ScoutNut

As I also said, BSA states in their brochures on selecting unit leaders (both the Cub & Boy Scout versions) that your selection committee should look at ALL QUALIFIED individuals from unit parents, the Charter Organization & the community. Nowhere, in any BSA publication, does it state that unit leaders should ONLY be unit parents.

Another idea - call your Council Training Chair & get a list of BALOO trained individuals from Packs in your area. Then find one who will be willing to help you with your Pack's camping trip. They will have to agree to having their name on the Tour Permit, attending the campout & helping you put it together & run it. This way you can camp while the weather is still good & attend the training in March.

Have you seen BSA's new JLT? Here is some info that my council has : Troop Leadership Training, No. 34306A, has been rolled out to replace the Scoutmaster Junior Leader Training Kit. It is organized into three one-hour modules, which can be taught individually or all in one session. The content of the first session focuses on what a new leader must know; the second session on what a leader must be, and the third session on what a leader must do. Completing all three modules qualifies the Scout to wear the "Trained" patch under his badge of office. The new syllabus contains leadership position cards that define each position in the troop. Completion of TLT prepares the youth to attend National Youth Leadership Training (NYLT). Maybe you should look at it before re-inventing the wheel.

Your council can't stop a boy's progress toward Eagle. They have no say on the boys earning of merit badges, serving in a POR, or completing any of the other requirements, with the exception of the Eagle project. The Eagle project has to be approved by your District Committee before he starts work on it. So, they do have the ability to stop work on the project. Although technically adding a requirement, the seminar might serve a very valid purpose that I know nothing of (since I have not taken it). It might be the method your council uses to assign an Eagle Mentor to the Scout. It might be the way that they distribute the Eagle Packets to the Scout. It might be, if your council has been having problems with Troops running Joe Shmoe's Program instead of BSA's program, the way that your council gets accurate information to the Scouts on the Eagle requirements in general & the Eagle project in particular. There can be any number of reasons that your council does this. Hopefully your council runs these seminar's rather frequently. Since the scout has at the very least, 12 months to attend, I really do not see the hardship here Do you, personally, know of a boy who has been denied Eagle because he has refused to attend the seminar?

"I take care to keep myself dry during the day, and would not bother undressing or changing clothing to sleep unless I were noticably wet. Even then, on multiday cross winter trips, it might be desireable to wear damp clothing as a way of drying it out overnight." Please do NOT teach any scouts to wear damp (with perspiration or rain) clothing to bed on a Winter camping trip. Hypothermia is a very real problem in cold weather & has been known to kill. "my down bag was getting rained on by condensation dripping or falling on the bag, and it was getting pretty damp by the end of the trip." In order to prevent condensation on the inside of a tent (or at least make sure it is NOT raining INSIDE) you need to allow for ample ventilation. That means you should open your door & window a bit if you do not have vents on the top of your tent under your fly. "How are you guys going to carry all the perfectly dry clothing you are going to change into on a trip like that?" One easy way is to pack clean clothes in zip lock bags. If you are on a backpacking or ski trip, especially if you know it will be wet, you need to make sure you have a waterproof cover for your pack (& yourself).

I think we all know how to combat the dusty, musty, entrenched, "we've always done it this way" thinking. It doen't matter if the leaders have been with the unit for 1 year or 15. The only cure for that type of attitude is, yep here it comes, TRAINING! And not just Fast Start or the basics 15 years ago. We are talking ongoing, regular updating of ideas. Roundtables, Outdoor, Pow Wow's, YPT, Leader Development, University of Scouting, Committee, & Woodbadge. Roundtables (if done right) are probably the best place to keep up on new ideas & also to offer some of your own.

The wording was clarified in the last issue of the Bear Handbook to specifically eliminate Bear achievements used for rank from electives.

Welcome BaldEagle! For training you should first contact your council to see what they have coming up. According to the Cub Scout Training Bulletin Board, at the Central Florida Council website, they are holding a BALOO training on Sat, 02/18/06, 8:30am - 4pm, hosted by the Lake District. http://training.cfcbsa.org/cs_bulletin_board.html#baloo Hope this helps!

