Eagle94-A1

Interesting that GSUSA left out the rest of that statistic. Gotta find the interview, but t seem to recall its stated "at least once a year." That tells me a lot of their outdoor program.

A boys' troop and a girls' troop can form "linked troops" that share everything: committee, ASMs, equipment, meeting times and places, activities, and campouts. Only thing they cannot share is a SM.3 So it is permissible that the two troops get mixed together for meetings, activities, and camp outs.

There were a lot of changes to the program, some major, some minor. Changes include the following: Doing away with Skill Awards Doing away with time requirements for Tenderfoot through First Class ( Part of Operation First Class which turned into First Class First Year) Promoting aged based patrols, i.e. New Scout Patrol, Experienced Patrol, and Venture Crew for older Scouts (which turned into Venture Patrol in 1998 when Venturing came out) instead of Traditional Patrols, aka Mixed Aged Patrols, and the Leadership Corps for older Scouts, Doing away with the Leadership Corps as a POR and creating Venture crews/patrols instead. Scouts no longer conducting Board of Reviews for Tenderfoot through First Class (although it did take a while for some troops to get the word) World Crest was no longer an award you had to earn, everyone could wear it (Grant you this mandate came from WOSM, still it ticked those of us who earned it, or were inthe process of earning it off. And they made the WOSM mandate effective when all the other changes occurred) Those are the ones I can remember off the top of my head. I believe there were more changes. Ideally Courts of Honor every 3 months, but most of the troops I've been in held them every 4: Usually April, August, and December. It is a very big deal with families invited, formal ceremony, and everyone brought some type of desert for the reception afterwards. The April one with reception usually lasted the entire meeting time. The August one usually lasted longer since it also included all of the summer camp merit badges and awards. December was usually the shortest and held in conjunction with a Christmas Party. In the troop growing up, par to that COH was the issuing of new troop t-shirts. The logo never changed, but the color of the ink and shirt did. The troop I am currently with now is quite small. Their last COH lasted less than 45 minutes. As for waiting, it depended upon when the BOR was. Some Scouts might wait 4 months, others might wait a week. Exception to that was Eagle. Eagle planned COH as he and his family wanted. Between the EBOR and my COH, it was 5 months. Grant you part of that was dealing with council's messed up records (5 weeks and 3 visits to the office) andpart of that was waiting for the word to come back from national (another 4 weeks).

In all seriousness, Get you existing troop to purchase "Replacements." You still need to fill out an Advancement Report, and need to use real names ( I also put real dates they earned them) My Scout Shop supported a Direct Service Council troop. Their CO was a Fortune 500 company in my city, and they did quarterly orders for advancement which the company shipped. EVERY SINGLE ADVANCEMENT ITEM WAS A "REPLACEMENT." (emphasis). I had questions it and talked to my manager. She knew the story and it was OK'd.

That's the pre-1989 way of doing things; an "Attaboy" after the BOR and formal presentation of rank and all other awards at the COH. Believe it or not, there is actually reasons for the restrictions. One reason is that records need to be kept for verification purposes. Not every Scout shop follows the rules, and some do not require paperwork. So when the paperwork never gets turned in, there are problems later down the road. Then you get parents trying to buy their kids rank. Not so much at the Scouts, BSA level, but plenty on the Cub Scout side. Another is folks trying to make costumes for Halloween and Mardi Gras. We had 3 sorority girls from my university come to my Scout Shop and spent a long time shopping for a costume. When they came to check out, I asked to see their membership cards to purchase the uniforms ( yes once upon a time, you had to show your membership card to buy your uniform. It was mentioned in the book still, but not enforced)

If BSA caves, then Eagle Scout loses even more luster than it has already. It's one thing for her troop leaders to sign off on that stuff. sadly I've seen the results of when it happens and National won't do anything about it. And i have a feeling that is what is going to happen here. But for national to just cave would be a travesty, There are THOUSANDS of female Venturers who did things by book, and who comparable experienceince in Venturing that could lead towards Eagle if they were male,.who would be dishonored by BSA caving in.

