Eagle94-A1

LOVELY. This is the first I heard that. Looks like I need to start collecting all of my regalia that I have been allowing the chapter to borrow for these years.

Get an REI membership and get yourself a harness. BEST INVESTMENT EVER! The dividend from the harness paid for the membership. While the harness is long gone, I still use my REI membership. And that harness I bought was super comfortable and had gear racks. Unlike the one size fits most harnesses the camp provided. Used that harness for several years. A good pair of gloves would be good to. Also one of those Froggs Toggs chilling bandanas, or something like it are awesome. I used a wet bandana back in the day to protect my neck and cool me off. Attached it inside my helmet and let it hang down the back. of my neck. When I was working CS day camp, wife got me a Froggs Toggs chiling bandana, and it was awesome. At the first camp I did climbing and rappelling at, one guy would bring up binoculars. Between classes, he would scan out over the horizon from top of the tower. That was at the former Kingsdown Scout Campsite in Kent, UK. On a good day you could see Calais France. EDITED Camp was on top of the White Cliffs of Dover.

EDITED" CO for Cross Over, not Call Out. although the word I heard is that they are the next ceremonies to lose Native American Regalia.

Well it got interesting this weekend. I have another troop working on Indian Lore. They sang at the council Webeloree last night, while I did the ceremony in my Southern Straight Dance regalia.. Prior to doing it, I had one of the lodge officers from my chapter approach me asking about the regalia I was using, what ceremony, etc. Then he tells me that the SE found out about the troop that did my youngest son's AOL Ceremony, was extremely upset, and chewed out the OA chapter DESPITE BEING TOLD THE CHAPTER HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH IT! (emphasis) . I told him, and his father later on, that if the SE has an issue, tell him to contact me about it. Later on I told the same lodge officer to leave the campfire circle while I and the troop's singers were practicing so that there would be no assumption that the OA had anything to do with it. The Scouts did great, and had several compliments. Webeloree Chief told me he wants everyone back next year. Told him only if the SE allows it. I am not going to get the Scouts in trouble. On a different note, several people told me it was different only seeing one person dressed in regalia doing the ceremony. Finally, I talked to my old Associate Adviser, who is still around. Both talked about how the changes over the years to elections and now the no regalia for AOL and CO ceremonies is destroying the OA. While Cheerful Service is the Heart of the OA, American Indian Affairs was the soul of the OA that inspired and motivated folks. Both of us do not see the OA lasting a lot longer, at least in our neck of the woods.

Maybe it is my old age cynicism, but I think it will get worse.

Well there is at least one OA chapter ignoring the new mandate. Got word that the OA chapter will continue to do their district AOL and Cross Over Ceremony that they have done for a number of years.

Where to begin. For one camp I bought a wetsuit. Water temps were in the 50s, and after getting hypothermia once due to water submersion, I HATE cold water. Despite being laughed at by the Laplander, wore it every time I went kayaking, or canoeing as the Brits called it. Best investment. At that same camp, I had my Smokey Bear hat. Glad I did have a wide brimmed hat because when I was not on the water, I was on the rifle range. If you are going to be in the sun, any wide brimmed hat is a must. When I was COPE director, I went out and bought my own harness before camp. Pricey, but well worth it. More comfortable and less bulky than the ones the camp bought since they were one size fits most. For another camp I worked at, radio and loud cheery music. The Scouters in camp thought I was the most important person as I drove around camp delivering coffee and newspapers in the morning. After Reveille was played, the Scouters knew coffee was on the way when they heard 'You are my Sunshine" baring from my car. Coffee is your friend! 😎 But the ABSOLUTE MOST IMPORTANT thing to have is A POSITIVE MENTAL ATTITUDE! Camp staff is fun, i did a total of 5 years at 4 different camps. While there is a lot of fun, there is at times stress and frustration. 2 AM Lost Campers in the rain is not fun. Dealing with ticked off SMs because you kicked out their misbehaving Scouts from you class is frustrating. Worse is when the PD says you cannot kick them out, and you are stuck with them in the class the rest of the week. THEN having to deal with the ticked off SMs because their Scouts did not complete the MB because of the problem Scouts above is frustrating. But the friendships you make, the Scouts you meet, and the fun you have more than compensate. The closest I've had to those Summer camp days has been working Cub Scout Day Camp. That and when I go with my troop to summer camp. I am usually in Aquatics

I don't recommend it. The hole will get bigger and ragged over time. Only reason I keep mine with the holes is that A) it is a reminder to me to ALWAYS keep safety #1 when on the range and not assume that everyone is listening and following instructions and B) to show shooters on a range what could possibly happen when they are not paying attentions and following safety rules. Yes, my Smokey Bear has holes in it from a rifle range. My fault and I was lucky. Thanks for the reminder, I got to pack that Smokey for this weekend.