NapowanRed, have you never heard of the Venturing Division? BSA - Co-ed - 14 to 21 year olds. Actually, BSA Venturing works out very well! The "one thing on their minds" does not seem to be a very big issue after all. (This message has been edited by ScoutNut)

OK, my first thought was - GSUSA is putting the requirements online - for FREE!!! They are not forcing girls to pay $3 for a 2 page brochure!!! Then I downloaded the award order form & discovered why they give the requirements for free. The sticker shock of paying for a piece of paper AND a $3 pin or $6 necklace would probably make Troop Leaders keel over! Seriously, $6 for a necklace that the girls will wear MAYBE 1X, if at all !? Yes, the Junior level is mostly a fill in the blanks kind of thing. It might not be very hard to sell if there was a point to the award. Just for the tacky 6 buck necklace that most will not want to be seen in - no way, why should the girls bother. For Girls 11-17, once again, GSUSA seems to ignore the fact that 6-7(18yo) years is WAY to big an age spread to use the same requirements for. And, as with the Juniors, why should they bother going thru the time & effort of finding a community issue, doing interviews, group discussions & surveys of 20+ people, and then finding someone to correct the issue, when all they get out of it is an expensive necklace they are even LESS likely to wear than the Juniors are? At least the Silver & Gold 4B's Challenge Charms, as lame as the charms are, were individualized for the 2 levels & had a purpose beyond simply earning the tacky charm. Personally, I much preferred the Cadette & Senior Challenge Awards. They needed some work, but they were really pretty good & the cost of the pins was around $2. The pins could be put on the vest & would be visible whenever the girls decided to actually wear their vest. They were also requirements for the Silver & Gold Awards. Since these new awards are part of National's attempt at creating "a consistent, national Girl Scout experience", it sounds like the "4B's" might eventually be replaced. A consistent, national Girl Scout experience is a great idea, & one they should have been working on a LONG time ago, but I can't say I am a fan of these awards. I just wish GSUSA would get it's head out of it's nether region and figure things out COMPLETELY (& consistently) before dropping them on their members. Instead they do things in dribs & drabs, that are badly communicated & change, it seems, almost weekly!

If his shirt is blue he is most likely a Wolf or Bear & will be earning pins in future years to put on the patch. I would wear the patch on the pocket flap for everyone to see. If his shirt is tan, he is a Webelos & will not get to earn multiple pins to wear on the flap. If he is a 4th grade Webelos, then I would say put it on the shirt flap & enjoy it for the year or so you have left in Cubs. If he is a 5th grade Webelos & just receiving it now, it is up to him if he wants to sew it on for a few months & then take it off, or if he wants to put it on his vest for permanent display. Basically, it is not AGAINST the rules to put the patch on the red vest. You can put whatever you want on there. The whole point of earning a badge is to put it where it can be seen. IMHO that would be the right shirt pocket flap. But, hey, I'm not the one wearing the patch!

According to BSA's brochure, "Selecting Cub Scout Leadership", the CO creates a list of prospective leaders from membership lists of the charter org, parent rosters & others suggested by the selection team. BSA also makes a point of saying not to make assumptions about whether or not the prospect will have the time to do the job. That decision belongs entirely to the prospect. This means that the BSA encourages the involvement of the community & members of the Charter Organization in their units, weather or not they are parents of unit members. The number of other positions held & units served also has no bearing on whether or not they are asked to become leaders. My husband & I both stayed with the Pack when our son moved to a Troop. We have also encouraged other parents to stay on. Heck, even our son is in the Pack leadership as a Den Chief. The Pack also has current parents in registered leadership roles & a lot of parents who help out any way, where & how they can. New blood & fresh ideas are wonderful. We have those with the new den leaders. However, the thing that was rather hard on the Pack was that, unlike the Troop, there was no continuity of leaders. New leaders were kind of tossed to the Wolves (or Bears or Webelos). Older leaders were focused on their own den & then gone. Cubmasters came & went. With some of us "Oldtimers" staying around to provide support & stability, things are running much better. I do wish we would broaden our Committee Member base with more parents. However, the CM (who IS a Cub dad) & our CC/COR (who is a member of CO but not a Cub dad) seem to be happy with the way it is now. A Cub Scout leader can be as young as 21 & an Assistant as young as 18. We had one ADL who was the big brother of one of the Cubs. My son is talking about coming back to work with the Pack when he turns 18. I seem to find myself being reeled into District Training, so maybe I will let my son take on my Tigers when the time comes! Bottom line, don't worry if he is a dad or not, or is to busy. Worry about him having the right qualities & characteristics for the job & being the best possible choice to fill the position.

