dg98adams

"What if I submitted a letter to my CO asking permission to do this act on the school grounds and received the following response "We are denying your request and furthermore request that you not pursue any training or further participation in this type of activity either ON or OFF our property", and it was signed by the IH (institutional head)." Since this is a hypothetical response letter and in your words, I agree with bacchus - then that's your hypothetical answer. Honestly, I don't think the IH would mandate "OFF school property" activity, but if they did, then you can either abide or find a new charter.(This message has been edited by dg98adams)

I have seen types of give-a-ways that are cheap. Find your local Scout office and ask for camp brochures/flyers/etc or your local conservation office, & ask for brochures/magazines/etc, put a printing label with your unit info on it. Get your unit to make leather woggles or a simple lace craft/key chain, with you unit info on a printing label stuck to it. Cut 1" slices from a limb and stamp your unit logo on it (also use a printer label on the back). A give-a-way that you make is likely cheaper than what you buy AND advertises your unit. Sometimes you can get Leave-no-trace cards and tape gum/candy to it... in fact print them on card stock to make it cheap.(This message has been edited by dg98adams)

Just remember those poly flags produce a lot of flame and heat. 3 things to add: #1 - An adult with a poker to push the flag int ot he flames as it burnes #2 - collect the grommets when the fir cools #3 - bury a portion of the ashes on a later date ceremoniously.

ScoutNut, When I meant to write, I use Merit Badge councilors in the Trail Drive I chair that are not registered with a TROOP (unit), professionals like Firemen or Doctors... but they ARE registered with the Council via the application. Our council is blanketing all registered positions with no or expired YPT a letter about full compliance with YPT by the end of the year. Now, I expect I will have to confirm YPT is also current for all MBC's I use. So, I am pushing the YPT online link out with the email I send out to invite them to take part in the trail drive. I try to maximize MBC's that use online resources (email - no phone calls) anyway. I stress "No YPT, no MBC". Something else I got last night at the District Unit Comm. meeting.... NO GRACE PERIOD at the end of the year for YPT for rechartering. In the past some units have difficulty just getting the basic info in ... If no YPT, that adult cannot be put on the charter, if the charter can't be complete, the unit WILL NOT be chartered. I expect YPT will be something we work on for the rest of the year to get all Scouters in compliance. Sorry for the confusion. (This message has been edited by dg98adams)

Cat Fish Picture with Campaign hat http://www.roadsideamerica.com/attract/images/tn/TNNAScatfish_carter.jpg (This message has been edited by dg98adams)

Your syllabus describes the kinds of questions you could use.... Every Scouter would have questions that are unique to the position/Troop/Pack/Crew/Team/District/Council you serve..... Figuring this out on your own is also part of the ticket. If you are still stuck contact your assigned Troop Guide.

How is the distinction important?

At a recent RT we were told, "if the Adult pays $" then YPT is needed..." but tiger partners are "Encouraged" to take YPT... this is especially important if they intend to become Wolf DL. But MBC's who are not registered Scouters also have to complete YPT...

Sorry for your loss, and know you never walk alone on the Scouting trail. I also say wear what you want, and explain nothing to only those you choose. Never been to a Jamboree, but I suppose there are such a variety of uniforms, that small deviations aren't significant. If you do get asked just nod and Scout on.

I have read several posts that are similar to the way the Troop I serve monitor a Scouts progress. About the only time an ASM will talk to a Pl or TG about a Scouts advancement that 1st year (or 2nd) is if he is either not coming on outings where opportunities to have the outdoor activities happen, or to see if he is just not bringing his book to Patrol meetings and getting stuff recorded on Troop Master. The PLC/TG and Leaders get a monthly PDF printed report on Rank/MB advancement. Usually it's more of the latter, as Scouts can easily pickup up most T-2-F advancement opportunities on our monthly outings. Sometimes a Scouts other activities make those outings "catch-can", but they seem to always manage if they want to. Advancement is not something we have to push, but we try to make the 1st year Scouts know about opportunities.

here's an "A-ha" one from summer camp. I am visiting the Troop (I'm one of 5 ASM's) at camp this week (had to work) and overheard a Scout in our Troop. H is a "14 year old PL" working on his Merit Badge stuff at a picnic table in camp after dinner. I'm several tables away chatting with the SM. As he explains to a younger Scout working on a different Merit Badge right beside him, "everything you need to know is in this little Merit Badge book.....", I wish I had realized that when I was your age. I almost spit the "bug-juice" I was drinking across the table when I heard him say that. You really never know how much sinks in until you get the RARE chance to see or hear it come back around. Both boys had no idea the "a-ha" moment will be remembered (and probably embellished) by me for later retell over a dying campfire in the near future.

I think this is it..... but I probably would not use it. http://www.usscouts.org/usscouts/games/game_t.asp Wind in the Willows A variation on trust falls involving the entire group. Group stands in a circle with one person in the middle. Person in middle falls in any direction, trusting spotters to catch him/her and stand him/her back up. Picture a tight circle around a center figure....as the circle widens it gets more difficult.(This message has been edited by dg98adams)

To answer your question: "Can any of you offer some ideas on what your troop does and how your handle the troop library? " I suggest making it simple with what you have for the Librarian to organize. In fact getting it organized and a record keeping policy is worth a SM assigned project for Position credit by itself. The latest MB handbook will list the individual MB books and the revision date. You can find this list online at: http://usscouts.org/mb/mbbooks.asp Sort the MB books you have the resort each MB by rev. date (we use a marker on the spine/cover) and note which MB's need a new book. I suggest a simple Excel spreadsheet any "XBox trained Scout" can understand. It's easy enough to hide old books on the list, create a quantity column and a check out/in column. Once you get that all done, then it's a matter of maintaining inventory, and printing out a sheet for the PLC/SM (to see who has books checked out and what books need purchased). The other material can be sorted by date, and listed the same way.... KEEP It SIMPLE.

