Armymutt

What doesn't sound like Scouts? I know a lot of troops who have a junior/new Scout patrol. We just have 18 junior Scouts, so it would be necessary to divide them into separate teams or patrols. The learning has to start somewhere. When you don't have older Scouts going on campouts due to work, sports, or something else, there are no experts available. A 10 y/o patrol leader isn't exactly experienced enough to dig into the handbook and put together a training class on his own. The ASM needs to guide him. Even the 14 y/o SPL lacks the maturity to get things done. The normal campouts focus more on a merit badge and less on basic skills. We just came off a week of merit badge factory summer camp. Other than the morning sessions dedicated to doing some of Tenderfoot through 1st Class, no basic skills were trained.

Got any links to these programs? We're looking for options for our older Scouts.

Well, we survived! Lots of learning by the adults and the Scouts. For our part, we learned that we need some new policies and procedures. Low hanging fruit is a cellphone policy. Phones were serving more as a distraction than a tool. Scouts sacrificed water bottles in favor of extra batteries in their pockets. Scouts ignored youth leaders and adult leaders while playing games or watching videos. We also realized that there are youth protection issues with cameras and internet access. So, a policy banning internet-capable, camera-capable devices will be in place shortly. We also realized that there is a major lack of Scout skills among the senior Scouts who have joined the troop. We are working out a plan to form a Junior Scout Patrol for every Scout under the rank of First Class. This will be divided into teams with an ASM assigned to each team. The focus will be on drilling the basic skills - knots, first aid, camping skills, cooking skills, etc. We will have an extra camp out each month as needed to put these skills into practice in the field. I completed IOLS, so that's out of the way. It was generally considered worthless for the content, but valuable for some connections made by those in attendance. We had 12 participants, 2 women, 1 never been a Scout, 1 Life for Life, and the rest Eagles from the 90s/early-2ks. We lamented the current culture focused on advancement over mastery. The Cherokee Scout Reservation in Old North State Council puts on a great summer camp. Their Aviation MB is top notch with about 8 decent gaming-level simulators in a room. They have a wonderful first year program called FROGS that covers many of the requirements on the road to First Class. They don't finger drill it either. The Scouts start each session with a full on flag ceremony and end with the same. They work at a skill until they are able to do it repeatedly with confidence. Consequently, they can't complete everything, but what they do get through is pretty solid. There is a lot of walking. I am going to add a hash mark to my 50-miler patch. I walked 54 miles this week. It's a mile from our camp site to the main area and another mile from there to the water front. You'll get your hill workout. The food was pretty good. The camp director really cares about the program and Scouts. He pulls no punches when dealing with transgressions. There are some hard and fast rules that will get you sent home immediately. There were troops who drove 3.5 hours to come to this camp.

Tomorrow I head off on my first Scout week trip since the summer I turned 19. Back then, the troop consisted of my Scoutmaster who had been in the troop since 1933, the ASM who had been in since around 1960, my friend and fellow 18 y/o ASM, me, and three kids we recruited out of the 5th grade class of our old school at the beginning of the school year. We had a great time at our old camp - water skiing, motorboating, pioneering, a float trip, an overnight canoe trip, and various evening activities. I haven't been to a council camp/merit badge factory since the summer before I quit Scouting in 6th grade. We'll see how this goes. It's my son's first one. I intend to keep my distance from him as much as possible. He'll need to be his own person at the end of July when he attends another camp.

I know they are all four digits, at least in beascout. Most units drop the leading zero(s) if they are there. Maybe for us it follows the pattern described above, going by CO.

I'm curious how other councils number girl troops, and the reason. Ours takes the same number as the associated boy troop, which is confusing. To unofficially (not on beascout) separate the two, a G is added to the girl troop. To me, they are separate entities and should have different numbers. It's becoming more of an issue as the troops develop different styles of leadership. We had a summer camp adult leader huddle tonight to go over the rules of summer camp. Apparently, our CC (for both units) has had to deal with council investigations one every summer trip for the past couple of years. While the CC was talking, the boy troop adult leadership stood quietly, dressed in uniforms. The girl troop leadership had the SM in uniform and the other two adult leaders dressed in random assortment of clothing, cracking jokes. The girl's troop is the one that seems to be the driver of the investigations. I don't want to be associated with that sort of organization.

I grew up in the Midwest too. I just can't see needing that much stuff for a week of camp. They need less stuff than we needed for some of my camps - shower facilities and dining hall are provided. No one needs to bring a stove, pots, eating stuff, solar shower, etc.

