Double Eagle

OGE, Last year I had a couple of the scouts get homesick. What I did was have some of the older scouts individually talk with the scout and keep them busy. This worked pretty well. Their blue state only lasted for about an hour and back to scouting stuff. Some precautions could be pre-written letters from parents and given secretly to the SM to use as needed. On the council level, if the problem is widespread, the parent's day at camp being closer to the middle of the week. Ours is on Friday. Wednesday is my recommendation, helps with depleting scout finances (that dang trading post just has too much good stuff) and is a good support day to keep going with the activities. As for the phone, case-by-case. I've seen this help and I've seen scouts plead, cry, and beg to come home with no luck. This only made it hard for me to explain why the parents would not let them or come to get them. Hard on the scout and me when the phone call only compounded the problem. As a scout, I remember some scouts that were homesick. The easing into longer campouts works. As SM, I discourage the parent/scout tent partners. Scouts with scouts. This is a step especially for the close ones. Kind of breaking ties gently.

Ahhh, the magic of scouting. Keep the show going with positive comments and don't blow up about small mishaps. Seems like he got some independance and confidence all by himself (he thinks).

Mike Long has a good list. Go with that. Maybe these two are OA members that could put on a demonstration as part of camp promotion on fire safety. This could be conducted at a camporee or the other weeks of summer camp. Removal from position should be probably looked at more. Especially after a cool down period of the SM/parent. I've seen this happen a couple of times and it was more of the parent acting than scouter. They were not put in the position because of one incident, and maybe not punished to that extent for one. How did they take the action? Not only being punished at camp but to have it continue back in the troop may be a wedge between them and scouting. We "Grumps" make mistakes and I'm an expert. Definitely poor judgement on the fire/can issue. (This message has been edited by Double Eagle)

We all love the weather rock. Caveman golf with a club made from local down wood. Tent totems megaphone from a downed birch tree. Hatrack Good luck.

cmjiam: Agreed on looking out for the son. As for individual accounts. Some problems come with that one. This seems a financial nightmare. Here's how. While it is in the bank earning interest, does the interest go to the scout or troop. Is the "account" an actual account or is it a portion of a lump sum included in the budget. What happens if the scout quits. Can the scout and/or parents give authorization for the use (at camp the scout runs out of cash and says charge it to his account?). Can the parent decide or just the scout. How will this be handled if the new troop does not have individual accounts. Parameters on what the money can be used for, such as FOS, re-registering, training, family members involvement. I think these are issues that can arise with the accounts. I'm hoping these types are addressed in the operating guidelines (by-laws by some). Seems like a lot of issues and headaches for the committee with individual accounts. What do ya think, or how have they worked in some troops. I'm not sold on them yet.

cjmiam: You referred in earlier posts to go to small claims court. This troop needs help, not court, not being abandoned, there are still scouts there that don't have a parent taking them to the other troops. You mention the promise, After leaving the troop I think ScoutParent should still persue help for the troop. What's the downside if they do? The troop doesn't have any impact on the moved scout. Moving the scout is a bandaid. Not the cure. Solve the problem with the funds, and also the management of the troop. You will never please every parent. You are so quick to side with one parent. Are other scouts leaving for the same reasons. Gotta agree with nldscout and recommend ScoutParent talk (or send a letter) to the troop committee with the reasons for the move. ScoutParent: Commissioners can help this troop. Now is the time to help the troop from afar. (This message has been edited by Double Eagle)

acco40: The boy leadership does the shake-down. We,the leaders, fall in with them and do ours with them. I know, someone will still not have something. Ok you must be south of the Grayling, Roscommon, Mio area. They have the black flys. After scouting in the "Thumb area" I sympothize about your "other state bird". I've heard that if you put a harness on the skeeters, you can have them fly your gear where you want it. Caution: Failure to keep themn on a leash will result in your gear being lost.

nldscout: I know your area. Kiss Camp Portaferry for me. Loved it. Former Lowville ASM, before and during the merger. ScoutParent: It seems the tools were in place before the SM and wife were able to affect the troop. Back when you were #1 troop. What happened? Its kinda hard to see a troop fall like that. Has the committee changed from back then. What is the unit commissioner doing. If not unit, what is the ADC doing. They're there to help with troops, not the enemy. Better to not abandon the troop when all indicators say it needs help. Every troop goes through ups and downs, there is no "Norman Rockwell" troop. My advice is help the troop, the SM and scouts need it.