Some natural "hanging with buddies" will occur at camp, but you need to stress "NO ONE IS LEFT OUT OR BEHIND" Games are good, but maybe you need to get the point across without making it obvious or lecturing. Assign some task to the DEN during the day. Make sure you tell the "DEN" you'll hand out the "DEN-reward" at the end of the day when they tell you the "DEN" completed the task. ----------Day Camp Example: Okay Den "4", today every time you complete a game today I wanna hear the "den yell". Maybe sprinkle in comments during the day like: "it's not a DEN yell if you ALL aren't yelling it" "anyone else hear any dens of 1"? "Webelos DENS are either early, late or on time but they are always a DEN. If a den member is missing, a DEN is just not there yet. At the end of the day the "carrot" could be mini-3 Musketeers bars (subtle as a brick, I know). At the end of the day.....when they expect to earn the reward..... You say, (get the den to "repeat after me") "ALL-for-1, ...... 1-for-ALL...." unless you guys think I should say, "All-for-some, and some-not-for-All-if-it's-not-convenient-because-we-ran-off..."? Hand the "reward" to the Webelos DEN and walk away.

BSA Lifeguard is fine the way it is IMO... it's easy enough to help a Lifeguard class at camp (before it expires), pickup a recert. and get extended. "Training is valid for three years provided First Aid and CPR/AED for the Professional Rescuer training are kept current during that period." If a youth takes it at 15, then they won't need to renew until the become an adult.

I agree with Scoutfish... There isn't a 2-scout requirement for tenting I know of.

~River speed (fast or slow)? Type of trip (fishing along the way = slow, new paddlers = zigzag, fully loaded for overnight+) Our Troop (new + experienced with swimming along the way) can do 15+ miles in 6-8 hours without portages.

Just because it's retired does not mean it can't be earned.... Buy the Bugling book, find a counselor now. When you need the patch after earning it you can probably find one on eBay.

The SM did not issue any training cards and I dont think they submitted a training report either. -Probably because he did not have council permission I'd explain there is a syllabus, and the trainer is expected to deliver the material, not make up your own... they need to retake the course (or to not punish the Scouters overtly have a "update" Saturday. When I chair BALOO or the upcoming Webelos IOLS my staff advisor will drop by to visit/support/check up on me. If it's a unit training the Unit Commissioner is always welcome to "stop by". There is your quality control, they should be the funnels for the "Trained Patches' or the "Course Completion Card" when they are handed the advancement report.

We only had a handful of Eagles in our Troop, and the gift from myself (ASM) or my family has ranged from a gift card, to items I made to an "Eagle Scout print Deco-paughed"(sp?) 10" star my wife made. The Scout store sells gifts appropriate for Eagle's. A 16 y.o. could always use a gas card or a prepaid cell phone.

when I was an ol CM, I think it looked better not to "read the script" when doing ceremonies. KISAF (Keep it simple and Fun). Also allows you to "adjust" as younger cubs don't always follow the program. I like your ceremony, but if you can read over it a couple time you should be able to wing it. A 3x5 with some bullets is ok... just not verbatim from a script. p.s. no one will know when you stray from the script, so don't acknowledge it.

What you are looking for is really not the ability to float, but the ability to not panic when the Scout is demonstrating floating face down and on their back, especially when tired. This is the key skill, regardless of what it takes for the youth to float.

If it's the 1/4 mile... improvement can be measured lots of ways other than time like technique (i.e. breathing, running form, etc..) 1st I'd suggest him running the 1/4 mile with someone at the same level or in better shape than he is... on the same track, at the same time/weather conditions as he did the 1st time. I also don't think there is a "cycle"... it's 30 days (or more) since the 1st time.

I have used this once before in TJLT before I talk about the TJLT agenda. Scouts who have or want a position are present, I am in front with a chalkboard behind me. I start off a simple ice breaker then go into this as if it's another ice breaker. I ask - "Can you tell me how many articles there are in a Football uniform?" (they guess easy stuff like jersey, helmet, cleats, football pants, and a few include mouth guard, pads, and such). I might even ask things like, "if a player comes to a game without ____ do you think he'll play or knows the rules of the game?" I do the same with a couple more (depending on the group I may add fireman, life guard or cable-guy), then ask if they can play or do the job with less than the basic uniform.. and most say, "No" (as they see it coming now - expected). Then I ask, "what game are you guys playing right now?" Depending on how that goes, I bring up some variations on how our Troop uses Troop T-shirts and the full uniform on outings and how we relax at camp. Surprisingly, they usually carry most of the discussion.

Clean is mentioned, wrinkles are not in the inspection sheet, but are easily managed. The nylon Scout shirt is not "crisp" and squared away as the older shirts but that's what it is. It wasn't that long ago when I wore "fatigues" while in the AF it was shown if you take your uniforms out of the dryer, slightly damp, and hang them, ironing was not needed. Same thing with Scout shirts, to include the new ones. Shake 'em out and hang 'em to dry.