InquisitiveScouter

Comments I heard from staff this past week: "I know what the Scout Handbook says, but we don't do it that way here, so we don't teach it that way." Reference to knife sharpening... "If your compass has a bubble in it, it won't point the right way." https://www.advnture.com/features/compass-bubbles "Scouts who are not swimmers can go in a canoe with a buddy if that Scout is a swimmer." "We play To The Colors first, then Retreat while lowering the flag because is is a slower tune. And that is what we have always done..." "We gathered the whole staff to go out and try to scare the bear off of camp property." "I don't really know how to define a mammal." Mammal Study MB Instructor at beginning of class. "I don't see a problem with a Troop performing 'Amish Paradise' for the campfire." Profanity, profanity, profanity... etc. etc. etc. Gotta pay the fees into the Victim's Compensation Fund!

Attend some of their meetings and observe. Ask questions. Don't offer an assessment until you have attended several unit functions. Walk a mile in the unit's shoes. Go camping with them. Be a white hat, not a black hat. Find out if they filed a JTE last year. See if you can get their history for the past few years. Ask if they use JTE as a measurement tool. I do not even know who our Unit Commissioner is (this week). Don't be that guy.

Love it!

I have worked on 15 Summer Camp staffs, attended National Camping School 5 times, and attended, as a unit leader, 12 Summer Camps... so I am at 27+ Summer Camp experiences. I think I am qualified to make an assessment... The camp we just returned from was the worst run I have ever encountered. Our unit leadership actually considered packing up Tuesday night and leaving. And the myriad of problems stemmed from one basic issue, or were exacerbated because of it: Overbooking to try to recover lost funding from COVID years... The council leadership put money ahead of program quality. By far... We had about 675 people (youth and adults) using camp facilities, campsites, and program areas built to service about 350-400. Feedback from our Scouts was brutal, but honest. (At the leaders' outbrief, we presented feedback from our PLC, tempered by us adults for camp leadership consumption, in the hopes of their accepting feedback.) Our PLC corporate memory will keep us from even considering this camp for the next six years, I guess... IM me if you want the Camp name. I'd like to save them the embarassment in a public forum, in the hope that they will learn from their error. Please, only ask if you need to know because you are considering camps in the northeast.

I prefer the minimalist approach as well. It is also BSA policy. "With the exception of the Cub Scout badges of rank, members wear only the insignia that show their present status in the movement. Members should make every effort to keep their uniforms neat and uncluttered. Previously earned badges and insignia—not representing present status—make a fine display on a BSA red patch vest, on a trophy hide or blanket, exhibited in the home of the recipient, or at functions where such a display is invited. Scouts may wear only temporary patches (no badges of rank) on the back of the merit badge sash." Here are some personal preferences I follow (these are actually G2AI rules, too): 1. Never wear jamboree insignia from anything other than the last jamboree. "No more than two jamboree patches may be worn on the shirt—one current national jamboree patch above the right pocket and one current world jamboree patch on the right pocket" (G2AI rule that others frequently blow off.) (Not the jamboree you attended in 1985!) 2. No more than nine knots. "The number of knots is limited to three rows of three (a total of nine knots)." (G2AI rule that others frequently blow off.) And ditch the knots of programs you are not currently involved in. I.E. I am no longer involved in Cub Scouts, so I do not wear any awards earned from that program. For the longest time, for simplicity, I wore only my Eagle Scout knot. I often consider returning to that. 3. No more than one temporary patch. (G2AI rule that others frequently blow off.) I wear a NCS patch as long as my current certification lasts, then remove. 4. No unauthorized patches or accoutrements. (G2AI rule that others frequently blow off.) etc, etc, etc, I do wish they would make a change to G2AI to allow, explicitly, the use of velcro on uniforms. (Just publish the color code...)

Um...errr... No I would that this were the case. And this is how it is supposed to be. But it is not reality. Not in any of the six councils I have been active in. And it is, somewhat, a spectrum. In those six, two have been closer to the ideal you outline above, two closer to some sort of SE dictatorship (including current council), and two in the middle. In our council, the SE can and does red-line (or blacklist...use the color of your choice) volunteers from District and Council volunteer positions routinely, without revoking their BSA memberships. Here, be a kool-aid drinker, or be excluded from meaningful service in those venues.

Welcome! Once official, always official!

Oh, it's right here ... 😜

I talked with the pastor (Institution Head) of our Chartered Organization two days ago about this. If BSA tanks, the pastor fully supports us continuing a Scouting youth group, as long as we secure our own insurance policy.

Because we need to keep the gravy train rolling! Someone has to spend all that money coming in! What do you want to do...give it all to lawyers? (wait...uh...nvm that) Might as well create a slew of non-value added jobs to dole that money out And after an SE is pushed out of a council for incompetence (if only that would happen), where else will we put them to continue to collect towards their retirement? Nope, gotta have those Regional/Service Territory jobs (what do they do again?) and positions at National to absorb them somewhere. "Don't let it become a salaried organization: keep it a voluntary movement of patriotic service." BP https://www.boyscouttrail.com/library/lordbadenpowell.asp

And our council has announced its fees for next year... Raised again; "The Local Council Service Fee will be prorated at the 2022 level until December 31, 2022. Effective January 1, 2023, the Local Council Fee will be raised to $72 per youth for the whole year for registrations that go in 2023." So now we are at $147 for returning Scouts... $172 for first time Scouts. Oh, and tack on $15 for Scout Life, if you want it. (We used to be a 100% Boy's Life Unit... used to be.)

Not the same council, because at least your Scouts got something!

Welcome! and Welcome Back!