That larger pin is not for immediate recognition, but is actually a Rank pin, worn on the pocket in lieu of the patch.Unless things have changed since I worked in supply, it is a restricted item and needs an Advancement Report. I remember the complaints we got about the First Class Rank Pin and the Campaign Hats and Expedition hats. The Insignia Guide stated youth wore the First Class Rank pin, but they could not buy it without providing paperwork. Saw many a Scout wear the Adult Universal Pin instead. If you are a linked troop, see if the boys's troop can spot you some patches. If not, see if any of their Scouts will buys some "Replacements" to get your supply started.

Not me. I am with another troop now, plus I have no daughters. It was bad enough when I had no children and/or unmarried in the program being a 18 - 30 year old ASM and other PORs. I had folks view me suspicion for being in the program still (even in the troop I grew up in, some parents were suspicious until they found out my history and/or got to knew me). I can only imagine what it would be like for a guy with no daughter or granddaughter in the troop, being a SM or ASM will be viewed as. Also t I've seen first hand what an accusation will do to a Scouter: ruin their life. Friend of mine was accused of making a pass at a Scout. Her membership was revoked permanently ( she had to get special permission to attend the council banquet when her son was recognized as an Eagle), and a criminal investigation was done on the matter. She was found innocent, with no charges filed. All because she caught a Scout after hours being a peeping Tom at the ladies shower house after hours and he lied to not get into trouble. As for another guy, they have been trying to get the troop started for 8 to 9 months now. No one is stepping up.

I think she will use the extension IF the BSA doesn't cave in. From the article: " "I, and other girls in my position, will eventually be able to become recognized Eagle Scouts, but the question is if they are going to count all of the many years of work we did prior to Feb. 1," she said."

I am now worried about one particular boys' troop. Since there are no females willing to take over SM duties for a girls' troop, the CO's boys' SM is now considering stepping down as SM there to be the SM for his daughter and her friends. I understand family first, and completely agree. But between the issues affecting that boys' troop, and knowing that no one is either willing or capable of filling his shoes as SM, I see that boys' troop folding within a year. I hope I am wrong.

Those firebuckets, are still a requirement at the camporees in my neck of the woods. Lot of storage space wasted on those cans which are used twice a year.

Hopefully BSA won't cave in. It will set a very bad precedent if they did. And I bet her dad and the other Scouters in the troop she has been tagging along with will give her credit for the work anyway.

No. They have to be a brand new Scout and start from scratch on rank advancement. Bet Ireland was an influence on this policy being made.

A bunch actually. Most camps in the UK are open to any Scout groups. From what I've heard so is most of the European ones too.

