Ankylus

I looked at the link. I did see on one of the bags an indication of 7', although perhaps I misunderstood. But after reviewing it, I don't really have anything to add. I will note, however, that the zipper and whether it has a baffle is always of interest to me, and I don't see anything there about the zipper. 90% of the troubles I have with sleeping bags come from the zippers.

The most creative patrol name I have encountered was not so much a patrol name as the patrol yell it engendered. We had a Ninja patrol, whose patrol yell was to stand around mutely because, you know, a Ninja is silent.

Well, sadly, the "boy" is not a boy. Take a DNA test and it will unequivocally establish that the child is a girl. That's a biological fact. No amount of surgery, or hormone therapy, or social conditioning or anything else can change that fact. And membership is not open to girls.

Signing petitions is a waste of time. Just like putting the "coexist" bumper sticker on your car. To paraphrase Chief Justice Roberts, the way to stop religious bigotry is to stop being a religious bigot. You know, by signing petitions for one faith while ignoring persecution of other faiths. We have a number of Muslims in our mostly Christian troop (as well as Buddhists, Hindus, Jews, etc.) even though our CO is a Christian church. All our children have gone to school with Muslims for many years in a very religiously diverse neighborhood. My oldest son's latest college roommate is a Muslim. We have never had an issue in any context with any form of religious bigotry. Nor, should we ever have one, will such be tolerated. That is the way to stop religious bigotry.

I took IOLS perhaps 10 or more years ago, and I do not remember an overnight component or grouping into patrols. Hmmm....perhaps because I was taking it at a week long summer camp during the day when the scouts were at MB classes. Anyway, I remember learning nothing, as everything was old hat. But then, you have to remember what IOLS is for...it's so that Boy Scout leaders know and understand the skills they are supposed to make sure are being imparted to their scouts. While I suspect that most of the members of this board are already conversant with those skills, national can't be sure of that. They have to make sure even the outdoors and scouting novices are up to speed. I can see it, but I wish there had been a way to "test out" of it.

I read that either West Point or Annapolis is going to reinstate curriculum w/r to orienteering because of concerns that some day the GPS will be knocked out and that the military will once again have to navigate by map and compass. That list makes it apparent why the academies like to admit Boy Scouts and especially Eagle scouts.

We literally had a father who brought his pop-up camper and stayed at a campsite not far from the troop. Brought his family too. The son was supposed to stay in a tent with an assigned tent mate, but got up and went to the camper when it started raining. When we told him that would not be permitted, he quit in a huff and took his son to another troop. Nobody missed them.

We just rechartered with 96 scouts (down a bit) and 91 adults (up a bit). But that's not reflective of the actives. We have a core of about 10 SMs (including ASMs). The monthly committee meeting usually draws about 12-15 people, of whom 5 of us are SMs there to provide reports to the committee. On the youth side, we'll probably take 60 or 65 boys to camp this summer.

Trademarks aren't all that different from copyrights in this respect. That's why you don't have to tear the Ford, Chevy, GMC etc. logos off your car when you sell it or trade it in.

The citation is 36 U.S.C. Section 30905. Here's the link: http://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=Boy+Scouts&f=treesort&fq=true&num=28&hl=true&edition=prelim&granuleId=USC-prelim-title36-section30905 The citation is 36 U.S.C. Section 30905. Here is the text: §30905. Exclusive right to emblems, badges, marks, and words The corporation has the exclusive right to use emblems, badges, descriptive or designating marks, and words or phrases the corporation adopts. This section does not affect any vested rights. ( Pub. L. 105–225, Aug. 12, 1998, 112 Stat. 1326 .) What is missing? A cause of action to enforce the rights. Not saying there isn't one, but the law does not provide one here. I would love to see the legal opinion by which they think they can enforce this right.

I have actually seen a genuine, authentic Medal of Honor for sale, back before the Inner Webs was a thing. An almost surreal experience.

I agree with your assessment here, but this whole thread gets back to one of my pet peeves about scouting--the ridiculous amount of work associated with adult awards. People will be trustworthy about this kind of thing or they won't. Stacking loads of paperwork requirements on the award won't ensure a single thing.

Actually, copyright is of no assistance here. The Copyright Act of 1976 contains an explicit limitation on copyright under what is known as the "first sale doctrine". Under this doctrine, once a copyrighted item is sold the rights of copyright are exhausted. This is the same doctrine that lets you sell your used books and records to stores that specialize in that kind of things. (There are some rights of copyright that are excepted from this doctrine, but they are not pertinent here.) So once an evildoer legitimately buys the item, his resale activities are beyond the scope of copyright law.

Never been in your shoes. But if I found myself there, I think I would (1) start developing best practices with respect to conduct of troop business, (2) get everyone involved in recruiting, and (3) develop a good, strong calendar well ahead of time so scouts and their families can plan. With respect to (1), this encompasses several things. For example, you need to establish and define the relationship between the SMs and the Committee as well as the troop and the CO. I know that Scouting already has a plan for all that, but sometimes the implementation is difficult to comport with theory because people are involved. You also need to make sure you have a budget, and that the money and the financial records are discussed at every committee meeting. You need to establish procedures for keeping and maintaining all manner records, from financial to troop equipment to advancement. You also need to develop processes for advancement, including expectations. With respect to (3), you can set dates and things, but make sure the youth pick the themes and make the other plans. But it really helps for the scouts and their parents to block out certain weekends for campouts, for example, or high adventure. Don't be afraid to ask others to contribute. This will also force you to think about what activities you want the troop to participate in. District Camporee? Annual Scout Fair? Anything with the OA? Summer Camp? High adventure? I know a lot of this sounds daunting. You might try looking at the websites for some of the larger troops in your area and see how they handle some of these things. You might also visit them and ask questions.