Actually, as ManassasEagle noted, there is a new training for Webelos leaders that National put out last year. Outdoor Leader Skills for Webelos Leaders, No. 13-33640. Don't know what combo of letters councils will use for this one! Whatever it is called though, National still does not REQUIRE it for Webelos Den camping. It is another case of the "should" vs "must". BALOO "must" be taken by whoever is running a Pack campout. Outdoor Leader Skills for Webelos Leaders "should" be taken by a Webelos leader before taking his Webelos den camping. Of course, your council might have made it mandatory, but National has not, & it is not listed on the BSA tour permits.

OK, so this guy is a den leader who wants to be a Den Leader, Cub Master AND Committee Chair? All at once? Without taking training in anything? AND he yells at & harasses scouts? Whoo-Boy! He is not just a goof, he is a Youth Protection nightmare waiting to happen. Good Luck!! Keep us updated.

Well, I would say that even starting in Sept, without any rushing or pushing, earning rank by the mid-end of February is very doable. We don't make rank by B&G a hard & fast rule. It is more of a timeline to shoot for. If some families don't have an end date in sight to work toward they will just never do anything at all. Remember - Most of the work on rank achievements from Tiger (approx 1/3) thru Bear should be done at home with the family & not at the weekly den meetings. So the boys are already doing electives & other things at their den meetings. Blue & Gold is supposed to be a party celebrating the birthday of Scouting in the US & the boys achievements in your pack. That includes rank & AOL. And, if the boys are ready to cross over to a Troop, why make them wait until a different time? We do a rank ceremony whenever the boy has earned rank. We do not hold the boys so they can receive the award together. Most of the time the boys are all finishing up in February. However, we have had some who don't get it together until March, April or even May. After B&G, the dens are usually busy preparing for our next couple of pack meetings. They are putting together skits, songs, plays, etc for our Showman pack meeting in March. Then they have to create their den vehicle for our April Cardboard Box Car Derby. May is time for outings, fun events & pack grauation. They usually fill out their last electives (bring the # up to 10 to reach bead or award) of the year in May also. June - August usually have ball games, fishing, bike hikes, camping, picnic's, etc. So you see, scouting does NOT stop after the B&G!

"hold monthly leader meetings (to which this CC rarely attends)" "Just yesterday, the CC went around announcing himself as "the new" CM." I'm sorry, but this guy sounds like a goof, & a dangerous one at that. First - if he is not attending committee meetings he is not fulfilling his duties as Committee Chair. One of the main duties of a CC is to run the committee meetings. Next - A CC can't be registered as both a CC & a CM. One or the other, but not both. Your CM needs to get in touch with your DC or UC & the Charter Org Rep AS SOON AS POSSIBLE & have a sit down meeting. It does not matter if he has no "power". The CM is one of the main unit leaders & this guy is trying to break the Pack apart. And, since you posted you already have a new CO in the wings, it sounds like the CC may get his wish.

If you are having trouble getting a hold of your Unit Commissioner (please remember he is a volunteer just like you & most likely has a full time job outside of scouting) call your council or check your council/district website & get the contact info for your District Commissioner. Your DC will be able to either get your UC on the ball, or help your unit out himself. It sounds like your CO's new leadership needs a refresher course on what their responsibilities are. It also sounds like the Committee Chair is taking advantage of the upheaval with your Charter Org. BTW - Your Unit Commissioner (UC) does not have any "power" in your unit either, but they are mentors & can help get things going on the right BSA track.

Per the current Boy Scout application he can register as a Scout if he has earned the AOL & is at least 10 years old.

