Arrow Corps 5

[bluestationwagon]

Sorry if this is a dumb question, but I'm a mom who is not well versed in patch etiquette. First, some background. My son went to the last Jamboree, had a terrific time, and enjoyed trading patches with other Scouts. In 2008, he was on track to go to the big Arrow Corps 5 service project at the national parks, so I purchased sets of their patches for him. Then came the tornado at Little Sioux in Iowa, and he ended up missing Arrow Corps in order to visit the president with the rest of the scouts from Little Sioux.

 

My question is whether he could take the Arrow Corps 5 patches with him to trade at this summer's Jamboree? Since he didn't "earn" them, they have no sentimental value for him.

 

If it would be wrong to trade them, is there a better use for them?

 

Complicating matters is the fact that, although he is still in high school, he has turned eighteen, so he is technically an adult as far as patch training is concerned, I believe. He is attending the Jamboree as a youth staff member.

 

Any advice that you wise sages could give us will be appreciated. Thank you.

[SctDad]

Hello

 

I have a few points that I have noticed at our OA functions:

 

Your concern about him not earning them is not that big of a deal. I know a lot of people that are trading patches that they did not earn. They usually buy them prior to an event and take them into trade, or they may get extras from an event so they have something later to trade.

 

As for him being an adult, our Lodge and Section came up with a Patch Trader code.

 

- Trade remembering the scout law

- No monetary amounts may be exchanged

- Close every deal with a hand shake.

 

That is something to think about.

[nolesrule]

Trading patches you haven't earned isn't a problem. Afterall, patch trading is about acquiring patches you want but don't have. People generally already possess patches they earned so why would they trade for them? And if you can acquire a patch you haven't earned via a trade, you can just as easily trade it away.

 

Adults trade with youth all the time. Just be fair, and don't take advantage of their patch trading inexperience.

[Gary_Miller]

Trade them away if he would like. But make sure he keeps a set for himself or he may regret it in the future.

 

Even though he did not attend AC5 he is a member of the OA and AC5 was one of the biggest OA activities in a long time and all OA members deserve credit for AC5 even if they were not there.

[skeptic]

As far as trading at Jambo is concerned, he should simply remember that he no longer is supposed to trade with youth. In reality, there will be no shortage of adults with whom he can trade; so that should not hinder his fun and possible improvement of his field of interest.

 

Jamboree guidelines are very specific. And he needs to adhere to them.

 

Since he is 18, and going to Jambo, what is his position? Is he going as part of the Arrow Corps at Jamboree? He would then be part of a large group of "tweeners", 18-21 year old scouts. Again, a fertile ground for trading.

 

Good luck to him.

[bluestationwagon]

Sorry for the long delay; I don't get to surf the net very often. My son is attending Jamboree as a youth staffer with one of the subcamps. I gather that he'll be a gofer, doing whatever is needed that day. (He started out as a third assistant but when the council folded some troops for lack of participants, he was able to switch over.)

 

He's a guy who is more comfortable following the rules than not; he knows he cannot trade with anyone under 18 years old. Are there any other rules or customs he should be aware of? Thanks Skeptic.

 

I'm surprised that there isn't a specific forum for discussions about the National Jamboree. Does that mean no one has questions? (ha-ha)

[SctDad]

Yes there is a Jamboree Forum

 

http://www.scouter.com/forums/viewForum.asp?forumID=45

 

Just some food for thought.