One of the things I want to do when I move back home this summer is to get the OA chapter back in shape and focused on doing OA things rather than being a teen hang out. To that end, I'm going to propose a klondike derby for the warmer climate. This will be a Pioneer Derby. We had one in England when I was a kid and I really enjoyed it. I think the OA Scouts will enjoy planning and executing it. It will give them something to focus on during the year and teach them a lot of different skills. If it's successful for the district, we might expand it out to the council. I envision a patrol-level competition where entrants build a covered wagon, outfit it with necessary equipment and tackle events. I'm still working out the how part. Camp Durant is my obvious playground. We could do a round robin style, or we could do it rally style. I think the rally one would be more challenging with higher points for stations that are more difficult to get to. This style would require a lot more stations and personnel to run.

My son is attending his first troop summer camp. I'm going along as an adult leader. I was unable to attend the meeting tonight where summer camp was discussed. My wife, with zero camping experience, sent me a text telling me that the CC wants all the campers to purchase and pack a footlocker for camp. This is new to me. In my day, we didn't pack a whole lot of gear for camp. These Scouts aren't even sleeping in tents - the camp has shelters with bunk beds. I plan to sleep in my own tent, but it will fit on my backpack. Is this the new normal for Scouting? Do Scouts now need more than just a sleeping bag, a few changes of clothes, and a flashlight for a week at a council camp?

I have a similar situation, but am in an even worse position to help. It's very frustrating. The Scout turns 18 in mid-June. I talked to him for about 20 minutes at a meeting in early March. He still has to do Personal Management and Personal Fitness. He had time, but seemed disheartened. I told him that it will be a difficult journey, but well worth the sense of accomplishment in the end. He kept saying that there are other things to put on a college application. I tried to discourage that point of view, but for some reason, these kids are fixated on that. The other adults have been trying to help as best they can. I didn't get much of an update this past weekend on our camp out. It's rough caring for these kids. I try not to fall back on my veterinarian survival mantra of "you can't care more than the client" because they are kids.

That last bit might be a way, if it is true. His/her last child left for college 3 years ago.

That's the whole point. No one else can take over as the Chapter Advisor while he/she won't relinquish the reigns. That's why he/she needs to be nudged out. I tried that as the ceremonies advisor, but was always stifled with the "youth lead" mantra. That's my goal if I can get the power shifting away from the stagnant program and on a focused project that provides service to Scouting. There are so many service opportunities at our local camp.

I thought about posting this in the OA section, but the principles apply in all areas of the program. Our Chapter has an adult volunteer who has been there a long time. He/she is no longer an advisor at the chapter level, and I believe is at the Lodge level. However, he/she has the keys to the meeting location, being a member of that location. I have been forced to be on the peripheral of the chapter due to work. I'm still in the chats, so I see what they are, and more importantly, aren't doing. They are still doing EC meetings remotely, which were mostly long periods of silence and black screens when I was actively involved. The chapter meetings seem to be little different than an average teenager outing with friends - bowling, climbing, and skating seem to be the major things. The adult in question claims to wan to be in a different position, but won't relinquish influence. Other adults have tried to step in, but were sidelined by this individual. I have dealt with this same person in my pack. He/she was the COR, but was committee chair and CM at some point in the past. He/she was routinely interfering. Probably well-meaning, but very wrong and causing confusion among parents. He/she didn't attend committee meetings for months and then sent out emails directing the opposite action of what was agreed on. Anyway, I was able to talk to a couple of Scouts this weekend from a troop that used to make up the largest percentage of the chapter. They said it just wasn't fun or exciting. I mentioned my idea for having the OA develop and run a district Pioneer Derby. They seemed receptive, but raised the issue of what I'm calling inertia. We have adults with pretty strong personalities, but they reign them in when dealing with other adults. However, I'm seeing the inertia of one adult causing the destruction of the chapter. While I hate to call it a coup, I think that's what it's going to take. Anyone have a different idea than getting the youth to ask an adult advisor to find another place to be on meeting nights?

Looking for ideas on rain gear for my new Scout. He's currently sub-5 feet, but I anticipate him hitting 6 feet before he's out of Scouts. In the early 90s, we bought East German ponchos at the British surplus stores and used those almost exclusively. They worked well for the English and Welsh climates we Scouted in and our parents didn't have to spend money every year or so. I was thinking of getting him a USGI poncho. Frogg Toggs are about worthless, so I'd like to stay away from them.

I have all of my certificate cards. My sash is hanging on my wall. It's fun to look at them and think back. The cards are almost more valuable to me because they have the names of my Scoutmasters and adds to the memories.