acco40, I probably know your area pretty well. I think you don't have to deal mosquitos. Mostly "little black flies", real biters. The painful thing I learned is have a shake-down of what they have packed. Our troop meets on Thurdays and the night before a campout, we have them bring in their stuff and we lock it up overnight. They take a list home of what they need. Come Friday, they bring back the list and stuff. Thanks for carbon paper. We have our list in case the scout lost his. This seems lengthly but goes pretty quick. We do a lot of backpacking and they learn to really consider what to take. The good thing is they learn what to bring because they carry it. A shake-down rule at Philmont is for every piece of equipment carried to have two uses. Good rule when you look at your own stuff.

Adults having name tags works for me. Not only for the scouts but for new parents and contacts. It also helps when the adult wears what they want to be called (e.g. Mr/Mrs Smith, JP, or Yoda). I leave the addressing part in your hands. Youth having name tags at scouting events sets well with me. This helps with learning about each other. While traveling or when they are interacting with the non-scouting world, most of the buddy teams will be calling each other by their names so the predators won't have to rely on the name tags. An "eagle eye" and letting the scouts know the possibility of predators has to happen, no matter how unfortunate it is to educate them.

A JASM may just fit the bill here. One from another troop may visit and just be able to put it in view for the scout. Sometimes the communication gap is too wide from scouter to scout. Here's your bridge. Be careful in your selection and make sure this is the one you want. The local OA lodge or chapter may be able to help you if a JASM is not available. You should not have a problem with at least the chief or a chief to stress the uniform point. Positive peer pressure and seeing their example works.

Thanks for the posts. After reading them, I got to thinking about what the youth members would consider too bad of weather. We "Grumps" (short for grown ups or how we are without coffee or sleep)seem to be able to handle it. My take from the post is that if you do the planning and are equiped, no problem. minus the 6 o'clock news kind of weather.

A thread from a discussion about a troop camping once in three months brought up an interesting subject. What is too bad of weather to camp? We had an overnight klondike derby in Upstate New York with the temperature at -30f (we slept out in tents without heaters). We also camped in the upper 90s with 90+% humidity. I have yet to stop a camping trip due to weather. The only time I can think of not camping due to weather is around lightning, tornados, hurricane, flood, or not having the right equipment or planning to match the weather. When do you consider the weather too bad to camp?

Thanks for the input. It seems like my hope of keeping the hatchet alive is going to hold. For those that like the use, please keep teaching it safely. For those that do not use them, maybe a taste test and I leave it up to you and the scouts to decide.

Hated the beret. Give me a hat/cap with an all-around brim (Like the ventures have) or a knit cap for winter. The scouts already have stripes on the sleeve for leadership positions but not for rank (APL, PL, ASPL, & SPL). I like the way the rank is displayed and what each part means. The thing I don't like is how the merit badge sash falls off the shoulder of the smaller scouts. This forces us to either sew a loop underneath it or do a button hole to attach it to the shirt.(This message has been edited by Double Eagle)

I find that being mainly associated with the military and about 95% of our scouts are of military families, we don't have that big of a problem. Seeing people in uniform daily kind of brings it on. Although we had the discussion about they can "sag" and untuck with other clothes, the uniform is not to be worn that way. It worked and has to be reinforced from time to time. The good thing is the scout pants don't hang off the hips well and tend to fall down during scout activitities if worn that way. As much as I don't like the style they do well in this area. One thread was, what happens if a scout refuses to pay, or wants to pay for the day? This is the real question that we should look at. We all agree on the importance of wearing the uniform. But how do we fix the problem when confronted with these two quesitons? I remember a few months back about an eagle candidate looking for 6 eagles with long hair. I did not get to help him but I had hair shoulder length for a long time as a scout. Being on the OA ceremony team, I kinda fit in there. Also being a beach bum (lifeguard year round) It presented no problem.(This message has been edited by Double Eagle)

A thread from "what to do with a disobedient scout". It was brought up whether charging a scout 25 cents for having an untucked shirt was allowed. I say this is one of those areas where you are on thin ice with hot skates. The up side to this is they will want to tuck in their shirts? The down side, charging and managing the money collected. Those of us with more than one son in scouts may see this as another "FOS" campaign, just kidding. But seriously, I think that there is a better way to deal with this type of problem than charging money. How about just reminding him? Let them save their money for real issues.

