VegasDJ

kittle, Sorry for not replying sooner. My browser took a dive and I had to repair it. The Web site I found was http://www.mninter.net/~blkeagle/patchtop.htm and the page on which I found the answers to my religious knot issue was http://www.mninter.net/~blkeagle/devices.htm And thank you ScoutNut for the info. I wish the folks at the shop at our council headquarters would ask adults buying knots questions to find out if they should have a device. Because the devices are not pictured in the Insignia Guide, I had no idea what they were.

Okay Rip, First of all, I was not asking about the adult award, which in my denomination does have specific requirements. Second, I went up five posts and found my own post. Going up two more, I did read yours again however, and you're right, you did quote from the Insignia Guide just as it is printed in my copy. My confusion was from the fact that I was unable to correctly interpret the concise, clear-cut rules that are so obvious to everyone else. However, in the process of writing this response, I did a Web search and found a site that explains the whole issue with crystal clarity. So, where do I obtain these device pins that I need to get to my DL in question?

I was a Boy Scout until I turned 18. I became a Cub Scout leader when I was 36. For a few years between those ages I was in the U.S. Army, where I served for a time in a special flag detachment for color guards and other parades. I never heard of class A and B uniforms in Scouting when I was a teenager, but I did in the Army. In the Army, your class B uniform displays your rank, just as your class A does. I don't think the same can be said of Scout "class B uniforms". There is nothing that makes them official BSA uniforms, but more on that in a moment. In a military color guard (which I believe sets the standard), the guards and flag bearers DO NOT salute the flag. If your Scout unit wants to do it differently, that's up to your unit committee. If your unit wants to salute the flag in a T-shirt, that's up to your unit, I guess. Article X, Section 4, Clause 2 of the Rules and Regulations of the Boy Scouts of America states: "The official uniforms authorized as evidence of official relationship to the Boy Scouts of America shall be those approved by action of the Executive Board of the Boy Scouts of America from time to time, as illustrated and correctly described in the handbooks, catalogs, and other official publications of the Boy Scouts of America." I have yet to see an official publication with an illustration of a T-shirt being described as an official uniform, except Tiger Cub uniforms (which I have heard are going to button-front shirts too).

meamemg, So, if an adult had earned a Cub Scout award as a Cub Scout, and a separate Boy Scout award as a Boy Scout, he can only wear one knot? Thanks for the clarification. Where are the rules to which you referred? I couldn't find anything that definitive in the Insignia Guide.

Okay, now I have a question triggered by Rip Van Scouter's response. One of my den leaders earned our church's Cub Scout religious award (Faith In God), and the separate Boy Scout religious award (On My Honor), so he wears two silver knots with the purple background. It looks a little strange, especially since he has not earned the Adult On My Honor in order to wear the purple knot with silver background, but I think it is completely appropriate and correct. Do you think I'm right?

First to answer FScouter: Skill awards were a total of twelve belt loops that boys could eaen in various areas like First Aid, Family Living, Citizenship, Swimming, etc. Certain ones were required for advancement in rank, starting with Tenderfoot, if memory serves. Some were electives, but had to be earned in addition to the required ones for a given rank. First Class was the last rank for which skill awards had to be earned, I believe. I turned 18 in 1984, so I don't remember all the details. When I became a Cub leader a couple of years ago and found on the ScoutStuff Web site that skill awards were a discontinued item, I was surprised, but I bought a set, for collecting purposes. Mine have long been lost, and I did not earn the ones that I didn't need anyway. I don't know why they were discontinued, but the program changes every so often, and that was another part of it.

The information for which you are looking can be found on page 66 of the Cub Scout Webelos Handbook, BSA's Insignia Guide, and (I would imagine) the Boy Scout Handbook. I am assuming that he already uses the tan shirt based on the wording of your question. First, be sure to change the blue shoulder loops to the red ones. Additionally, you retain the Council Shoulder Patch if he is staying in the same council, and if he is going to an LDS troop in the same ward, the troop number will be the same as the pack number. Otherwise, you will need to change the red unit numerals to those of the new troop. He would also keep the World Crest, of course. If he earned the Arrow of Light, he will have the Scout rank patch centered on his left pocket, and the Arrow of Light patch below that. If he did not earn the Arrow, nothing goes on the pocket. If he wants to wear a service star with a gold backing to indicate the number of years he was a Cub Scout, that is worn over the left pocket as found on pages 41-42 of the Insignia Guide.

This is an important topic and I feel strongly about adding my opinion to it. I would like to begin by saying that I often come off as being harsh or short when I communicate, so I hope that I don't offend anyone. Based on some of the statements that you have made, it seems to me that you have a somewhat distorted view of how religious people view and worship their higher power. Being an American, I believe totally that a person has a right to believe as his or her conscience dictates. I am a leader in Cub Scouting not just because I was called as one through my church, but because I share BSA's view that a person's spiritual growth is just as important to their well-being and improvement as a citizen as are physical and mental development. I get the idea that as BSA's spiritual aspect becomes more evident as your son progresses, you are becoming increasingly resentful of it. In answer to one of your questions, quite frankly, if you recite the Cub Scout Promise, you are being hypocritical, at least in my opinion. That to me is like going to another country and pledging allegiance to their flag or nation, and still calling yourself an American. (By the way, the "under God" part of our pledge was added for political purposes, and I don't think it should be there, but I digress.) I think that you should seriously consider having your son get involved in an organization in which faith is not a factor. I would also suggest that you open your mind to the fact that the vast majority of people on the planet believe in some religion, and maybe there is something to it. I investigated different philosophies (Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Taoism, etc.) as I grew up, until I found the one that truly spoke to my soul. At any rate, as you told your son, the BSA was founded by religious people on religious principles, and it's a private organization that asks you to follow its rules if you want to be a member of it.