I've been is Scouting way too long. So long that some of my Eagles are now Den Leaders, and one or two are even ASMs in their son's troops. So I have a lot of experience. But I still learn new things everyday. And I relearn things all the time too. One of the things I relearned from this is TRUST YOUR GUT FEELING! (emphasis) I was district training chairman once upon a time, and I would like to say I did a good job. I helped a lot of new Scouters with those classes. One of the troop I was particularly proud of was the troop I intended to join 7 or 8 years ago because I trained their SM and ASMs and they got it. The troop wasn't perfect, no brand new troop is, but working with their Scouters was great. They were attentive, asked good questions, and listened to the biggest challenge for adults of the Patrol Method: it is organized chaos an will take 2 to 3 times longer for the Scouts to do things initially. Sometimes the new guys had ideas and thoughts about things that I had no idea if it would work or not. And sometimes they tried things I had deep reservations about. So I suggested, give it a shot. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't Best example is the NSP they did. It was the only time I've seen it work as it is suppose to. The reason why I think it did was because the ASM was also the WDL with the affiliated pack, and they began the Webelos-To-Scout Transition as soon as they became Webelos. But just as folks learn from their successes, folks also learn from their failures. That same troop got a new SM, and I knew he would need help because he was untrained. I put a lot of effort into training him and the new batch of ASMs they got, just crossed over from Cub Scouts. Long story short, The training went in one ear and out the other. I ended up being their UC, and tried to mentor and counsel them because they started hemorrhaging Scouts. Some told me I didn't know what I was talking about, others said Scouting needs to change with the times and their new methods worked better. I asked for another UC to work with them since I could not help them. They created a "high speed, low drag" advancement troop with little camping outside of MB weekends. It got worse and worse until they were on the verge of extinction. Eventually they learned why none of the Cubs were crossing over into their troop, and they changed how they did things. They learned from their experience and are now slowly improving the troop. So just as you need to let Scouts learn from failure to improve themselves and their patrols and troop, we old fogeys need to let the new crop of Scouters learn from their mistakes. Yes we need to train them, counsel them, and mentor them. But we also need to "Train 'em. Trust 'em. LET THEM LEAD!" (sic) i did that with my old troop. I let the Scouters make their mistakes and they are now learning from them. If the troop survives, and I am praying it does, I think those Scouters will be better off, and the troop will grow stronger over time. And I learned to trust my gut instinct, especially when it comes to my sons. As soon as I recognized the troop's problem, knew that it would not be handled in a timely manner, knew it would fester and get worse, and most importantly SAW IT NEGATIVELY AFFECTING MY SONS (emphasis), I should have left. Again I do not want the troop to die. I want the troop to get on the right path. I want it to succeed. But I am ready with throwlines and ring buoys to save my Scouts if they need saving.

I have to agree, "Teachable" can be applied to anyone. One of the parents causing problems has completed all training: YPT2, SM and ASM Specific, and ItOLS. According to BSA, he is fully trained. However he still does not understand the Boy Scout, 5 days away from Scouting BSA, Program. And multiple attempts to teach him have proved fruitless.

Actually I found out she messaged me before I read her message from the SM and an ASM. Apparently she asked them about me, then told them she messaged me about it. Not that it really mattered IMHO. They were told the all of the reasons why I was leaving. And she did share my response with her husband, and I bet their friends too. At this stage, I think he would rather be SM of his daughter's troop than the boys' troop. Not only would he be working with his daughter, he would not have to deal with drama.

Sadly one family's Scout is First Class because the parents have pushed the issue. While the Scout may have done the skills, it is with dad always right there telling him what to do. Plus his Scout Spirit is a challenge for me. This is the Scout who for over a year has snuck back into his dad's tent, or if the entire family was there, the family tent. This Scout routinely abandons his patrol when there is work to do. On the last camp out I was at, he left his patrol whenever he could and stayed with the family instead. The SM has compromised with his argumentative parents in efforts to get the Scout back on the right track.The Scout really could use unabridged, Patrol Method Scouting to grow up some. So I can understand the SM trying to work it out. But I knew it would affect the rest of the troop morale wise and advised against it. I predicted the compromise would also cause further problems,and IMHO the compromise has backfired and made it worse. Not only has the scout not lived up to his end of the bargain, the parents have gotten more and more demanding and willing to ignore the SM and other Scouters. This family includes the ASM who left summer camp with his son during the middle of the week to stay in a hotel with the wife and younger son without telling anyone The other family's Scout is Second Class, and my impression is that he is only there because his parents are forcing him to become an Eagle. He has not gone camping on a regular basis, always something else coming up, and didn't go to summer camp. To date every camp out he has been on has included mom, dad, or both, including mom's attendance at 2017 summer camp. My impression is that he could care less about completing MBs as evidenced by his mom harping on MBCs to finish stuff he started, or complaining that MBCs are not working with her son when misses MBC sessions being offered. After the implied threat, when he did camp, I stayed away and let others deal with him. Because I am also a RT commissioner, I have friends in the entire district. I know that one family has talked to the Scouters in another troop. Don't know about the other family. Irony is this: the troop they talked to is more "Old School" than any other in the district, and probably the council. They also have the "Trained ASM's only" policy, and the adults try to stay 300 feet away from the scouts.