LOL, how true... I was once approached by a professional and he remarked that I should get a new sash because mine (Vigil) was looking quite used. I said, "No , thanks. I love my sash the way it is, and it has great sentimental value to me. Actually, you might consider that yours is too clean." 👹

Make the private inquiries first, as you have outlined. If they are not given to someone in need, then make them Troop "loaners". Loan them out with the stipulation that they be returned when the youth leaves the Troop or decides not to backpack any more. We have bicycles in our Troop that are done this way. Good bicycles are expensive, and Scouts outgrow them. So, parents have often donated bikes to the Troop, and we hand them back out as needed. Keep the bike for as long as it fits you, maintain it, and give it back when you are done using it, so another Scout can use it. And we don't keep track...leave it up to the Scout.

Our fees for 2022 were $72 National and $66 Council, total $138. $163 for new Scouts. Council has not yet announced 2023 fees. What have we seen from our fees locally? Nothing. Our DE (who is stretched way too thin) did not have the bandwidth to visit our IH to get our 2022 Charter Agreement. We did the legwork for him and got all signatures, then delivered it to him. Shouldn't be that way. But, hey! There is a Council Golf Tournament and a Trap Shooting Fund Raiser on the Council's books! Why do we pay fees for things/services that are not available, or we don't use? Meanwhile, our camp facilities are a C... maybe C+ And we have only the one camp... I am for more council mergers, and transition to national-level IT solutions for most of the membership functions councils do... What are the functions of council left? - Run a camp (volunteers plan and execute all other program... with council tacking on extra fees to help pay salaries) - Unit service for, primarily, YPT or safety infractions. Understand and agree on the need for this... - Fund development needs would be greatly reduced by cutting staff positions. How many of your council employees exist primarily to support fundraising? Our unit runs well because of dedicated volunteers, not because of any support our council provides. We even do (out of necessity due to scarcity of opportunities in-council) most of our leader and youth training out-of-council. Merge, baby, merge...

Congress has been sitting for a long time on legislation introduced to reform bankruptcy law. I'd bet dollars to doughnuts that lobbyists have been hard at work to have this die without a vote. https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/4777

Hey, wait...isn't the purpose of a Troop to produce as many Eagle Scouts as possible in as short a time as possible?

And to arrange Boards of Review when requested!

Just stick with facts you know. You are not (I think) a spokesperson for BSA, so be up front about that. Any ideas you communicate are your own and not the position of BSA or your council on the matter. If you want to have something to relay regarding BSA's position, reach out to your DE and SE for your council's talking points. Then, please be so kind as to share them here.

Very poorly worded.... I would read this to say you must determine whether you can adjust sights before you begin shooting for score... If you can adjust, then do requirement l) and show that you can shoot 15 shots (five groups of three) that can be covered by a quarter. (It doesn't matter where that grouping is on the target.) Then, m) make the adjustment and then shoot 25 shots (five of five) for score (which aims for bullseye) In this scenario, Scouts must shoot a minimum of 40 rounds. If you cannot adjust, you must shoot 25 shots (five groups of five) that can be covered by a quarter. Again, these groupings can be anywhere on the target. Then explain how to adjust. In this scenario, Scouts could complete the requirement with a minimum of 25 rounds.

No, you can't. The registrars will not allow this. MBC is a "no fee" position. All unit positions are "fee" positions. Registrars can see this. (The only "no fee" unit position is Institution Head (IH) ) If you are in a "no fee" position, and register for a "fee" position, the registrar will charge you. Once you have a paid "fee" position in a primary unit, you can then multiple into other fee positions in other units at no charge.

This used to be a work-around to avoid registration fees... but no longer. 1. What happens when a merit badge counselor (who didn't have to pay registration fees) wants to become an ASM as well? - They must fill out an application and pay the fees to become a registered unit leader/unit member. 2. MBC is a district/council position so how does that work if the MBC is a parent in a troop--would this MBC have to then pay fees to be dual-registered as an ASM for the troop? - Yes. Note: MBC's are not registered with your unit. They have not been approved by the COR as a unit leader. This COR approval is done through the signed application. MBCs do not count for two-deep leader requirements on unit outings. They can count for two-deep only in MB counseling sessions, where the other adult must be a parent/guardian of the Scout, our a registered unit leader (for the Scout's unit). 3. Can this MBC serve as a Troop Committee Member and vote? Can that be done? - Yes, but only by registering as a Committee Member. Note: SM/ASM's are NOT members of the Troop Committee. The Scoutmaster Corps does not have a vote in Committee Meetings. They are there to advise and report. However, I have been a part of many units that just allow anyone who shows up for a meeting to vote. It should not be that way, but many do it. The SM/ASM's work for the Committee! The feedback on their performance comes through the Boards of Review that Committee Members do. 4. How about a currently registered ASM signing on to also become a MBC so that he/she no longer has to pay registration fees at recharter? - It doesn't work that way. If the person wants to stay as an ASM, the unit must pay the fee at recharter. See note under #2. 5. Am I right to assume that adults who register for free as MBCs will not show up on the troop roster on Scoutbook? - Correct. MBCs (if that is their only position) will not show up on your Troop roster. They are not members of your unit. When Scoutbook was first out, you could put people on your roster there without having them pay registration fees. So, that's what we did: register them as MBCs, and internally have them be COR approved. It saved a lot of money on recharter. We followed the letter of the law, but not the spirit of it. Basically, it comes down to this, the BSA wants its money! Yes MBCs have to do YPT and get a background check done. So, administratively, other than the COR-approved unit application, there is no substantial difference between an MBC and a Unit Scouter Reserve. We actually kept our leader roster at the minimum of five (to recharter the unit), and put in the other positions in Scoutbook. (It saved us hundreds of dollars) Someone at National got wise to this scheme (maybe), and now that the Scoutbook roster is tied to your official unit roster, you cannot do this any more. Does that help answer?