Sentinel947

The BSA is not handling any of these issues very well. If you are polling members to see what they think and then go in that direction because it's what your members want, fine. If National thinks they need to lead the BSA off in a "brave" new direction all the time fine... I'm politically inclined to agree with them as part of their newly coveted "Millennial" demographic. What's not fine is pretending to solicit member feedback and then doing whatever they were planning to do to start with. Just do it then.... I think what's important for each of us to consider is why we became Troop leaders in the first place. Most of the forum it was for their kids. For me it was for my friends who were a year or two behind me in high school, and then I got attached to the younger Scouts and the Adults fighting the good fight to provide the troop. With all the changes, are you still able to meet your mission as a BSA Scouter? I believe there was a thread about burn out a few years back and the consensus was "If you aren't enjoying this anymore, if the bad days outnumber the good, maybe it's time to call it done." I'm starting to feel like I've hit mission accomplished. Every boy who was a Scout when I turned 18 is now out of the program. I don't feel as strong a connection to the current crop of kids. Not strong enough to give up an hour and half every week and at least 1 weekend a month. Maybe I'll switch to the Committee, volunteer on the Council or District level where it's less consistently demanding of my time. If this change does come around, I do want to stay and preserve for the Patrol method stuff I've spent the last 5 years building, but that may be a losing battle. At some point the current SM and I have to hand things off to the next generation of parents. I have no idea what changes are in store for Scouting as a whole or in my troop. I'm but one man, and I can happily say I've made a difference in the lives of young men in my council and they've had a life changing impact on me. I hope one day my sons or daughters can be members in the Scouting movement and get the experiences I enjoyed growing up. Regardless of who stays and who leaves the BSA due to this change, you're always welcome around this little campfire. I encourage some of our more conservative members to stick it out a little longer with us, both here and in the BSA. Wait until we see some strong changes one way or the other.

Take care of your current Scouts, make the transition as seamless as you can. A troop is just a vehicle for serving boys. Sometimes a particular troop runs its course. I hope that never happens to my Troop, but chances are it might.

How about no?

My area is filled with Invasive Honeysuckle.

Going down to the Smoky's today with some buddies of mine. Will hike a few miles on the AT. Will upload some pictures in a new thread if they are anything decent. Forecast calls for lots of rain, so it will at least be a memorable trip....

I woulda thought Michael Bloomberg for sure, but he never had a son.

Good. I was just wondering the other day when you'd make an appearance!

Ghost!!!!! Welcome Merlyn! How have you been?

https://beascout.scouting.orgis a good place to start!

Granted. Also despite my earlier post HW Bush went to a jambo. https://middletownscouter.wordpress.com/2015/03/27/setting-the-record-straight-presidential-visits-to-the-bsa-national-jamboree/

Just admit you'll justify anything he does.... If a President Obama gave a speech about passing Obamacare, repealing DADT, the need to pass the Dream Act and make rich people pay their "fair share." At Jamboree conservatives would be up in arms. Let's at least be consistent. There have been plenty of Presidents who did not attend Jambo, including Saint Reagan. Why couldn't Trump give a nice speech like George W. Bush? Because everything Trump does is for the benefit of Trump. Either to line his own pockets, or to stoke his own fragile ego. There were some things to like from his speech. I wish he'd stuck to that, like any person with the slightest self control would. I will grant that judging by the jamboree crowds reaction I'm in the minority here. I'm fine with that.

It sounded like a Trump rally. All of his usual talking points. I could almost have played a drinking game. (I'm at home.) Cuss? Fake News? Crowd Size? HIllary? Obama? Emails? Witch Hunt? Build the Wall? Repeal Obamacare? MAGA? Drain the swamp? He said some mostly decent things at the beginning. Should stuck to that script. Glad he went to visit, but that was not an appropriate speech for the BSA. The crowds reaction at times was bad optics, but there's alot of impressionable kids there so... And before anybody accuses me of being an out of touch liberal from the coast, I'm a registered Republican from Ohio.

Hillary didn't just give a pathetic, whiny stump speech to the Boy Scouts. Hillary Clinton is not President of the United States. Hillary Clinton is not the honorary President of the Boy Scouts of America. Quit your whataboutism. That speech was ridiculous unless you're a die hard Trump supporter. Maybe you are. You're entitled to it. I will admit some of it is fine. Some of it is childish political pandering. - Trumps Speech Compare that to: - George W Bush Just my two cents.

Heyo! I'm not the baby of the forum anymore. Welcome Josh! Also... OH!

I'm inclined to agree. I know my unit does not have any female parents that regularly camp.

Yup. Went backpacking last week with some friends from college. Half of the group were women. They are out there.

Wow. We've gone full circle with the fine folks at Patheos. I wonder if our old friend Merlyn is still around?

If the SPL and ASPL cannot be at Summer Camp our Scoutmaster and SPL review the roster of boys attending and decide who will be acting SPL for the week at camp. This is generally an older Scout who has future interest in being SPL and it gives them some practice and getting their feet wet in the role.

@BurgeyBoi: Beware some of the advise you get in this thread and other places. Northern Tier IS NOT backpacking. When I go backpacking, I wear nice lightweight running shoes. My friends and fellow troop leaders think I'm nuts. That type of footwear is entirely inappropriate for Northern Tier. An experienced outdoorsman and canoeist can probably get away with it. Most folks going on your trip are not in that category. I have been to Northern Tier and armed with that Knowledge, I recommend the military style jungle boots. @@Stosh ;s experience is similiar to mine. Lots of submerged sharp rocks.. That being said, if you don't want to use those, look for sturdy boots that: 1. Protect your ankles. I personally believe "Ankle support" is a bit of a myth to sell more boots, but with Portaging, walking through water up to your knees where you cannot see the bottom, tall boots that protect your ankles from rocks are important. 2. Drains water. Your feet will get wet. Having water trapped in your shoes all day invites infection, skin peeling and blisters. Jungle boots help to a degree because they drain water, but the leather also holds in a fair amount of water where mesh or canvas vents would allow some water to evaporate. 3. Quality materials. Northern Tier punishes boots. You and your Scouts will want boots that hold up. Be frugal, but don't be cheap. Best of luck to you and your Scouts, have a good time!

I recommend Altama as well. Jungle boots are perfect for canoeing.

Makes no difference but I don't think its a useful change.

Yea. Please don't downvote me anymore! My snowflake millenial heart may break..... =) All joking aside. @@NJCubScouter is right. If we can get some consensus around forum features Terry may adjust them.

I have to work!!! There is no effect I can see from having negative votes. I got to -11 or -12.

So I suppose as a moderator I don't care about downvotes. They don't have an autohide feature attached. I tend to use upvotes very liberally, and I don't think I've ever downvoted.

Thanks for downvoting me! But please stop! =)