ADCinNC

There are several tug of war games listed here, http://www.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/Games.pdf Go figure :-)

"Merit badge counselors must be registered or else "the boy is wasting his time and council will reject the merit badge." A council can if it chooses based on what is in the Guide to Advancement. 7.0.1.1 Qualifications of Counselors People serving must maintain registration with the Boy Scouts of America as merit badge counselors and be approved by the local council for each of their badges. There are no exceptions. 7.0.4.6 Once It Is Earned, Its Earned Once a registered and approved counselor has passed a Scout on requirements for a merit badge, it cannot be taken away. If the counselor is not registered and approved, there are no guarantees. As far as training, YPT is mandatory. If the council decides they must take the orientation found at http://www.scouting.org/Training/Adult/Supplemental/MeritBadgeCounselorInstructorsGuide.aspx, then they must to be approved by that council (see 7.0.1.6 Training for Counselors). If tug of war is now banned, I need to change the pic on the top of our pack's website :-) (This message has been edited by ADCinNC)

"is attending district committee meetings even in the COR's job description?" Yep (see bottom of page 10), http://www.scouting.org/filestore/commissioner/pdf/33118_WB.pdf I would love to see more participation all the way around from the COR's. Most Units I know are left to fend for themselves with little to no help from the Charter Org. Getting them to attend the District Committee Meetings I Think would be a step in the right direction.

Hi Basement, I guess we will agree to disagree. I can certainly tie a knot and and build a fire, and so can my 15 year old Life Scout son who is finishing up his Eagle requirements as we speak. One does not have to be 17 years old to be an Eagle, or the requirements would say so. I have seen many a 17 year old who lacks the maturity of some 11 year old kids I know. Any Scout who stays engaged and helps train new scouts in the Troop masters the skills after learning them. That is how I learned, and that is how my son has done it. He plans to stay in the troop after his Eagle (his choice, not mine BTW). But as I read the requirements, One and done is what it is, but an engaged Scout is the one who has skills that last a lifetime, and an engaged Troop is one that delivers that. As far as Andy goes, I will take his advice any day :-).

I like how Andy summed it up, http://netcommissioner.com/askandy/2012/08/issue-324-august-11-2012/ (This message has been edited by ADCinNC)

"Rarely is the Pastor the final say in a Church. There are usually governing boards that have the ultimate authority, including firing the Pastor." That is very true, but the IH is almost always listed on the charter as the Pastor, so he would be the final authority in regards to the unit.

From the Fieldbook of Commissioner Service, "Commissioners must not be registered as unit leaders. Although some commissioners may be registered on a unit committee because they have a child in the unit or because of previous personal history in the unit, their principal Scouting obligation should be with commissioner responsibilities." We talked about this at commissioner college and I was told that it is not a good idea (see above quote from the fieldbook, that was what was told to me. I gave up being a Cubmaster to be a commsissioner just so there was no conflict of interest (I did not abandon my pack, as a sucession plan was in place, and I did stay on the committee). I see it in other districts, and I strongly do not recommend it. I will not recruit anyone who is a unit leader for a commissioner post. If you do continue on as a unit leader and a commissioner, please get another uniform. It does aggravate a lot of commissioners to see people wearing unit numbers with commissioner patches :-).

Food for thought... http://www.scoutinsignia.com/camo.htm http://www.scoutingmagazine.org/issues/0510/d-lett.html http://scouting.org/filestore/council368/Camping/WhatToBringToCampPersonalGear.pdf http://www.scouting.org/scoutsource/Media/InsigniaGuide/02.aspx "Clause 4. Prohibition of Alteration or Imitation. No alteration of, or additions to, the official uniforms, as described in the official publications, or the rules and regulations covering the wearing of the uniform and the proper combinations thereof on official occasions, may be authorized by any Scouting official or local council or any local executive board or committee, except the Executive Board of the Boy Scouts of America after consideration by the Program Group Committee. Imitation of United States Army, Navy, or Marine Corps uniforms is prohibited, in accordance with the provisions of the organization's Congressional Charter."