I also was an 18 yo ASM. (I am beginning to see a pattern here.) I had graduated high school and gone off to college, though. I can still remember being a bit lost in the transition because everyone at the troop still remembered me as a scout and, while the adults made the effort, it just overshadowed a lot of things. This was especially true with the older scouts, who still tended to view me as a peer. So I got active at the District level for a while. I still did not enjoy scouting as much because there were few peers there. But I was much more effective at the District level than at the troop level. But some of this was my personality. At 18 I was not as sure and confident and I approached adult leadership roles that way. So I think it depends on the person a great deal. We also have an 18 yo ASM in my current troop. He is a recent HS graduate. But he still has issues in how he relates to the scouts-he tends to relate to them more as a peer than as an adult. We handle that by asking him to take on suitable roles that do not require a lot of interaction with the scouts. But he clearly is not ready for certain adult leadership roles because of how he and the scouts interact. It will come in time, though. So, specific tips...first, he needs to make a conscious effort not to interact with the scouts as a peer. This will be difficult with the older scouts, so you idea of working with the younger scouts is a good one. Second, he needs to understand that some people will also need to get used to the new arrangement. That includes himself. Everybody needs to be patient and understanding. Third, try to get him into roles that do not require as much interaction with the scouts.

We regularly have BORs scheduled for the first Thursday of the month. (That's tonight!) We post a sign-up sheet in the meeting room where scouts sign up, thereby requesting one. Then, on the day of the BOR, the CM in charge emails each one of them with a time. We also hold them in the same place every time so they already know where to go. If there is a reason, we will hold an out of cycle BOR. For example, we have one scout who joined scouting at 16, and only has about 2 weeks of leeway in his timing for Eagle. He is working like a dog. We schedule out of cycle BORs for him because of his attitude and diligence in light of circumstances he can't really control. We also have them at Summer Camp since everyone is there. We make sure to tell the scouts to take their full uniform if they want a BOR at camp.

I am in the fun camp, provided the fun is Scouting oriented, but I too hate to think of it as either/or. And I think that if they participate and have fun, advancement will come to them as quickly as they wish. And sometimes teaching/learning can be fun. Our bigger issue is that we live in an area filled with Type A personalities. Even the stay-at-home moms used to be CPAs at Big * firms before they quit to raise the children. A lot of the scouts reflect their parents attitude that scouting is about earning Eagle for the college resume, and if they don't reflect it then they live it. Some of them are even all about rushing through and getting it at 14 so they can move on to other activities for the resume. Sad, really. But I always tell the incoming parents that the scout will advance at the rate they want. If you push them to advance faster, then it won't be fun and they will just quit.

I have never heard of this. There are 10 Eagles in my extended family, and I don't think any of us were ever asked this question. I know I wasn't. Also, we produce 10-15 Eagles per year, and I have never heard of this question being asked in a BOR. But maybe I am ignorant. I will ask and see what they say.

We do not have an "adult patrol" as such, although we sometimes refer to it as such for convenience. Our approach is much like Stosh's...we eat, clean, and sleep separately from the youth and the youth generally are not permitted in the adult area. As for "adult patrol activities", most of our adults who would have any inclination for such activities are already donating so much time to the troop I don't have the heart to ask them for more. While I think it is a worthy goal to make sure your adults have at least the skills of a First Class scout, how do you police that? Are you really going to tell the ASM in charge of weekly programs that he is going to have to step down until he shows you he knows how to tie a bowline knot? You must be extraordinarily rich and deep in adult leadership if you can afford to do that. And I agree with blw2...we are there for the youth. If we are focusing on adults in their activities or their skills, then we are necessarily distracted from the mission. The mission should drive the program. Do "adult patrol activities" make the scouting experience better for the youth? Do all the adult leaders really need to master all the First Class skills to implement a productive program for the youth? Don't get me wrong. I don't necessarily think it's a bad idea, particularly because it can contribute to logistical and organizational efficiency on occasion. I am just not sure that it's a part of the program that needs any additional emphasis or focus. Just my .$02. If it works for your program, go for it.

I have enough to do, thank you. And an odd sentiment for one whose byline is "Let not the uniform police get you down".

I agree that the sports analogy for uniforms is way overblown, but for different reasons. Mostly, sports is an entirely different field of human endeavor, and uniforming provides different roles and meets different concerns. It operates under different expectations from its participants than does the scouting program. They are generally simpler too...just a shirt, maybe some socks or something...and so easier to deal with and comply with associated rules. Finally, there are externalities in sports not present in scouting--namely, the officials enforce the rules that require uniforms. It's not necessarily up to the coach of the AD. Its written into the rules of the game, as are penalties for failure to comply. As for overzealousness, we have a local troop that requires not only brown or black leather shoes for all meetings, but they mandate that all footwear must be hiking boots for all occasions. We have another local troop that conducts a uniform inspection before EVERY meeting, campout, and other event. If the scout fails the uniform inspection he is sent home and marked absent. The kicker is that the uniform inspection includes things like making sure the fingernails are clean and well trimmed. Yes, uniforms are important. But I think many people put way too much emphasis on them. Expecting them at meetings, COHs, SM conferences, and COHs is very reasonable. Just tie it to the goals and aims of the scouting program rather than some other unrelated youth activity.

Even in Houston Cubs camp in weather colder than 40 on occasion. We were at 24F one morning at Webelos Woods. A whole camp full of Webelos and their parents at an event run by District. Not one word was said about sending everyone home. Weird.

We have that problem with sheath knives in my council.

Nice! I unfortunately just repeated that myth in another thread.

OK. The question is do we need them for the scouting program. What are your thoughts on that?