Eagle94-A1

A couple of comments. First regarding "#2 - Explorer Silver Award Knot, used for * Explorer/Air Explorer Silver Award * Explorer Achievement Award * Explorer G.O.L.D. Award * Explorer Scout Ranger Award (when its unique knot was dropped early on) * Air Scout/Air Explorer Ace Award (again, when its unique knot was dropped early on)" You could also add Young American Award to the list. That was an Exploring recognition that council's and national gave out. Don't remember if regions did or not. I had a friend recognized as with the Young American Award. My current council would recognize 1 youth from each high school in the council with the award. 2 national Young American Award recipients came from my council. Regarding the number of knots someone wears, as mentioned in his response, that number has gone up and down over the years. (Except for Sea Scouts and their leaders, Those involved in Sea Scouting have been limited to 6 since I was a Sea Explorer back in the day.) You got long time Scouters who still have the same uniform since forever. I know I got shirts over 20 years old that I still wear. Sometimes it's easier to leave something on than to take it off, and have, for lack of a better term, tan lines on your uniform. I still got regional insignia on 2 shirts because when I tried to take it off when I was no longer a DE, it was noticeable that a patch was worn there. Ditto with another patch. And unfortunately I've ran into some "good old boys" networks where if you don't wear knots, you are considered to not know anything. Similar to those folks who think if you don't wear beads, you don't know squat. IMHO, wear what you are comfortable with. Except those in Sea Scouting, then we can only wear up to six.

As someone else mentioned, there is a VERY big difference between Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts. One thing I tell new adults in the troop is that "you must unlearn what you have learned" as Master Yoda would say. Our job as Scouters, notice I do not use the term "leaders," is to let them figure it out for themselves, even failing in whatever task is given to them, while making sure they are in a safe environment. Trust those of us who have been around a while when we say: Adult interference causes more long term problems than it solves short term problems. Adult interference nearly destroyed my troop because too many adults were jumping in to help when they should have said, " Ask your PL." and "Not my problem."

Let me guess, ROTHCO brand jungle boots? I had a similar experience, except it was on a weekend canoe training trip that the soles came off. Week old ROTHCO jungle boots. Thankfully we had duct tape, and I was able to return them to get the ALTAMA USGI jungle boots. Those boots lasted for years, 15+, until they got lost in a move and I got a replacement pair. Last time I did canoe training, some of the Scouts thought it was funny that I was wearing combat boots instead of water shoes. When 3 Scouts lost a shoe(s) and a few others had their shoes come off in the mud, they understood. Finally WELCOME TO DA FORUMS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm for it, but with this caveat. Way back in the day, one of my JLTC staffers, the predecessor to today's NYLT, did just what this Venturer is doing: attend Wood Badge after going through NJLIC (today's NAYLE) and staffing JLTC. When I asked him about taking Wood Badge, he told me " It was a waste of time and money. Everything we learned and taught in JLTC was covered. Wait until you are out of Scouting for a while and need a refresher."

As others have said, not your problem. Three things you need to memorize if you will have anything to do with Boy Scouts. 1: "Have you asked your patrol leader?" 2: "Not my problem." 3: ' Where's the coffee ( hot cocoa for our LDS brethen)?"

I'm currently the CS RT Commissioner, but of late been doing both since there is no BS RT Commish. If it's done right, it is a great tool. I know when the new CS program came out in 2015, the RT sessions were great, but A) everyone was interested and B) materials were pretty good from national. As someone else mentioned, the quality of the RTC is the key. We had great RTCs and attendance was through the roof. And we had lousy RTCs who practically destroyed RT. Then you got the caretaker RTCs, who are doing their best until someone can replace them.

@@Bugeyes, 1) WELCOME TO DA FORUMS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 2) You said, "My girls are also part of coed BSA programs, one being a pilot program based on Venturing but for middle school ages (which I am associate advisor for). We have a lot of interest in my district for trying something similar for Cub ages." Could you giove some specifics on the pilot? As you can guess, there is a lot of interest in it.