Each activity (a,b,c,d,etc) is a separate activity. If you do 10 activities you earn an arrowpoint. Unused parts of achievements that were used for the Bear badge may NOT be counted toward Arrow Points. So, in your example, the activities d & e would NOT count as electives. For electives, you can only use achievements that were not used at all, in ANY part, toward rank. For example, you must complete 3 achievements, out of 5, in Country for rank. You use #3, #6 & #7 for your 3 rank requirements. You can't use any of the activities in #3, #6 or #7 for electives. You can, however, use all of the activities in # 4 & # 5 for electives. This would be a total of 8 activities with only 2 more needed for an arrowpoint.

Cubs in the Future - http://www.scoutingthenet.com/Training/Roundtable/Handouts/06/01/ Space: The New Frontier - http://www.scoutingthenet.com/Training/Roundtable/Handouts/00/05/ Blast Off - http://www.scoutingthenet.com/scouting/Training/Roundtable/Handouts/02/08/ NASA Space Place - http://spaceplace.jpl.nasa.gov/en/kids/cubscouts/index.shtml If the links are not working well the roundtable handouts are for : Jan-2006 May-2000 Aug-2002 (This message has been edited by ScoutNut)

You can't "camp" at a mall. There is no place to pitch tents or have a campfire. What they most likely did was attend a "lock-in" of some sort. Lock-ins are overnighters in some sort of building. You will find lock-ins at museums, aquariums, planetariums, zoos, schools, churches, etc. At a museum or zoo or something of that sort, the group usually has the run of the place after hours. There are often special events/activities set up for the participants to do. At schools, churches, etc, the group is usually local (kids from the school or church) & they usually have a specific purpose/theme & work on specific activities. The Girls Scouts in our parish school have a lock-in in the school hall every year. They sleep on the floor, do various service projects, play games, sing songs, watch a movie & have fun. It gives the older girls a chance to get some leadership & service hours by planning program & working with the younger ones. It is also a great time to work on Bridging awards (earned by girls moving up to the next level of scouts by learning about the next level & doing various activities with girls in the level younger & older). A lock-in at a mall might be similar to what our girls do. They just might be using a meeting room in a mall. There is also a Council's Own badge that is about shopping & many malls have fitness trails. So there any number of reasons for a mall sleepover. BTW - My girls always went "real" camping at both Council camps & state parks along with various lock-ins. I am also looking into a museum lock-in for our Cub Pack.

I have used cots in cold weather, when camping with the family in larger tents. I had no problem with staying warm, but that is mainly due to using the air space under the cot for storage. I have aluminum Coleman cots so there are no cris-crossing legs. I stuff my clothes bag, coat, shoes, dirty clothes bag, etc, all under the cot. It saves room in the tent & insulates under the cot. A win-win all around! Of course the darn thing takes up a bit of space so it is for car camping only & does not fit in smaller tents.

No Sniffles, you did not get it wrong. Your friend was a Scout in a Police Explorer Post. Explorer Posts (along with Sea & Air Scouts) were the coed branches of the BSA. In 1998, Exploring was moved to Learning For Life to become their worksite based, career education program. Outdoor Exploring was retained by BSA and changed into Venturing. Venture & Sea Scouts are now BSA's coed, older Scout program.

This has been discussed often & sometimes quite loudly! I can not see how the percentage of female leaders in BSA has any bearing on the combining of BSA & GSUSA, or on BSA becoming completely coed. However, you will find that the topic of allowing females into BSA in any capacity, has also been discussed often & loudly. Bottom line is that, while BSA encourages female leadership in all areas, a completely coed Cub & Boy Scout youth program is highly unlikely any time soon. A merging of GSUSA & BSA is even MORE unlikely. BSA seems quite happy with having Venturing as it's only coed youth Scouting program.

Tarps over tents are used mainly for rain protection when there is either no, or no decent, rain fly. They do nothing to make the tent warmer. Make sure that your tent has ventilation to let condensation escape. Please - Only flashlights and electric lanterns in tents. NO HEAT IN TENTS!!! A large tent is harder to keep warm because of the air space. Especially if you only had you & your son in a 10x10 tent. To keep the inside warmer use a smaller tent. Edited to add that lynncc is correct, a full coverage fly that can be completely closed around a smaller tent would help. (This message has been edited by ScoutNut)