dhendron

Hi all. I could use a bit of advice on an issue that occurred a few days ago. One of the scouts in my Venturing crew is also in our sister unit, a local troop chartered by the same church. During the troop's Court of Honor last week, my scout apparently struck a scout in the troop in what I have learned in called "sack tapping". This is a recent fad among teenagers where they strike or slap another male's testicles in order to cause some level of discomfort. It is a form of hazing. It is dangerous and there hundreds of videos on YouTube showing this, as well as many news stories documenting various injuries, including loss of a testicle. The victim of this sustained an injury (serious swelling) and had to go to urgent care for an ultrasound and pain relief. The family ended up paying more than $600.00 in out-of-pocket expenses as a result. The committee chair of the troop (whose son was the victim) approached me because I was the former scoutmaster of that troop and because the aggressor is one of my scouts. I referred her back to her troop's scoutmaster, and suggested contacting the parents of the scout in question as well. I also ended up speaking with the parents because I met with them for an unrelated reason. One was aware of it and the other was not. To make a long story as short as possible: the scout who caused this issue and his family met with the victim, apologized and tried to make peace. However, they have declined to help with the medical expenses and now consider the matter closed. The victim family is filing an insurance claim on the troop's insurance. The scoutmaster of the troop is attempting to deal with the matter, but is having serious resistance from the parents. He decided to try and make something constructive out of it and wants the scout who caused the injury to make a presentation to the troop on hazing and bullying, and possibly some other community service-type of activity as a form of discipline. The family of this scout refused this, essentially stating that their son is traumitized by what occurred and they consider the matter closed. This leaves the action the scoutmaster can take rather limited, perhaps suspending the scout or expelling him. The mother also wrote a long email essentially accusing the units leadership of ignoring similar incidents and singling out her son. The parent now insists that any contact with her son about this or similar issues be with both parents present. Aside from that problem, the scout who caused the injury has just applied for his Venturing Gold award in my crew. With this in mind, I spoke to the scout, who essentially told me that he feels he is being picked on and that he settled the issue with the victim, so the issue is done with. One of the reasons I spoke with him as well was because I have had to talk to him twice in the last year as a result of complaints made against this scout by female crew members because he would not keep his hands to himself. So (and sorry for the long post), the troop's issue is theirs to handle, although I am curious what your take on that would be. My issue is the Gold award and whether I should be evaluating this incident in this recognition (which makes no mention of scout spirit or anything like it). The only section that might fit (or might not) reads, "I/we certify that the candidate is well qualified for the Gold Award, that he/she has fulfilled the requirements for the award, and that he/she has my/our complete recommendation for recognition of this significant achievement." and is for the committee chair and I to sign. Comments?

What you should be reading here is that there are plenty of right ways to handle the crew uniform, and a couple of obvious wrong ones: using the Boy Scout uniform as previously mentioned, and allowing anyone but the crew to choose their own uniform. One thing to consider as well is using both the official uniform and having a less formal t-shirt, polo or whatever. The bottom line is the crew chooses their uniform, or whether they wear one at all. Our crew has chosen to do both. Again, there is no right or wrong way, it is up to you. One fun thing our crew did was to design their own. They used one of the many online sources that allow you to choose a graphic they have available, or design your own. Here is what we did, which the crew really likes: Front of shirt: files.me.com/david.hendron/x2f6g0 Back of shirt: files.me.com/david.hendron/au2pxh I have seen a bunch of unique crew designs, and some of them are really clever. Some others are very simple and quite inexpensive. One thing to consider also is making your own, which I have seen some crews do. This can be done with a friend who is involved in silk screening, or with iron on transfers you can create with transfer material purchased from your local Staples or similar and with a design you make on your computer. Lots of possibilities, and only limited by your crews imagination and resources. Good luck!

In 2007, I was the scoutmaster for my troop. I took Powder Horn on a recommendation from a friend who was involved in the program. I had been involved as a troop leader for many years and my son had already made Eagle and left. I figured it would help me with my troop program. I went to the training and was amazed how much fun it was. I got to do things I had not considered in the scouting program! I ended up using the training (and other training) to start a Venturing Crew. Lucky for me, the youth chose high adventure as a focus of their activities, so the training and experience was quite relevant. Plus, more than half of my crew has now been to Kodiak (similar to Powder Horn, but for the youth) so the relevance of Powder Horn continues. For me, Powder Horn helped start me on a new scouting path and we have a very successful co-ed Venturing Crew as a result. Everyone benefits! In our council, Powder Horn has been put on sporadically, but typically involves a water weekend and a weekend in the mountains. The water weekend was canoeing, kayaking, small boat sailing, scuba, etc. The mountain weekend was COPE, shooting sports (handgun, rifle and shotgun), backpacking and other fun outdoor activities. Take the training if you can...you won't regret it!

