MikeS72

Agree that this is a weak link that needs to be eliminated. I does not take long to get background checks done. When I was hired by the school system, I was required to submit to a FBI national background check. This was well before the almost instant checks that can be done now, and it was done in a matter of days. No reason at all why a potential leader can not be told that they are not registered until we get word from council that they have been cleared. Being an educator rather than a lawyer, I am not sure if giving results to the CC or COR is legal. Maybe one of our legal eagles could shed light on that. Even if legal, I would be hesitant to do more than tell a unit that the applicant did not clear. I could see serious issues if specifics were given to unit leaders, who then did the 'guess why so and so can't be a leader' routine.

This by far the most reasoned and well thought out response I have seen concerning this topic. If everyone felt the same and acted accordingly, this would not be such a contentious topic.

I will have to go back and look in my old handbooks as to the exact Cooking MB requirements at the time, but it was an Eagle required MB when I earned my Eagle in 1971. Looking at the history of Eagle requirements, it has been a required MB since 1914.

This is very much what I think the 'linked' model is supposed to look like. Share a C.O., committee, resources, but operate as two separate and autonomous units. Having the boys and girls troops meeting together, with the girls operating like another patrol is, I am sure, going to happen in some cases, but it is not what is intended.

Interesting appendix. Our council summer camp has a Native American program, Both Atl Atl and blowguns are used as a part of that program.

I wish our kid's were like yours. They chose to get up at 4:30 Saturday morning, to depart summer camp, and on our last backpacking trip they wanted to get up at 5:00. Not sure why on the backpacking one, since the sun does not come up until 7:00!

That all depends; are we talking Kenneth Branaugh, or Gilderoy Lockhart. No to Branaugh, big thumbs up for Lockhart. Just imagine (pun intended) the adventures he would inspire!

I can attest to the 1971 date, as I was registered with both a troop and post at the time, and my younger sister joined the post in 71, just after I aged out of the troop at 18.

If a girl was a member of Girls Scouts, Camp Fire, etc., she could participate in an Explorer Post activity in 1969, but was not a registered member of BSA. In 1971 that changed and they could officially register with an Explorer Post or Sea Scout Ship (Venture Crews did not exist yet). I knew several girls who were Explorers during that time. 'Scouts BSA' was on the uniform for a brief period at that time, but girls were never in Troops.

This is the part of the problem that I would address first, as playing inappropriate media while with Scouts shows a serious lack of judgement on his part. Also, it only takes one Scout to go home and talk about what he may have seen or heard on this leader's phone to cause parents to pull their Scouts, or for someone to file a YPT complaint against the troop leadership.

We are a non neckerchief wearing troop, so the only one I tend to wear is my Wood Badge one, and then only on formal occasions. I will wear an one of my many old neckers from time to time with one of my 60's uniforms, the kid's at CSDC got a kick out of both the uniform and the bicentennial necker that I wore with it this summer.

Based on what I have seen in many of your posts, I am sure that your ceremonial teams are much like mine were, and your regalia is both accurate and representative of your area, and your ceremonies are done properly. I think that one of the biggest reasons that some of these edicts have come down from National is the teams that are not as respectful of NA peoples. One of the Scouting/OA related Facebook pages I am a member of is for Vigil members. Multiple times a week I see photos posted of various ceremonial teams, some of which are very well done, but some do make me cringe. I see the looks on the faces of Cubs when they see a ceremonial team in well done regalia, but I can understand why there are Native Americans who are offended by some of what, unfortunately, represents all of us. Personally, I would like to be able to continue as we always have, but if we are told no more Cub ceremonies using regalia I will stick to that. I will also attempt to get my own chapter to adopt local regalia, rather than dressing like plains Indians in Florida.

I was a part of our chapter ceremonial and dance teams for 6 years, from 1968 - 1974. During most of that time Arrow of Light was not around yet, but even once it was, I do not ever recall our chapter being asked to conduct an AOL crossover ceremony. Back then, all of our regalia was personally owned. However, that did not mean that we could go against National or Lodge policy with it's use. I agree with both @SR540Beaver and @HashTagScouts, that as members of the OA, who should be the best of the best, no chapter should say National has no right to tell me what to do, particularly at a Scouting event.

Been there, done that many a time both as a Scout and a Scouter, but only once below freezing since becoming a Floridian. We will be backpacking this weekend, with daytime temperatures expected at 81 on Saturday.