Unless they are Webelos, I have never had good experiences with siblings attending, except 1 family camp out. As a youth, the accompanying siblings ruined a trip we had planned for a year, and caused damage at the facility we were staying out so we never even thought of going back because of them. We never had another family camp out until all of the youth at the time had aged out. No one ever wanted a repeat of that experience. Even when my own son was a Webelos, I had some challenges with him. First time they were major, and I had to step away to deal with him instead of dealing with the Scouts. Siblings can be a major distraction. Understatement.Some of you know from other posts how two sets of parents who wanted a continuation of Cub Scouts caused me and my sons to leave a troop, and nearly destroyed it. Despite the Scouts and a few Scouters complaining, it took me leaving before the rest of the Scouters to see the problem, and the CO to finally put their foot down and intervene. I am told the troop is doing a lot better now. Key questions to remember when in the situation: "Have you asked your PL?" And if they are the PL, " Have you asked your SPL?" Unfortunately after oldest's term as a PL, I could no longer ask those two questions. The troop elected him SPL, and I had to deal with him.

I agree with full medical disclosure for everyone, adults and youth alike. I had someone going into shock while taking him to the hospital. I wish I had the form with me to answer questions when I got to the hospital. Camp medic still had the form. I could not answer any thing they asked me, and he was not 100% there due to shock. Thankfully he was aware enough to give them a phone number and his parents were able to help. Compare that to when I had to got the the ER, my form answered a lot of their questions. As an adult who has taken responsibility for those forms for summer camp, I freely admit I go over every single one. I am making darn sure that all the i's are dotted and t's crossed. Had an incident one year where the parent did not approve the administration of over the counter drugs (Advil, Pepto-Bismal, etc). Thankfully they drove us to the camp and were still around to sign it. Otherwise no one would be able to give him anything if he got sick. I am not trying to find out anything, and in fact do not remember anything other than whether the things I am looking for are signed or not. Oh and to make sure we have all three parts ( one year a mom sent in only Parts A and B. Thankfully we had a physician in the troop who gave him a physical right before we left!) While I do see the day coming in which out the forms will no longer be needed, it won't happen for a while. With everything going to Electronic Medical Records (EMRs), once the different systems are integrated into each other, anyplace you go you will have access to a patients records. As it is right now, any facility using the EPIC EMR has access to anyone who has an EPIC record. So if you are in California and go to the ER there, that ER has all of your EPIC records recorded from your primary care physician in South Carolina, and vice versa.

I am with @ParkMan . I am against it, because I have seen Scouts participate in Cub siblings' events AS IF THEY ARE STILL CUB SCOUTS (emphasis) and those Scouts had major issues acting as Scouts at their own events. They still depended on adults and not try and take care of themselves. It slows down their development.

Can you provide more details?

Sadly, the 63 old fogeys (60 Scouters and 3 Professionals) of the National OA COmmittee seem to be ignoring the youth as every single youth I have talked to HATED the new scripts (caps, bold, etc for emphasis). And if you are doing these ceremonies as the OA national requires you to use their new skits ceremonies. My chapter will no longer do those ceremonies. Correct National OA Committee no longer wants Native American references in the OA AOL and Cross Over Ceremonies. Still allowed for the rest of the ceremonies. HOWEVER many noted the absence of Native American ceremonies at the last NOAC shows. In fact the only reference to Native American culture was the AIA powwow and show. One of the challenges is that the OA has used NA images and references since 1915. And when it is done properly it is a thing of beauty that inspires and motivates. I had a troop working on Indian Lore borrow my regalia and did one of the old scripts, leaving out references to OA. You could literally hear a pin drop at the meeting because everyone was interested in the "Indians." Try keeping Lions and Tigers quiet and paying attention for 20-30 minutes!

Looks like folks in my neck of the woods are asking individuals to do these ceremonies as NO ONE (emphasis) like the new national scripts and the local chapter refuses to due them as they are embarrased just reading them. I am a Southern Straight dancer and was just asked if I could do a ceremony for an event.

My wife embroiders. She did mine and two of the hoodlums shirts.