Actually took my Becker 21 to slice the line. Seriously, I really think the troop will fold within a year. SM, who is the reason why I stayed as long as I did and is the reason why many of the Scouts are with the troop, has had it for sometime. He came close to cutting off his SM patch and giving it to them on the FUBAR camp out. And now that his daughter can be in Scouts BSA next week, he is in the process of getting a female troop going for her. He has been trying for 6 or 7 months, and cannot get a female SM, so it looks like it is going to be him. Nobody in the troop is either capable of doing the job ( the two troublesome dads) or wants to deal with the headaches the 2 families are causing. The only one who could possibly, stress POSSIBLY, pull it off is ASM Gunship. He's improved some over time, but I do know several families have concerns about him as SM. And they would leave. But that sinking ship is not the one I am on anymore. However I am ready to throw some ring buoys and my boys are ready with throw-bags to rescue any of the Scouts.

Well I sent the letter. I first sent it to the SM and the core ASMs, basically my friends who knew the whole reason for leaving, not the polite, but also true, "The new troop's meetings are a better night for us." Because of my meetings with them saying why I am leaving, the troop is in the process of reforms. But as you can imagine, these two families are ticked off and fighting it. According to the SM, they lost an entire Cross Over Den because of the new policy that only trained ASMs can go camping now. Personally I think the chaos the two adults caused on the camp out with them is the true reason. To say it was a "Charley Foxtrot" would be an understatement. And from what little I saw of them that weekend, if I was a brand new parent, I wouldn't want to join the troop either. I commented how I don't think it will change anything, and wasn't going to bother with it. But they encouraged me to anyway. I believe they were hoping that the letter would make her finally understand what her, her husband, and the other family are destroying the troop. Nope, she still didn't understand. First her post was rambling about her son/ Then she denied her husband or anyone else implied lawsuits if anything happens. Then she went on about how the current Scouters have a duty to intervene and correct interfering adults. LIke the 6 parents meetings and numerous counseling sessions with the other family, and the counseling session we attempted to have with her around a campfire and coffee/hot cocoa where she not only interrupted what when we were talking, but accused us of being sexist were not our attempts to correct them. She completely ignored the threats to leave and my comment about her leaving an event because she was not getting her way. Finally she asked if her chewing me out since I had to rescheduled a MB session at the last minute because one of my Eagles was going to be in my area and wanted to visit at the last minute, was my final straw. So I ended our online discussion and blocked her because she just won't get it. I also removed myself from the troop's FB page, b/c she was beginning to bug me through that. I wish I could say I am completely done with the troop, but I cannot. Before I left, I committed to doing a months' worth of Indian Lore meetings for their SPL, and going to a powwow with them. He asked me again if I could still do it, even though I am no longer int he troop. I AM NOT LETTING THESE IDIOTS CAUSE ME TO BREAK THAT COMMITMENT TO MY SCOUTS! I am looking to see if a friend can do those duties for me, but if he cannot, I will be there for my scouts. But I am done with the adults. It is now my friends' problem.

"Master the Skills" came from previous editions of the Boy Scout Handbook. Give a few and I can find citations. "'The badge represents what the Scout CAN DO, not what he has done." was the standard in previous editions of the Guide to Advancement. Unfortunately I have a new computer, and cannot find those files. I do not think I have them backed up as they use to be readily available. Sadly the current Guide to Advancement no longer states that.

We had one patrol of older Scouts/young ASMs who had been together for at least 6 years, and most since Tigers. Summer after HS graduation, they took a train trip to Yosemite and went backpacking. they spent 2 weeks and had a blast one last time.

They told you what they want to do, let hem do it. Another thing that may help, have them plan a patrol trip just for them. My old troop had a yearly AT backpacking trip with criteria: First Class or higher, and do a prep trip. That really got folks going and kept them motivated.

Thanks folks. Yes. I don't think she would get it. And yes. she is the type to retaliate. But just writing the that out was cathartic.