Interesting article, but I swore after leaving Colorado for Florida 26 years ago that I would never set foot in that awful white stuff again! 😁

There was extensive thread here a few months back about the new policy concerning Arrow of Light ceremonies performed by OA chapters. It included a couple of videos of the approved ceremony. The key here, and it caused a bit of confusion when posted a few months ago, is that the no Native American imagery is in regard to OA chapters performing Arrow of Light ceremonies for Cub Scout Packs. At this point in time, it does not remove the NA aspect for Ordeal, Brotherhood, or Vigil Honor ceremonies, OA call out, etc. Our chapter ceremonial team just performed a Brotherhood ceremony last weekend, and will be conducting our chapter call out at the district Webelos Woods in a couple of weeks. (we have not had a fall camporee in a few years, and the chapter will be supporting Webelos Woods, so that is the logical place for call out, with Ordeal in January)

@MattR bottom of the opening slide showed it as copyright BSA 1978. I have seen many real life versions of that SM over the years, all of whom were sure that they were doing things the right way. It takes a lot of effort to step back and let Scouts make mistakes. I have told them more than a few times when they forget to pack something or don't set up the way I would, if it is not life threatening, I not going to step in and fix it for you; hopefully you will remember next time. I did have a little bit of a flashback when hearing that first little beep, and remembering how often I would have to remind my middle school students to pay attention to the beeps, as that was their signal to advance to the next frame when we showed a filmstrip in class.

@LeCastor I spent a week at one of the Atlanta Area Council camps, Woodruff Scout Reservation and compared to Florida in July, it was downright cold, at 42 degrees the first night we were there. Also spent about a week and a half on staff of a Woodbadge course hosted by New Orleans Area Council in '74.

9.0.2.4 “Give Leadership to Others …” “Others” means at least two people besides the Scout. Helpers may be involved in Scouting or not, and of any age appropriate for the work. In cases where just three people are not able to conduct a project to the satisfaction of a beneficiary, then more would be advisable. It may be, however, that a well-chosen project conducted by only three provides an impact not achievable with those involving more. One of the purposes for the project is to demonstrate leadership, but this could be considered a more important element, perhaps, for a Scout who has not yet established himself as a leader. It is for reasons like these that every project must be evaluated, case-by-case, on its merits, and on lessons that will advance the candidate’s growth. Councils, districts, and units shall not establish requirements for the number of people led, or their makeup, or for time worked on a project. Nor shall they expect Scouts from different backgrounds, with different experiences and different needs, all to work toward a particular standard. The Eagle Scout service project is an individualized experience. I have added the bold, underlining. The only person required to be registered members of BSA is the Life Scout whose project it is. I have seen projects where pretty much everyone in a troop helps, and I have seen projects where none of the additional people are Scouts, but rather friends or team mates. While I would prefer that those involved are all Scouts, I would never tell someone that they must only use registered persons.

Also in the south, however our council camp is about 90 miles north of us. In the winter, that equates to about a 10 degree drop in temperatures at night. Many of our Florida born and bred Scouts do not handle anything below 75 very well, and do not own 'winter' clothing. At our chapter Ordeal weekend last January, we had several show up in shorts on Friday night, on a weekend when it dipped to 27 degrees that first night. We camp, hike, and backpack year round here. Much more comfortable being on the trail for three days in November or January's temps than July's upper 90's. By the way, I did plenty of real 'winter camping', with plenty of snow, ice, and zero degree temperatures before relocating to Florida many years ago.

Very true. I know that the Coleman tent will only last if I am careful with it, it is not really made for heavy duty use. The Big Agnes may have cost 10x more than the Coleman, but I know it will, taken care of, last many, many years. Doesn't hurt that Big Agnes has excellent customer service and backs their products to the fullest. I do see that with some of the cheaper tents that parents buy for Scouts, particularly in tearing them when being a bit enthusiastic about pulling on the tent corner rather than the stakes during take down.

When buying a tent I tend to look more at what type of camping it will be used for, rather than what type of weather. As weather here in Florida can be rather unpredictable at times, we should Be Prepared for anything it may throw at us. I also have no problem with Coleman, if it I am using it when we are basically 'car camping'. In those instances, comfort, particularly being able to stand up when dressing, is a big consideration. I have multiple Coleman tents that are used in those situations. I also have 2 one person Eureka tents, along with a 2 person (really more comfortable with 1) Big Agnes Tiger Wall 2 ultra light backpacking tent. I pretty much only use the Big Agnes when backpacking, due to weight considerations.

Was any of that time spent at Boxwell Scout Reservation? If so, when were you there? My first 4 summer camps were at Boxwell, followed by staffing in 72, 73, & 74.

Here is a link that may help. You may want to look into the Lone Scout Program https://www.scouting.org/commissioners/lone-scout/

My troop chose the beret because of the Army. I was with a troop on base at Fort Campbell, from 1965 - 1974. Back then, the only one's who wore berets were Special Forces. When we saw that we could wear that red beret, we were all over it.