"Provided that position is voted on by the committee to establish it as a policy. The CC cannot establish policy on her own." Except...the committee does not make Crew policy. The Crew does, and it is written in the code and bylaws. If the CC wished to have the Crew include this extra requirement, she would have to take it to the Crew officers to mull over, and if they agreed, they would take it to the Crew for an amendment to current policy.

I whittle a neckerchief scarf for each Eagle Scout. Each one is unique and has an eagle pin of some type on the front of it. My current set from Walnut (hard to whittle, but it looks great when done) with a pewter Eagle. They are fun to make and allow me to express my appreciation of their dedication, skill and scout spirit with a little elbow grease and imagination.

Hi all: I am a current scoutmaster and just started a Venturing Crew. I cannot believe the interest...we already have 17 youth members! Our crew is a co-ed crew that is interested in high adventure. The youth have elected their first set of officers, and chose to elect them just for a two-month term to get us started, get the bylaws and other detail stuff done, and begin setting a calendar. The next election will be held in January and the Crew wants to work on six-month terms. Since our Crew is new, we are starting from the ground up. I will be holding a Crew Officer's Briefing in a couple of days and am just starting to get into the planning of it, and also casting an eye toward a Crew Officers Seminar in the near future. In prep for this, I have attended Venturing Leader Specific Training and also attended a VLSC at our council. Since everyone is new, including me, I am going to help the crew president run the briefing. I will probably be running most of it this first time to give them an idea how it could be run when it is their turn to try again in January. Since the program will be modified just a bit to accommodate a new program and provide some basic info on just what their positions do, I was wondering if anyone has a sample agenda they could send me for such a circumstance or share any other thoughts you might have on the briefing, seminar or other items.

My first scout summer camp, probably about 3:00 AM. I am a light sleeper, and I can hear when the boys get up to head to the latrine and whey they get back to their tent. So, I am laying there and I hear a stirrin' nearby, then the sound of a tent flap opening. Shortly thereafter, I hear the telltale sound of a scout taking care of business NOT in the latrine. I poke my head out and shine the flashlight in the direction of falling liquid. Sure enough, he is standing there (fully dressed, of course) at the entrance to the tent, peeing out in front of it. I said quietly, "Justin, the latrine is right over there. Perhaps you could use that instead?" He looks at me with a completely serious expression on his face and said, "I'm afraid of the dark. I have to do the same thing at home." (and I go back to sleep thinking...does his mom know??)

An update: The scout in question completed all of the requirements he had left. With a very rocky finish, he was able to get through the SM conference this past weekend. His extension expires today. He may still face some tough questions at his Eagle Board of Review. Thanks to all for the advice and comments.

In my opinion, not only can he be denied his Eagle, but if the facts are accurate, then he should be. The Eagle rank is not a gift. It is earned through dedication to Scouting and his ideals. The SM is the first line of defense for preventing this kind of problem. Since it is beyond that point, the SM has a duty to appear before the BOR and give them the whole story. For my part as a SM, I would also include a recommendation against the rank. If the SM is not inclined to do that, the CC should. Concerned troop representatives and/or parents can also write to the BOR with their own recommendations. Having said that, I also agree that Boy Scouts in general is not big on denying the Eagle rank to anyone persistent enough to push for it. The comment on the Eagle rank being cheapened by the apparent need of BSA to give them out regardless of qualification is a serious issue and will certainly take away from the rank.

Sorry, I missed the question about who was consulted: No one at the troop level was consulted. When I spoke to the rep from the Eagle committee at council, he said they assumed the troop endorsed the request and did not think it was necessary to consult with the troop. No one from district was consulted either.

Thanks for all of the comments and replies! The scout in question has completed the bulk of his Eagle Project. There is some detail work left to be done, but it should not present an issue. He is now in a leadership position. This is still pretty weird to me having an adult in a scout leadership position. I got him into the Instructor position because he is an adult, has two-deep leadership issues as a result of that, and because it forces him to lead in a goal-oriented fashion without the need for frequent one-on-one work such as might be needed as a patrol leader. He has been challenged to instruct in his choice of one of three skill sets: first aid, orienteering or knots and lashings through First Class. He has reasonable goals he must meet in this assignment before his extension expires in August and he can get his leadership-time requirement signed off. As of yet, he has not begun working on any of the remaining five merit badges he needs for Eagle Scout. We will see how that works out in the coming months. Thank you again to those offering help here.