So one of the parents that caused problems wants to know if it was true I left because of her. I wrote a letter and was going to send it to her. Just typing the letter was closure. I am now debating whether to actually send it. Not because I am concerned about any confrontation or what not. But because I do not think it will make any difference. I do not think she will read it, and if she did, she would ignore it anyway. But I am going to share for your thoughts. XXXXXXX, Leaving a troop is never easy. You invest so much blood, sweat, tears, time, and treasure. Invaluable friendships are made. And you are leaving youth you have worked with for some time that you know are going to grow into self-reliant, productive men. This is the fifth time in my 36 year Scouting career I have had to say “good bye,” and it was the hardest choice to make. I feel like I am letting my friends down, who like me have put in tremendous amounts of time, energy and treasure to support the youth. I feel like I am letting [LATE SCOUTMASTER} down since I made a promise to him before he died not to let the troop die out again. And I feel like I am abandoning my Scouts in their time of need. That is the worse feeling. I’ve known many of them since they were Cub Scouts either in Pack XXX or attending day camp. But my number one concern is my sons. No matter how I feel about a situation, I need to look after their best interest. I also needed to look after my own health, and my wife’s. Sadly our best interest was to transfer to another troop. You see after five years of ups and downs, the troop took a turn for the worse and when I left there seemed no end in sight. The problem the troop was having was affecting everyone Scouts, Scouters, me, and my wife. I had to leave. But I am hoping that the policies that {CHARTER ORGANIZATION} implemented will solve the problem. The problem is adults with no knowledge, skills, or experience in the Boy Scout program interfering with the Patrol Method. Since their only experience in the Scouting Movement is Cub Scouts, they are seeking a continuation of Cub Scouts. They want adults to be “leaders” doing things for the Scouts that the Scouts need to do themselves. These adults after repeated discussions and counseling sessions still do not understand that the reason for allowing the Scouts independence is so they can can grow in confidence, knowledge, and experience, not only in camping, but in life. Adults should only intervene for safety issues, because Scouts learn not only from their successes, but also from their failures. When adults interfere, they are taking away those learning opportunities, and causing the Scouts to rely on the adult. This hurts the Scout in the long run. Again this is Boy Scouts, soon Scouts BSA, and not Cub Scouts. Best example of a Scout learning from his mistakes would be my oldest son. As a Webelos, I gave him some cold weather camping advice, specifically do not sleep with your coat on, you will be miserable when you wake up. He didn’t follow the advice, and was miserable when he woke up the next morning. He has never slept with a coat on again. In Boy Scouts, we use the Patrol Method. Patrols are the building blocks of a Boy Scout troop. A patrol is a small group of boys who are similar in age, development, and interests. Working together as a team, patrol members share the responsibility for the patrol's success. The also learn the importance of keeping their word, being dependable and being held accountable. They gain confidence by serving in positions of patrol leadership and having assigned tasks. As the Scouts progress, troop level positions of increased responsibility occur: Senior Patrol leader, Quartermaster, etc. So when the adult interfered with the Star Scout Patrol Leader (PL) trying to teach the new Scouts how to cook and KP, it was a major problem. When the adult took over cooking and KP, he not only took away a leadership opportunity from the Star Scout, but also an opportunity for his son to grow in maturity and independence. That Star Scout was so infuriated over the situation, he had to walk away and vent. Another time an adult interfered and almost caused a problem was during a fundraiser. A First Class Scout Patrol Leader was following the instructions of his Senior Patrol Leader (SPL) gave him, when an adult told him to stop what he was doing and do something else. The PL had no idea who was contradicting the SPL because he had never seen him before, nor was the adult in uniform. Thankfully I ran into the PL, and asked what to do. I told him to follow the SPL's instructions. A third time adults interfered that I know about was the last camporee with two incidents. First incident was when I ran into the SPL walking away from the troop. He did that to remain calm and vent. He told me every single instruction he gave on setting up camp was being contradicted by two adults. He stated the adults were not letting him do his job. As a result of their interference, it was taking twice as long to set up because of the confusion. Also gear was getting wet that could have remained dry if the SPL’s instruction would