This, along with the Where's the Adventure thread got me thinking. In my expereince, with the exception of a few cases, it is THE PARENTS (emphasis) that have the hardest time letting go when their sons become Boy Scouts. Best Example, but worst case, is the 2 Moms who plan on going to summer camp with their sons.They have been informed that A) they will not be interfering with their sons B) they will be taking training and other classes, and C) THEY WILL NOT BE HOVERING AROUND THEIR SONS. We had a dad that planned to go with his son, but the $180 adult fee got him. But these moms are a different story. Part of me wishes I was going to summer camp to help the Scouts keep parents away. Part of me is glad I'm not going and having to deal with the headache. And yes, the transition from Cubs to Boy Scouts is a good time to reeveluate participation. there have been a few cases where the new scouts realizing they are on their own have decided to leave. And there are some who cross over who are no longer interested in Scouting but are forced to participate by their parents. I really wish Mom and Dad would realize how much their son's negative attitude and lack of caring impacts those who want to be there.

Key to this is start them early. My middle son's Webelos Den did Castaway Adventure (aka Wildersness Survival Lite) either as individuals or on their own. In fact two of the guys freaked out a DL from another troop because they had their shelter built, fire lit, and cooking lunch while his den was still trying to get organized and build a group shelter. Their first camp out with the troop will be this weekend.

My thoughts. #1 BSA changed its program in 1972 to make it more relevant and it was a failure. William "Green Bar Bill" Hillcourt had to come out of retirement, bring back traditional Scouting skill, and save scouting. #2 Scouting's decline in the 70s caused some very questionable actions among professional staff.And that continued until the 2000s when pros were being charged with fraud. IMHO you got to take the membership stats from that 30 year period with a grain of salt. #3 At least in my neck of the woods, Scouting is really suffering since the membership policy changes. We lost 1/2 our district committee, and several units. #4 not everyone wants traditional Scouting. But if BSA tries to do everything aka STEM, it will not do it well, and everything wills suffer.

Oh I agree. I know I made mistakes. Biggest one was when I was a brand new DL, I sometimes treated them as Boy Scouts and expected them to act like Boy Scouts. Then get upset when they didn't meet the expectation. MISTAKE!

I agree the more training the better, especially for Troops, Ships, and Crews. But brand new Cub parents may not know what's up, or may find out the little training needed to be a Cub leader. The knots tell them someone has a clue as to what is going on

The knots is what I mean. They may not know what service stars mean. And having a trained patch for some may not mean much since they were recruited as a leader with their Cub and know they have to do online training only. But having the knots, even if they do not know what they mean are somewhat reassuring in my experience. And I also found the knots to be a convesation starter.

Maybe because they do not have to fill out an application for their position, but the IH can also in a second, or these two other specific positions: COR and CC or MC. I believe Scoutparent is no longer allowed.

Me personally, I have lots of concerns. One I've seen first hand is what can happen when female siblings attend major district and council Cub events, but due to limit space for activities, cannot do the activities their brothers are doing. To quote the 9th Doctor, "RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!" To quote the 2nd Doctor, 'When I say run, run. RUN!"

Of course district and council want you to try it. You are going to eb the guinea pigs for coed Cubs.

Regarding knots, my philosophy is I don't care what you wear. I do know from first hand experience, new Cub parents feel comfortable with someone "experience" in a leadership role, even if the experience is based upon working with Boy Scouts. Me personally, I wear none to some to all, depending upon the shirt.

My thoughts. 1) You can only help your fellow units out so far, then they have to do something. trust me, we have one unit that has some major issues. The adults would not listen to anyone: their Scouts, other Boy Scouters, their commissioner, even their CO's pack leadership. Thankfully they got some fresh blood in the form of Scouts and an adult after 3 years of no new Scouts. 2) I respectfully disagree with Fred Johnson in that the BSA actually promotes COs having all three programs: Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, and Venturing. The problem comes in with the relationships within the CO. Units within a CO MUST HAVE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN THE DIFFERENT UNITS! ( caps, bold and underline are for emphasis). If the adults in the different units cannot work together, the CO really needs to get invovled and find out the problem. Unfortunately, most COs are hands off; they will not get involved. 3) Every troop is different. One troop may not fit the needs of the Scout. IMHO, the adults should help the Scout find a better fit. I know with my unit, the philosophy is we'd rather keep Scouts in the program with a unit that better fits them, than quit altogether.

