Sentinel947

My troop is going in 2018, I am not, having gone in 2011 and 2015.

I've found success in this area in the past by taking problems the unit was having and pitching why the Patrol method is the solution to those problems. Framed in that light, you may face less resistance. 3 years later, the adult in my troop that was most hesitant about the patrol method is helping the older boys launch an older Scout program that goes beyond the High Adventure bases.

Still looking. Not sure if the whole update is live yet. Didn't know this was coming. The leaderboard is a funny feature. Another cool feature is we can now see how many people are browsing the forum at one time. Right now it claims nearly 90 people are. DuctTape, there is a "feed" option on the top left. It shows you most recent POSTS, but maybe not most recent new topics.

Granted. Although people's views do change over time. Although maybe less then than they do now. There are definitely members on this forum who would not agree if I said they had 20th century values and ideas. Considering some quarters of society uses "It's 20XX" as a valid supporting argument.

My Troop is chartered to a Lutheran Church. I doubt they'll have any issues with it. I'm Catholic. Much of it depends on the individual Diocese and where the unit is chartered. If it's chartered to a single gender Catholic School, they will want to keep their unit the way it is. If it's a Catholic Church that has the charter and already has Co-ed youth groups, they may not care. That being said, we're still not at "Mandatory Co-ed" which might trigger different opinions from various Churches. Not sure this issue is really as thorny from the CO's as the last changes were.

Welcome!

Being Pedantic, but BP wrote Scouting for Boys and founded the movement in the early 20th century. The Founding Fathers wrote the Constitution in the 18th Century. The 19th Century was 1801-1900.

Did you just compare a non profit asking for money to a brutal dictatorship like Saddams Iraqi or Isis? You have a choice with the BSA. People living in a dictatorship have two choices. Give in or die.

If your troop does not pay for a Scout to go to NYLT, I would suggest setting up a scholarship for that first. If not, Wood Badge is an excellent idea.

@.40AET I'm glad you've decided to join us! I don't think there's a more experienced group of Scouters anywhere on the internet. Please keep in mind we are not an official BSA resource, so double check some things you read here against official BSA publications like the Guide to Advancement or the Guide to Safe Scouting!

I've just volunteered to be an Adult Quartermaster for NYLT this coming summer. Sounds like the role is providing guidance to Youth Quartermasters for the course. Anybody done this gig before? Any tips or insight you'd like to share? Thanks, Sentinel947.

Troop is doing well, Scoutmaster transition is underway. I don't have to worry about the future. Going backpacking with the Troop to Cumberland Gap National Park. It's going to be a little cold, but a lot of fun.

It's not a problem now. There's about 5 more trained ASMs.

My Troop is pretty overstaffed on Adults. I'm gravitating away from the Troop towards the District Volunteer ranks simply because I'm redundant on the Troop level, and I'm not making an impact vs time invested at the Troop level. Those of you who know my Scouting history as an Adult, that's great news for us. At one point we had 1 SM and 2 ASMs for a troop of 80 Scouts. Some Troops can pull that off, but it was a huge strain on the three of us at the time.

I'm a bit late to the party. When I was a senior in High School (2011), I got called to the Principals office. He asked me for a list of all the Eagle Scouts in the school, and asked me to arrange a color guard for a Naturalization Ceremony that was taking place at my High School. Some of the guys didn't want to do it because they feared the social ostracism. I had never worn my uniform to school until that day. I had to go back to class after the ceremony and didn't have time to change. It was fine. I don't even remember if people made snarky comments about me. It was a great confidence booster for me. The memory I have from that day is sitting with some of my fellow Eagle Scouts and watching the proud tears of the family members and friends of those who were gaining their citizenship, and my pride at being a small part of making that moment special to them. Your choice. I was already a nerd. Everybody knew it. A year later I was wearing the uniform of the US Army as an ROTC cadet. It's not the uniform overtop that matters, it's the man underneath. Most high school kids don't get that, and that's their problem.

It depends. Philmont vs Northern Tier are different activities. Backpacking is a walking activity. Northern Tier is a rowing activity. All things being equal in distance I'd say Northern Tier was harder for me, but we only did 50 miles at NT. I have done two Philmonts, a 65 mile trek and an 85ish mile trek. In short, depends on your routes. a 50 mile Philmont or Northern tier trek is achievable for almost any age eligible Scout.

One hour before our first troop meeting of each month.

I'm so vain.. I only saw part of the topic header and thought it was about me.... Good stuff

Jim was involved in Wood Badge in my Council. While I never met him, many of my fellow Scouters think quite highly of him. He will be missed.

Officially Philmont recommends eating the meals in the order they are assigned. They claim it's for nutrition and needs based. Not sure if I buy it, but we followed their guidance on the matter. Often dry camps have some water source on the way to them so you don't have to hump the extra water excessively far.

I wouldn't say EDGE is deficient. Its just missing R. Repition. A skill needs to repeated over time to be used. Knots or normally taught, then forgotten till the next outing.

Take on only essential roles for your son. Council and District folks only get our time and talents if they treat us well and make our tasks easier.

So American Boy Scouts as much as we complain about its faults is the pinnacle of Scouting worldwide?

Welcome!

They are standing up for not allowing girls to join a troop down the street. Nothing stops them from keeping their troop exactly as it currently is. Venturing females are already present on camp staff and camporees, so I think its ridiculous because its a knee jerk reaction to something that doesn't have a tangible impact on them right now, or potentially at all. In short, they have thrown away something they enjoyed for absolutely nothing. If it was mandatory co-ed, I wouldn't find their decision ridiculous at all. I'm not trying to insult them, but I think they made a hasty decision that the situation doesn't call for yet.