have been followed. I could not only understand why it was taking so long to set up camp, but also his frustration with the situation. The second situation I heard about after the camporee. Adults took over the Quartermaster (QM) duties. In stead of allowing the QM to follow the SPL’s instructions and distribute the patrols’ gear to their members, two adults took over. This deprived the QM of a chance to take on responsibility and grow in experience. Further the adults didn’t even follow the Patrol Method of each patrol only using their assigned gear and no other. These adults were giving out gear with no care as to who is was suppose to go to. The irony is that one of the adults once commented that “Once you get your assigned gear, you are responsible for it. If you break it, you are paying to fix it.” Apparently the previous two trips the gear was used, it was distributed in a similar manner by these adults. When a patrol QM and an Assistant Patrol Leader inspected their assigned gear prior to camporee, on patrol was missing two tents, with the remaining tents having tears, mildew, and even missing poles. The other patrol had tents with mildew and tears. So both Scouts organized their patrols’ gear and had slated what needed to be repaired. So when the Patrol QM asked where was his patrol’s tents they selected for use, he was told not to worry about it, just set up the tents he was given. This discouraged the Scouts from doing preparation in the future, and also took responsibility for tents away from the Patrols. After all if there is a problem with their tents, they can just use another patrols instead of accepting responsibility and dealing with the consequences. A great life lesson lost. Another area that is causing problems is Advancement. Advancement is not only the process of going from rank to rank, but also the way to encourage the ongoing involvement and commitment that keeps members coming back for more. While learning the skills is important, the primary goal is personal growth through age-appropriate surmountable hurdles. From these challenges they learn about themselves and gain confidence. Success is achieved when we develop a Scout physically, mentally morally. We know we are on the right track when we see youth accepting responsibility, demonstrating self-reliance, and caring for themselves and others; not when they become and Eagle Scout. And the Boy Scout is suppose to plan his advancement and progresses at his own pace. Sadly Troop XX has adults who are still stuck on the Cub Scout model of advancement: advancement as a group with the standard being “Do Your Best.” This standard is completely different from the Boy Scout model of advancing at your own pace, “master the skills,” and “The badge represents what a Scout CAN DO, not what he has done” (sic). They are pushing and pushing both their sons and the Scouters in the troop to advance. This is hurting not only their own Scouts but the other Scouts in the troop. It hurts their Scouts because they are earning advancement without having the confidence of actually mastering it. Again the “badge represents what a Scout CAN DO, not what he has done.” If a Scout does not have the confidence to do a skill, when it is needed, potentially in a life threatening situation, can that Scout be deepened upon to do what is needed? I’ll give you an example. A First Class Scout and above should have the knowledge, skills, abilities and confidence to not only take care of themselves, but also others in the outdoors. When I got hypothermia in Canada, it was a Star Scout who recognized I had hypothermia, and began treating me. While the adults were informed and did visit me, they did not do any additional first aid because that Star Scout and the other Scouts did everything by the book: got a fire started, helped me remove wet clothes, got shelter up, wrapped a dry sleeping bag around me, and gave me hot fluids. Those Scouts saved my life. Unfortunately I do not think some of the First Class Scouts in the troop today have the confidence to save a life. And the push for advancement is affecting the other Scouts in the troop. One Scout lost all interest in advancement because “it doesn’t matter if you know it or not, they will just give it to you.” This was made after a Scout, whose parents pushed and pushed to get their son get advancement, yet the Scout would sneak off when work was to be done or sneak out and sleep with his parents instead of camping with his patrol. Another Scout was losing interest in the troop because he saw Scouts advancing beyond their capabilities.When they were suppose to do things they have already done, that Scout could not rely on them to do the assigned work in the patrol. The continued demand for Cub Scout style family camping was determinant for leaving. Adults who understand that they need to leave the Scouts alone and let them go through the Patrol Leader to Senior Patrol Leader to Scoutmaster chain of command I do not have a problem with. But adults who are constantly meddling in the affairs of the patrol is a problem. It is not Scouting. The Scouts learn nothing except to