No, it does not exist today and the purpose of selling them is to get rid of them. You would be surprised what supply still has in its warehouse. In 2010, I bought some Sea Scout merchandise, and it still had the Sea Explorer labels on it. Sea Exploring became Sea Scouts again in 1998!

Forgot to add, it's a generic hat pin, not authorized for uniform wear. https://books.google.com/books?id=mT46AQAAIAAJ&pg=RA12-PA9&lpg=RA12-PA9&dq=%22BSA+BEST%22+merchandise&source=bl&ots=xUBhxJugIL&sig=RV3f03OaoVF6MbAB0Rngl9N4Ukg&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj275yj4JLSAhXJbiYKHWseBr0Q6AEIPTAH#v=onepage&q=%22BSA%20BEST%22%20merchandise&f=false and I forgot about the "Black Bull" brand. https://books.google.com/books?id=imYEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA45&lpg=PA45&dq=%22BSA+BEST%22+merchandise&source=bl&ots=_Vwdyun-4b&sig=k8cAIWlLKfGfnE-5VzfNo0qrcuQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj275yj4JLSAhXJbiYKHWseBr0Q6AEINjAF#v=onepage&q=%22BSA%20BEST%22%20merchandise&f=false and an ad being sold on Ebay http://www.ebay.com/itm/1984-Boy-Scouts-New-Horizons-Combo-Backpack-BSA-BEST-photo-vintage-print-Ad/142277140241?_trksid=p2047675.c100011.m1850&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D41376%26meid%3D210063ad849742738fbe2210f6bd0960%26pid%3D100011%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D12%26sd%3D142244594417 1984 must have been the year the brand came out as the photo of the backpack has the generic BSA logo used on red jackets.

"BSA Best" was the "brand" of merchandise that was produced specifically for the BSA and sold by national supply. The nylon Yucca Rangers, several styles of sleeping bags and external backpacks, etc had that logo. This was the logo circa late 1980s to mid 1990s if memory serves. All I know is that I wanted some of the merchandise when I was a Scout, but ended up with USGI surplus. If you look closely in this picture, the black nylon Yucca Ranger pack has the BSA Best logo on it. http://www.terapeak.com/worth/hillary-and-bsa-best-cruiser-external-frame-green-nylon-backpack-open-32-x-16/282224140930/

I know every area is different, but the local Catholic church/school's was open to everyone. About 1/3 of my pack growing up had no affilaition to either the church or school. That being said, do what your son wants to do. The troop my son joined was small, needed adults, and had some challenges. He liked it, and brought 3 of his buddies over to the troop within 9 months.

the one day dsitrict training, if you got it. Unfortunately A) not every SM goes to these sessions and B) ev en if they do attend, they do not buy into it. Regarding training. I agree that more emphasis is needed on patrol method. I really think the old SM Fundamentals Course, which required a month long commitment, is the way to go in regards to training, especially for those who have never been involved in Scouting. We were put into patrol right from the get go. And we had to meet as a patrol prior to the last, weekend session to come up with menus, duty roster, etc.

Bear Cub son snuck in on older brothers' Castaway/ Wilderness Survival weekend back in December and had a blast. For Christmas, he got USGI canteen, canteen cup, case, and a Rothco stove for the rig. Happy Camper I hear ya. Up until very recently, I had to use my modern pack because I was lending it to oldest son. He bought an 1980s Coleman external frame, and was planning on lending A.L.I.C.E. to middle son. Wife found another 1980s Coleman external friend sized just right for the new Scout. So now I have A.L.I.C.E. All to myself for 2 more years, unless youngest gets his on pack too.

I'd count nature center and recycling center. Animal shelter would require more details for me. \