When we have our meal, there is usually enough to offer some out. We kinda plan for this. Having some is better than looking and smelling it. Kept in a friendly spirit, we often sample some of theirs too. Not a competition just different tastes, so to speak.

Uniforms have there place. At an opening or closing or dinner is best. Class B (pack shirt or scout activity shirt) is good for the rest of the day. I seem to never scout in the good weather. With either snow or rain, we rarely see the uniforms. An armband with the patrol or den name is great. Just wear it over the raincoat or jacket. Scouting overseas, we have to weigh the wear of the flag and uniform with traveling to and from events. In Europe, we have to watch our size of group and how not to be identified as a terrorist target. Sad but true. We did wear our uniforms while traveling on the train to and from Switzerland.

I think Dan and I are in the same troop. The one thing we (adult patrol) use is the same budget as the scouts. Usually $10 each. This way they see what we spent it on (usually not chips and munchies)and the possibilities. If there is a troop snack/cracker barrel, it usually comes from troop funds approved at the committee meeting prior.

"snipe hunts". We purposely went on snipe hunts as senior scouts to get away and do night stuff. We would also drag along other scouts. We did not use it as an initiation but a real way to see stuff at night. But, we did try to catch anything we heard or saw. One of the best things we did was go to the river where the gars came to the surface at night. We would shine our flashlights on them and watch their eyes glow red (no lie). Some of the younger scouts thought they were aligators. Keep in mind, Michigan didn't have aligators, I think. By day, we would try to fish for them with no luck. With the glowing red eyes, even nature, and our imaginaton, tried to fool us into thinking we saw aligators. Kind of like bull snakes acting like rattlesnakes. Was nature hazing naive scouts? I'm left handed, I don't get the problem finding a left-handed smoke shifter. I've had one for years. A right handed one too.(This message has been edited by Double Eagle)

The scouts should meet with the SM and address his interest in the merit badge. The SM can assist him in locating an approved counselor. The scout gets a (SM) signed blue card and meets with the counselor. After going over the requirements, they agree on how to meet and fulfull the requirements. Usually, only one counselor will sign off but others may assist. By protocol, if more that one counselor is working towards a MB, they should discuss it before stepping on each others toes. During camp or transferring to another troop, a scout may give a partially completed blue card to another approved counselor. This if fairly common. The thing you may be looking at is "approved". Counselors are usually recruited to serve as unit, area, or council level counselors, their option. Either way, more than just being able to read the pamphlet is needed to give the scout a in-depth look at the topic. Maybe you can both work towards teaching the MB. "Shared-Leadership" may be the way. It may also take some of the work off you. I'm glad that you have a couple of willing counselors for your scouts. Hope it helps.

Chippewa29, Back to your original question: Without a lot of debate, these were used in the past. Canvas coolant (for tents, watchout a smart scout will bring back water); a box of grid squares, a "TR-double E" (Tree); metric cresent wrench; 50 feet of flight line; liguid squelch; right handed pipe wrench; also seen where a scout was told to bend a light stick a second time to turn it off. I think are right up there with the snake rope. Putting a rope around your area to keep them out. Caution: When using any of these "know your audience", only good for one-time use. A whoopie cushion can bring memories of "Blazing Saddles Campfire/Bean Scene" that are all too familiar with troops.

I remember when we didn't have stoves as a youth. The half burnt-half raw pancakes were great. I think the character one gets from doing things their way is the best. Fire cooking seemed to always produce the same results. Half burnt or raw. Heck, for years I thought my mom didn't know how to cook after not burning our food. Let them do it without your help, it'll mean more to them They will soon forget the bad stuff, unless you do the "let me show you how" thing. They will get soon enough, especially if your adults have the same budget as them. They will say "next time we will make ..." Good luck(This message has been edited by Double Eagle)

A boonie cap is a round floppy type hat. They were worn a lot in jungle areas or you may have seen them during the Gulf War in a desert color. They have a draw string that can be used to roll up the sides (cowboy style) or worn under your chin to keep in on your head in the high winds. Overall, a good sun protector.