I start by reviewing his uniform for completeness. It is going to have to be ready for the EBOR anyway, now is a good time to look it over. I then review the Eagle application, his Eagle Book and other materials that must be submitted to council and then to the Eagle Board. I cover some scout skills, NOT as a retest, but instead as a gauge of how we did in teaching them. Funny that the guys always bone up on their scout skills prior to the SM conference. I ask about his experiences, good or bad, what he feels is the most important thing he learned or experienced in scouting, suggestions from the scout on how he would do things, and about future plans. If there is some pressing troop problem, I always ask his advice on how he would solve it. I have been told that the scouts feel very good about this with their opinion being asked on weighty matters. Sometimes the advice is pretty darn good, too! Lastly, assuming the scout is ready to move on, I cover the process that will follow, including the submission of the Eagle Book, the EBOR and submission to National.

To address some of the comments: Although I took over as SM formally in January, we began the turnover last September or so. I started monthly or better counseling sessions with the scout in question in an effort to get things going. The Eagle Project, MB's, etc., all were addressed. For whatever reason, he held the work until he had the extension in hand plus then a few weeks after. Whenever I asked about his progress, I received excuses ranging from "I've been busy" to "I hadn't thought about it." When March rolled around and I found the extension had been granted, I asked again about the delay. His response, "I thought I had more time." Also, we have an SA who, among other things, specifically works with the boys at various ranks who are lagging behind. Advancement was discussed with the scout in question on many, many occasions leading up to his Life SM conference. He has a letter (which I have seen) granting his request for extension until August 5 from the council, but nothing from national. This was one of my issues I raised in my letter to national but did not get a response to. Thanks again for the comments!

Thanks for the comments so far! I think I can sum up my biggest issue with this, which is a scout who does not start to work on the majority of his Eagle requirements until after he is 18. The behavior issues are gone. I think of all the boys who struggle to get their work done before they are 18 (and those who sail through will good planning and time management) and wonder why someone without a good excuse (and believe me, his excuses for not getting his work done were highly questionable) should get extra time. If he had worked on his merit badges or his Eagle Project during the last six months of his minority and only needed the week to make it legal or perhaps to finalize his application, this would not be an issue. He started his Eagle Project today and did an excellent job. The project is worthy and appropriate for an Eagle Project. He will finish it next weekend. Just in case it was not clear (and it was not!) I have met with him on a monthly basis, counseled him, and am mentoring him as best I can. I can be personally annoyed and still put on a happy face, after all. I have ensured he knew what the issues as I saw them were so he knows where I am coming from. At the same time, I am telling him that he really has to prove himself more than the other guy because of his situation. He must challenge himself. When he gets in front of the Eagle Board, extension or not, they are going to have a problem with this (that fallout is already in progress). He knows it is an uphill battle. So, anyway, any other comments on this are welcome! Thanks.

Greetings: I have an issue with a potential Eagle Scout that I wanted some opinions on: The scout in question had a lot of issues last year. For brevity, I will say they were serious scout spirit issues and leave it at that. A week after he turned 17.5, he was given a SM conference for life scout and passed. That unfortunately (for him) left him one week too late to make Eagle Scout. The SM conference occured with the previous Scoutmaster whom I replaced in January 2006. The scout (through his mother) appealed to the council's Eagle committee for an extension. Nothing was heard for some time, and the scout did not work on his advancements or begin addressing a possible Eagle Project pending the result of the extension request. He did do a term (4 months for our troop) as Asst Senior Patrol Leader, and actually did a good job. He did not run for another leadership position this past January, so this left him two months short of the required six months leadership time even if he was not short of actual time. The scout is also short five Eagle required merit badges. In February, one month prior to his 18th birthday, he was granted an extension on his Eagle requirements. The extension gave him until August 5 (five months after his 18th birthday) to complete his requirements. The scout did not say anything to any of the troop leadership about the extension until March. For council's part, they did not consult with the troop or district leadership prior to granting the request for extension. I was later told that they assumed we would agree, although I told them we would not have. In any case, the scout finally mentioned the extension after he turned 18 years of age about mid-March. The scout did not begin working on his Eagle project and his remaining five Eagle required merit badges until after he turned 18 (and after his extension was granted and had aged more than a month). When I spoke to council about it, I was told the reasons for the extension request. Both are bogus, but I was told that anything to do with the extension was not an issue for me to worry about. I complained that allowing a scout to work on five MB's and start his Eagle Project after he turned 18 flew in the face of common sense and frankly turned the whole process on its ear! I asked how an adult could earn scout leadership time or MB's. I was told to treat the adult as a scout for all purposes and allow him to continue with advancements, leadership and his Eagle project. Lastly, I was informed that although approved locally by council, "National has signed off on this." I have since asked a number of indivuals locally, and the consensus is that what has occurred is blatently against BSA policy and should never have happened. I wrote a letter to National about it, but did not receive a response. Where we are now: the scout/adult has still not earned any MB's, although he says he is working on them. He stalled on working on his Eagle Project, but finally approached me for approval two weeks ago. He has had his Eagle Project approved (after some revisions) and will move forward with it tomorrow. Your comments would be most welcome. Thank you.