I also mortifying Brits, one site an evening, by demonstrating how to make sun tea in a clear bottle. I get rave reviews: "Is that water cold?" "No milk?" "God. No! Please make it stop!" "That wouldn't be mint tea. That's tea and mint!"

I met @Sentinel947 at Summit Central yesterday after my nap. (Oh the life of a contingent leader.) We just sat on a shady spot in the lawn and watched the variety of uniforms (mostly activity uniforms) come up the sidewalk. We then hit the trading post. Surprisingly, it was not terribly crowded.

Questions like this are the purview of local councils.

How long does it take to form a patrol? The patrols in our World Jambo troop had two meetings one and one shakedown. Our camp is at a cross roads, and I am seeing and hearing them form and reform daily.

@SnarlyYow, thanks for sharing. In multiple volunteer capacities I have met predators and folks who were wrongly accused of predation. I'd be a fool if I thought that I can now tell the difference.

Your son can leverage his talents. Invisibility goes well with capture the flag. Seriously, if it matters to him, he should commit to sending pictures of the trip back to the troop every couple of days.

I hope you didn't misconstrue my comment as a 'vote' one way or another for a visitor. I abstained because: It would never cross my mind to visit a Jamboree. The experience for a vistor is much different than a participant. The most important thing about welcoming the world is ... be welcoming. The most important thing about spending an August day in WV is ... beat the heat! If you can be welcoming and beat the heat in your uniform all day, go right ahead. If your kids would rather dress like they're spending a day at resident camp, go right ahead. The good news is you have two days ... your family can do it differently each day.

Depends on the Scout's reply. If it was "Sorry for the omission, please let me try agian." --- that suggests to me that he is living by them. If it was: "Well, I don't think a scout really needs to do all of those things." or it was: "Correction, a cuttlefish is ..." or any such variation ... --- that suggests that there's one or more that he'd rather not live by. The Oath and Law are no mere shibboleths. If you advance the snake who says them masterfully, but you know he's refused to live up to them in his daily life, you're doing nobody any favors.

In my view one always advances after a BoR. If a board finds that the scout has not met the requirements for a rank, then the BoR is suspended until the scout rectifies the situation. The board gives the scout, in writing, where he/she falls short and what must be done to rectify the situation. IMHO, I would like a board to suspend its review any time it finds that a scout hasn't fulfilled a requirement. If he could recite the law flawlessly, and with gusto, but as a practical matter refused to live by a point, that's a reason to suspend. I would not like a board to suspend its review because someone forgot "A scout is". Any board that did so would have to convince me that the candidate actually did not believe that a decent scout would be any of those 12 points.

'Skip, missing the photo, but love the image in my head! In other news, I delivered troop t-shirts delivered to the last of our scouts. Because I only have a dozen other more important things on my list for the next 72 hours, I started working on my drying "rack". Fishing stand + 20 feet of para-chord.

I really like what she had to say about the economics of cookie sales. I think here is were we begin to shake our heads ... Newsflash: the young women who join Scouts BSA don't want to be called Girl Scouts either. They want to be scouts who happen to be girls. I believe in some ways GS/USA is a victim or its own success. Girls amass that "courage and confidence" and ask, "I want to qualify to hike and camp independently with my mates. Can I join the troop who does that?" The execs say "No, that's full!" Girls demand to be "fairly and adequately compensated" with camping nights. BSA eventually says, "Yes, but safely ..." And here we all are, trying to figure what the "but safely" entails. Hopefully our friends from around the world will give us good advice. But one piece that I think they all will agree on: "Stop making lawyers rich over things that won't make you better."

Not in one day! Although, there have been some boys that, for the sake of their health and safety ... Anyhow, I spun off the clean vehicle discussion as a topic under Working with Youth

What are your scouts responsibilities to drivers and their vehicles? From the World Jamboree Thread: ... and, concurring: I learned from mostly from band, rather than scouts, that riders can make a driver's time pleasurable by: Stepping out of muddy boots before entering, Putting your towel on your seat, Collecting litter just like the airplane stewards do, Riding shotgun and talking about life, the universe, ... Navigating, At the truck stop, giving a buddy your lunch money and your order while you clean windows and mirrors, Checking tires/oil/coolant/lights, Tuning the radio (especially if the current station goes to commercial for more than 5 seconds), Sharing your playlist (well, maybe that's just me, but I talk music and lyric analysis like nobody's business) .... Do you coach your patrols as to how to treat your troop's drivers? What courtesy tips do you give them?

I plan on having that many friends as soon as that aroma of the moka pot covers the grounds! If not, the SM and 2nd ASM aren't coffee drinkers, so the 3rd ASM and I can go six sittings before we have to wash dishes!

Seen a few such units. Met the scouts/venturers. They were impressive. Their leaders are gems. Troops devoted to scouts with disabilities have a lot of advantages. Everyone learns the rules for alternative requirements for advancement, so they can better help scouts get the most out of the program. If learning disabilities are the issue scouts may take decades to make rank. The challenge is volunteers. Not everyone is cut out for this sort of thing. And even helping one individual can be a very long game. Expectations change drastically. What's trivial for your scouts is high adventure, and potentially perilous, for these scouts. So, goals and methods have to be drastically adjusted. Still, if a scout can flourish among scouts with no obvious disabilities, I would suggest joining a troop with normal abilities. It's a tremendous growth opportunity for all involved. However, I'm not whitewash: the troop's program will change. That's not always a bad thing. But for those who want high adventure at all times, they will be making major attitude adjustments.

Since that's up 3% from last time, does that mean projects can have 2.9% fewer service hours?

Our no-my-first-rodeo SM has been reminding each of us leaders to bring a bottle. One is usually in my gear box anyway. Tonight and tomorrow's exercise will be removing extra gear and making room for the 5 lbs of coffee (ground for stove-top) and the dozen 4-oz cups Daughter got me for my birthday.

Note to self: add 5-gal bucket and plunger to list of stuff my family won't miss for two weeks.

@Double Eagle, the bottom line is always "neat appearance". The large patches (of any nature) were clearly intended for the backs of jackets, backpacks, and other non-uniform purposes. I agree that it's more important to give an 18 year old a Voter Registration Application than it is to throw him/her the Insignia Guide. That said, young adult ASMs do ask me when they should be removing their oval. I usually reply, "If you're old enough to ask ..."

No, but my church has reconfigured its youth ministry because of these shifting tides.

Upvoting @Double Eagle because councils may encourage the use of local totems with field uniforms. Wear it those shells with pride. It sounds like they are intended to be woven into a neckerchief slide. Check with your council to see if they have a particular suggestion. And Eagle? Wear the knot. At courts of honor, pull out the medal. You may also wear the medal with civilian dress if you happen to be at a suit and tie (or tuxedo) scouting event. From my youth, I always thought the whole fuss about ovals on the left pocket being youth-only was much about nothing. I would like as many adults who dare wear a uniform to go ahead and try to get signed of on their 1st class skills by the SPL or designated JASM ... then on to Eagle. But since that's not the case. So, when folks ask, I tell them, "I was an Eagle scout." To anyone who tries to correct me, I say, "When my SM's/ASM's can earn it, I'll replace was with am." Once a scout, always a scout.

Just so you know, none of us are required to wear our field uniform except for arrival, departure, and religious services. Scout related activity shirts and our necker are the key components of participant uniforms.

Another: "Never let them know that you can hear them."

A tightly linked troop probably won't grow beyond 8-10. That's because the girls will be seen as one of the guys ... effectively a patrol in a troop of 20.