InquisitiveScouter

Wish you the best @carebear3895 !!! Thanks for your insights in the forum...it has, many times, been beneficial to get a view from the other side of the fence Will you continue in a volunteer capacity somewhere?

Agreed that that age range should have Venturing available, but I think my example may not have been clear. The Crews I am talking about are really shadow organizations. They exist solely to provide a registration home for older members of the OA. Members of the Crew are OA members who need a unit to call home, but they do no actual Venturing program stuff other than support OA events. So, the unit exists on paper just to support the Order of the Arrow. IMO, this is a reversal of the intended order of things. The OA exists to support unit program (partially) through recognizing honor Scouts and promoting camping. In the case here, the Scouts (and Scouters) must first be OA members before they can join the crew. There is no unit program other than OA stuff. I believe Dr. Goodman would not approve. We have two ASMs and several Unit Scouter Reserves, or Unit College Scouter Reserves (all 18-20) who maintain memberships in the Troop and lend a great deal of time to the local Lodge. They are not full-time Troop-focused, but help out the Troop when able.

Love this thought! May I please use it freely without crediting you??😜😜😜

This^^^^^ and the rest...great post. Would give it more Upvotes, if I could. Like units, each lodge has it's own personality and culture... Those with the least draw for that council's Scouts are what we term a "self-licking ice cream cone" (SLICC) Some common themes among these are: - The Lodge focusing more on being a "Native American Heritage Society", where dance teams, drum teams, pow-wows, and regalia become more important than the "thing of the spirit" - Councils using the OA as a set up and take down of their Summer Camp to avoid paying staff extra time to do this...to the point of telling the lodge that Ordeals must be scheduled as bookends to Summer Camp to accomplish this. - Lodges putting out the message to unit leaders that they should consider what a Scout's contribution to the lodge will be when considering eligibility for OA election. (Yes, this happens.) An Arrowman's first duty is to his unit. https://oa-bsa.org/article/thoughts-arrowmans-primary-duty - Lodges which do no unit service, other than conduct elections. You can generate a whole laundry list of possibilities for this, starting with producing the WTGCG mentioned elsewhere. I know that some lodges even create Venturing Crews which are set up as units solely for the purpose of giving Arrowmen a place to register in order to meet the the "must be registered member" requirement. (anathema!) - Lodges which do no community service events, but serve only themselves (or Scouting) through Fellowships, Ordeals, Camp Work Days, Conclaves, etc. Those with the most draw do the opposite

Barry, thank you for all you did for scouting... Wanna do a 50-miler with us on the Delaware River in August?🤪🤪🤪

Yeah, I have one that was made with aluminum rivets...those didn't last long The self-tappers did the trick.

The other side of the coin is that unit leaders need to be open to the guidance Commissioners give. Many unit leaders I know think that when a district or council person (vol or pro) shows up at their events, it only means trouble. Leaders must be continually developed. Youth and adult. I do not get the sense that this mindset exists in our council.

Yeah, this one is a head scratcher...GTSS forbids, but I know a recent version of the Fire Safety Merit Badge pamphlet discussed using lighter fluid for charcoal, so that is (or was) a very mixed message. I dunno if that has been updated to reflect GTSS prohibitions....anyone have current copy of Fire Safety MB and can check it out??

Ditto. Here, our district has two major challenges. 1. No Commissioner Corps to speak of... (There is no one to help units know what "right" looks like.) 2. The District schedules too many events, if you can believe it... two camporees per year (in addition to a council-wide event), many (like six or so) Cub events that they ask Troops to support, Klondike, a skills competition, a fishing derby, rocket launch, a merit badge event, etc. And you are castigated if you don't attend/support the events. It is like the district is planning a whole Troop program year so the Troops don't have to. When I am asked why we weren't at such and such an event, I simply say, "Because the PLC decided they wanted to do something else." And, unfortunately, that answer is not acceptable to most in our council. smh

This one is a burr under my saddle... one of the stated purposes of the Order is to "Promote camping, responsible outdoor adventure, and environmental stewardship as essential components of every Scout’s experience, in the unit, year-round, and in summer camp." In too many cases, this has devolved into putting up tents at an Ordeal weekend prior to summer camp, and not much else... Good to see some lodges still produce the WTGCG

Hand in hand with Association with Adults goes Personal Growth. The Aims are not discrete functions, they are a unified whole. Again, you know that. If we just pushed them out the door without the Adult Association (as many are doing outside of Scouting), they will rarely develop desirable character... Lord of the Flies?

This is one of the things that is killing Scouting.

You have jumped to the opposite end of the spectrum. Fine. The answer in all cases is the Chartering Organization. You know that.

The program doesn't. People build character in themselves and in other people. We adults are supposed to be setting the example (Association with Adults, anyone?) Unfortunately, a great many Scouters I have come across are not "people of good character". Blame the Co's on this one...most often, the adult leaders are just the ones who volunteer to do it, without regard as to whether that person is a "positive role model" "Scouts learn a great deal by watching how adults conduct themselves." "I think yesterdays overburdened Cub program steels the illusion of fun from the adult perspective and they loose any enthusiasm of it for their kids." You got that right!!

Things that make you go ..."Hmmmm"

It is our primary platform for event scheduling, communication, advancement tracking, and financial transactions (outings, dues, summer camp payments, etc.) Whatever comes next must provide similar or enhanced capabilities, along with a seamless transition.

Had to make one more post, because I was at 666

That's good advice. We already operate with that attitude towards national, council, and district. The danger is in going rogue But then, most other unit leaders around here, that I have observed (and continue to see), don't take the time to read the literature, practice the skills, or put the "true" program into place. Scoutbook actually enabled our "departure" from district and council to a great degree. So much functionality and promise... Alas, it doesn't sound like the future "solution" @CynicalScouter relayed holds much to look forward too... (Lol, just realized I didn't mention regional...what do they do again??)

National has really failed membership on this one. They abandoned direct member support for Scoutbook issues and pushed all interface through local council registrars, with zero training or warning (our council registrar was and remains livid.) Our registrar doesn't have the time or expertise to fix any issues. She just throws work tickets back at national. With no responses from those, she kicked several issues to me. I have been able to help some folks, but with most, I have had to post issues in the Scoutbook forums and get Scoutbook User Advisory Council (SUAC) volunteers to work issues because they have permissions. God bless the SUAC folks, but this is just wrong that we have come to this. I have been getting really tired of being "a useful idiot" for BSA lately. I work diligently to put on a good program for our Troop, and our local council and national (over the years) have repeatedly <expletive deleted> on adult volunteers. They are being paid to support membership, but I am seeing little value-added support. Perhaps liquidation will provide the "creative destruction" needed to reset the Scouting program (sans BSA) in the US.

Yes, we all want that. But that is the point. Fewer are growing up. We are a nation of children.

Because the underlying motive (I perceive) in many youth, and their parents, is to aim for freedom from responsibility, rather than freedom to choose your responsibilities, and then living up to them. I hope I am wrong.

You are the exception, I think.

Depends on your intended use. With ground radios, line of sight is always an issue, particularly in mountainous terrain. You may consider renting satellite phones for your trip https://www.bluecosmo.com/iridium-satellite-phone-monthly-rentals.html

There are no paragons (save one, but that's a religious discussion). There is no "normal guy." I'm sure, being human, you have as many deep flaws as I do... It is still "cancel culture" From the link @CynicalScouterprovided, "By retaining his name as ours, we associate too closely with his entire legacy, including his racism, imperialism, colonialism, sexism." That's a lot of "...isms", and belies a deeper self-loathing associated with the "woke"

Ahhh...more cancel culture...B-P is bad now 🤪