depend on adults. And when it is time to be on their own, they are unable to cope. Even with adults observing changes patrol dynamics. Scouts are less willing to try new things, gain new experiences, and they rely to much on the adult to intervene. Yes, Scouters are there for emergencies, but out of presence, out of mind. By not being visible they Scouts are willing to try new things, and learn, even through failure, in a safe environment. Further the Cub Scout style family camping, and adding siblings, is a problem. Not only does it increase the adult interference as I stated above, but also it limits the places the Scouts can go and activities they can do. Further it hurts the sibling in the long term. Scouts want adventure, they do not want the same thing over and over again. They want to go to new places and do new things. By having family camping, the Scouts end up doing what families want, not what they want. And having siblings causes problems. On one campout, a sibling was interfering with the patrol breaking camp. When the First Class Scout Patrol Leader told the sibling he needed to go back to his parents, the sibling yelled “NO!” and proceeded to ignore the PL. Which is when I had to intervene. On another camp out, the sibling was all over the catapult the Scouts built as they were preparing to fire. The Range Safety Officer had to intervene in that case. As I mentioned, taking siblings hurt the sibling in the long run. Twice I have seen this. First time was when and ASM was constantly taking his Webelos son camping with the troop. This led to the Webelos accompanying dad on a 64 mile canoe trip in the Canadian wilderness with us. While the Webelos was fully capable of handling the situation, when he did became a Boy Scout, he got bored with the routine trips, and quit within 6 months. My youngest son is the second case. He has been doing Cub Scout family camping for so long, he has no interest in the Cub Scout family camp outs the council has put on the past 3 years. And currently he is impatient to become a Boy Scout next month. Finally the drama the inexperienced adults were creating caused me to leave. I was getting frustrated trying to mentor them, work with them and being ignored. Also being given the choice of doing it their way or they would leave on camp outs showed me that I could not depend upon them to honor commitments they made. That threat to leave when the troop was depending upon them was made several times, and did occur once. Having to deal with that is a major distraction to my primary job: providing the best possible Scouting experience to the Scouts. At the committee organization meeting after (LATE SCOUTMASTER) death, one adult implied a lawsuit should anything happen to his son. He wanted the Scouters to give a 100% guarantee that nothing will happen to his son. There is no way anyone can give that 100% guarantee: not teachers, not coaches, not Scouters, and not even parents. All of the Scouters on trips have taken the minimum training, and most have taken advanced training. The current Scouters in the troop have current, or very recently expired first aid, wilderness first aid, first aid instructor, Safe Swim Defense, Safety Afloat, both Aquatic Supervision courses, Climb On Safely, and health care professional level certifications. I know the SM not only has Introduction to Outdoor Leadership Skills, but staffed a course. Another Scouter was the district training chairman. The Scouters will do anything and everything to protect the lives of the Scouts. I am reminded of that commitment every time I get out of the shower and look in the mirror. I have a six inch scar that reminds me of the time I was coming back from a successful rescue and became a victim myself. That successful rescue caused me to have 3 months of pain, a surgery, and 5 months of physical therapy. The Scouters in the troop were the ones who took care of not only the Scout, but also myself. I know they do everything humanely possible to provide a safe environment for our Scouts. And having to deal with the unexpected is why we want the Scouts to be challenged, we want them to “master the skills” instead of a “one and done” or Cub Scout “do your best” standard. We want them to be able to handle themselves if they were to get in an accident. so they can avoid situations and take care of themselves and others. Scouts have a long history of dealing with emergency situations. You can read about some of them in SCOUTS IN ACTION cartoons in Boys' Life magazine. So that is why I left Troop XX, the interference and drama adults were causing. My job as an ASM is to support the Scouts, not deal with the drama adults are causing. Now regarding your question about advancement. Your son, not an adult, needs to contact the SM about taking a MB. The SM will give him a name to contact and some type of record keeping instrument, whether a Blue Card or telling him to download the workbook, so that the counselor can sign off on requirements as your son completes them, Once completed, he gives the completed records to records to the SM. And I advise that he makes a copy as a back up.