Question for the long time Scouters out here, do you consider the Scouts you worked with YOUR Scouts even 5, 10, 20+ years after working with them? I mentioned a few months back how I had one Eagle come and stay with me a few days. He's a "Nomad," converting a UHaul truck into a mobile office and apartment. He's driving all over the US and I keep up via Facebook. Last time I saw him was 21 years ago. I visited another Eagle when I went home for a few days. Wasn't a long visit, but it brought back memories and we were able to catch up on folks we knew and had not heard from. Again it was 21 years since I last saw him. Last night it really hit. One of my Eagles got married, and I was at the wedding. At the reception, I ran into his dad, who also was an ASM with me. We spent over 20 minutes catching up, no only on what we have been doing, but also on our Scouts. We mostly discussed the good things in our Scouts' lives: graduations, marriages, jobs and promotions, children, etc. Negative events were not mentioned, but from the tone, we both keep up with those as well: divorces, deaths, etc. It seemed as if no matter where they go, or how old they become, we both consider them "My Scouts."

Sadly, unless they are shooting at targets, it is not allowed. Unauthorized and Restricted Activities Q. Is laser tag an approved activity? A. Scout units may plan or participate in paintball, laser tag, or similar events where participants shoot at targets that are neither living nor human representations. Please review additional information located in the Unauthorized and Restricted Activities section of the Guide to Safe Scouting.

Not just in an online forum. It is an extremely fine balancing act. Especially when you personally agree with the volunteers. Or have never been involved until hired. Extremely frustrating when policies are made by folks with academic credentials and no Scouting credentials.

Also, does anyone else find it coincidental that the Patrol Method truly died just before the introduction of girls into the program? After 108 years, we can no longer trust the boys?

I know when I did the Aquatics Supervision courses, we were drilled on SSD and SA every day. For me and a few others 2x a day since we were taking both courses. But yes, skills are gone over and over. Lots of drills. For those with little to no experience it is great.For those with some experience, great refresher.

Sadly the Patrol Method is dead as of October 1, 2018. It was injured back in 2012 or thereabouts when National no longer permitted Patrols to camp on their own without adults. But the death knell was October 1, 2018 when the new YP policies went into effect that require 2 adults over 21 to be in attendance.

With all due respect, having 2 adults over 21 attending patrol day activities is indeed new. Prior to October 1st, 2018, patrols could do patrol day activities WITHOUT ANY ADULTS (emphasis). So having 2 adults over 21 attend patrol meetings, hikes, field trips, etc is new, and as I stated goes against 108 years of policy. Also something not covered by the FAQs: What happens if the MBC is in the 18-20 year old range? Will 2 adults over 21 be required, whether both registered or 1 registered and 1 parent? That is indeed a serious question and one I am being asked about by a troop.

The reason why there is confusion is the below found here https://www.scouting.org/health-and-safety/yp-faqs/#as Adult Supervision Q: The Barriers to Abuse say that there must be two registered adults present for all Scouting activities and meetings. Does that include merit badge counseling? Fund-raising events? A. Yes. However, the parent or legal guardian of the Scout may serve as the second adult. This parent or legal guardian does not have to be a registered leader. The question then arises, if parents counts towards MB counseling and fundraising, why not other events? Also as others have pointed, the new policy goes against 109 years of BSA Policy.

It used to depend on the script(s) that the OA was using. Some of the scripts I've used had the OA do both ceremonies. Some scripts has the OA do all of the AOL, and worked with the SPL/Troop for the Cross Over. And a few scripts had the OA do all of the AOL, then turn over the Cross Over Ceremony to the Scouts. With the new skits ceremonies, I agree, they can be done by anyone. With the old ceremonies, there was something special about having the OA show up in regalia, and the sash was part of that ceremonial regalia. I know when the Indian Lore MB students came and did my youngest son's AOL ceremony, it was so quiet yo could hear a pin drop! Everyone was paying attention.

Actually the BSA Aquatics Supervision courses are valid for 15+ year olds as well. The reason why I recommend BSA Lifeguard to youth and young Scouters is that there is a demand for lifeguards, especially at college pools. I know once I finished my Work Study Hours, instead of being layed off until next semester, I kept working, and getting to keep my pay. Another reason for 15-17 year olds to get BSA Lifeguard is that under some federal OSHA laws, you got to be 18+ to work waterfronts. I am told that is one reason why many Scout camps are building pools. It also explains why basic lifeguard certifications no longer deal with waterfronts, and you have to take the Waterfront Aquatics advance cert courses. Talking to someone who was on the national aquatics committee, I was told the Aquatics Supervision courses were created so that units had folks with the necessary knowledge, skills and abilities to take their units on the water since BSA Lifeguard is more pool/ formal swim area oriented.