While a Life Scout, serve actively for a period of six months in one or more of the following positions of responsibility: Venturing crew/ship. President, vice president, secretary, treasurer, boatswain, boatswain's mate, yeoman, purser, storekeeper, Webmaster, or Leave No Trace Trainer. http://www.scouting.org/scoutsource/BoyScouts/AdvancementandAwards/eagle.aspx

http://scoutingmagazine.org/2012/04/farewell-letter-from-chief-scout-executive-robert-mazzuca/

dg98, I was told the same thing until I pointed out this faq, http://www.scouting.org/filestore/mission/pdf/ResourceGuide.pdf, which states that commissioners and district personnel are counted regardless if they are multiple registered. #13. COMMISSIONER SERVICE: Every person registered in an 80 position code is counted, even if that person holds a multiple registration. #16. DISTRICT LEADERSHIP: Every person registered with a 61, 62, 64, 75 or 79 position code is counted, even if that person holds a multiple registration. Since the faq did not require the primary registration, they could not require it either. After that, they backed off the primary requirement.

Hi E92 As an DC, I do not use any unit leader as commissioners (other than committee members, and not for their own units). What I am trying with unit leaders who want to do more is something I am calling "Unit Mentors", where I can pair a Cubmaster or Scoutmaster with a struggling unit to "mentor" that one unit. They do the same job as a commissioner, but only are working with one unit and no more. This way they are still able to focus on their primary job, their unit, and not that plus 3-4 other units. It is still in the beginning stages, but I am hoping to use this strategy until I can fully rebuild the Commissioner staff in my district. UVTS reporting is done by me or one of my ADC's for the mentors. For Roundtables, we have a Roundtable Chairperson for each instead of a Roundtable Commissioner. For Cubs it is an ADC, and for Boy Scouts it is an Assistant Scoutmaster.

There is the "Official Uniform" and the "Activity Uniform" (see the pic of the scout in the front section of the current Scout book wearing a troop t-shirt). See this article form Scouting Magazine 2006: http://www.scoutingmagazine.org/issues/0605/d-lett.html "First, when referring to uniforms, Class A and Class B are military terms that are not used in the BSA. The correct Scouting terms for the two versions of the uniform are "official uniform" and "activity uniform." Although less formal, the activity uniform is still considered an official uniform, and therefore it is appropriate for boys to use the Scout salute while wearing it during a flag ceremony." Please remember, one still needs to wear official pants/shorts, socks, belt. etc. Jeans or any other pants are still not a part of the uniform. (This message has been edited by ADCinNC)

"unit leader: The adult leader of a unit is a Cubmaster, Scoutmaster, Coach, Advisor, or Skipper." http://www.scouting.org/scoutsource/Media/LOS/All.aspx In Commissioner College, we discussed this topic and were told that any direct contact unit leader should not be looked upon as a Unit Commissioner. This would include Assistant Scoutmasters, Den Leaders, etc. Unit Committee members are not excluded, and I have asked Assistant Scoutmasters to be Unit Committee Members instead. Yes, I realize the reality of it all, and there are people doing both. I think that is part of the problem, most are paper commissioners like this, just to make it look good on a report and not getting anything really done.

Sablanck, Thanks for your willingness to volunteer both at a unit and district level. I would like to caution you about being both a unit leader and a commissioner. Actually, you are not suppose to do both. The Admin. of Commissioner Service manual says "Commissioners must not be registered unit leaders". I am a District Commissioner, and I make it a point not to ask anyone currently serving in a unit leader position to be a UC. On the other hand, I will ask them to be a Unit Mentor to one unit only, and they do not wear a different position patch. I know there are plenty of people who prob. are UC's and a unit leader, but I do not think it is a good idea.

"Ah but they do elect their future PL by electing their APL." No, not really. From the Scoutmaster handbook: "Each patrol leader appoints an assistant patrol leader to serve with him" Becoming an APL should not be a guarantee to be a PL, just like being an ASPL is no guarantee of becomimg SPL.

"The members of each patrol elect one of their own to serve as patrol leader. The troop determines the requirements for patrol leaders, such as rank and age. To give more youths the opportunity to lead, most troops elect patrol leaders twice a year. Some may have elections more often." http://www.scouting.org/scoutsource/BoyScouts/PatrolLeader/s1.aspx APL Should not be elected, but appointed by PL. Journey to Excellence FAQ's In requirement No. 4 on the troop scorecard, what is meant by youth officer elections? Every troop should hold elections for the position of patrol leader and up to senior patrol leader so that the troop is truly run by the boys. http://www.scouting.org/filestore/mission/JTE_FAQs-Unit.pdf

http://www.scouting.org/scoutsource/CubScouts/Leaders/DenLeaderResources/DenandPackMeetingResourceGuide/PackMeetingPlans.aspx

I guess I should have read that a little closer...lol. Anyway, In the two councils I have been a part of I have never seen a cub wear it on the pocket, only below. I will defer to the insignia guide on this one, which states below the pocket. If a cub wants to wear it above and is using the diamonds instead of the oval, then I can say that would be OK, but I myself think it looks better below the pocket. Anyway, if the Cub is moving to Boy Scouts, they would then have to move the AOL (tan shirt of course), so might as well just put it below the pocket.

The Arrow of Light, once earned, always goes below the left pocket. http://www.scoutstuff.org/media/content/docs/pdfs/34760.pdf

From the Eagle Application: "Scouts and Venturers who have completed all requirements prior to their 18th birthday may be reviewed within three months after that date with no explanation. Boards of review conducted between three and six months after the candidates 18th birthday must be preapproved by the local council. A statement by an adult explaining the reason for the delay must be attached to the Eagle Scout Rank Application when it is submitted to the Eagle Scout Service. The Boy Scout Division at the national office must be contacted for procedures to follow if a board of review is to be conducted more than six months after a candidates 18th birthday." From ACP&P: "Scouts 18 or older - Scouts who have completed all requirements for a rank prior to their 18th birthday should submit their application and be reviewed and recognized within three months after that date."(This message has been edited by ADCinNC)(This message has been edited by ADCinNC)

From http://blog.scoutingmagazine.org/category/ask-the-expert/ Clarke Green had a question about advancement. Clarke writes: Many troops have adopted a policy that interprets the active requirement as attending a specific minimum percentage of meetings and outings. This seems to be in contradiction to the BSA policy forbidding adding or subtracting from requirements. Are troops permitted to add these percentages to requirements? The short answer: No. For the official reasoning, we went to Bill Evans, team leader of youth development for the BSA. Heres what Bill told us: Good question. As the writer states, it is true and stated several times in the Advancement Policies and Procedures Guide that neither, councils, districts, nor units may add to, modify, or delete BSA advancement policies. This rule is highlighted, bold, and in a box so people wont miss it. If a unit does modify the active requirement as the writer suggests, it could come back to haunt them if the youth appeals a negative decision based on that modification. The national advancement taskforce just revisited the definition of active and, after great discussion, decided to leave it as it is. Units may not add a percentage of meetings to attend.

http://www.scoutstuff.org/catalogsearch/result/?q=KNEE+SOCKS

http://www.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/33748.pdf There is nothing in the requirements that I can see that states a Cub must first complete their rank before they can begin on the award. Boys should be working on their new rank as soon as school is out (or June 1st), so why wouldn't they work on this award at the same level as well. If a lad is still finishing his rank until school starts, then he can earn the award for the rank he is finishing, as he has not officially started working at the next level. Now, as far as awarding it twice (ie Webelos) that is up to the Pack, but I would give it to them. If the Pack is buying the awards, then maybe have the parent purchase the second one (just like most Packs do with beltloops that have been earned more than once).

That would be like the SM telling the CC that a committee member may not attend a Troop meeting, but they can have their spouse register as an Assistant Scoutmaster. I would politely inform the CC this per the BSA: No secret organizations. The Boy Scouts of America does not allow any secret organizations as part of its program. All aspects of the Scouting program are open to observation by parents and leaders. Since a Troop Committee Meeting is part of the program, The ASM can observe. The CC may not allow open floor questions from non-committee members, but that is another story.