Your Uniform

[netscouter]

If the people at national came to you and said, design our uniform, what would it be?

 

Maybe a Class C?

New Hat?

[Venturer2002]

The khaki green uniform material from the 70's, the new style shirt though (with epaulettes) bring back the beret and field cap, make neckerchiefs a compulsory item.

Change the pants to cotton duck material (like the venturing ones, holds up much better) official scout-endorsed shoes.

[netscouter]

Shoes and Berets!! Yes, may be not the green stuff though.

[NJCubScouter]

The beret, really? I don't know how well that would go over these days, I think the baseball-type cap is more in keeping with current headwear trends.

 

On the other hand, a few months ago my father told me that my old troop (in which he is still semi-active) had voted to adopt the red beret as their hat, and that a lot of them had found official BSA red berets on e-bay or elsewhere. (It probably goes without saying that the troop in question is in a fairly affluent area, I am sure those berets were not cheap.)

 

Go figure.

[Venturer2002]

I despise that official BSA ballcap. It has the worst styling imaginable. The way that they are made really doesn't look sharp. No, give me the beret or field cap (those flat hats, waaayyy before my time)!

[OldGreyEagle]

My son loves the red beret, he got a couple off Ebay and started wearing it all the time. I had told him in my days as a scout, we had a Gung Ho patrol that wore the red beret's and only the Gung Ho patrol could do so. Well, the guys razed him about it unmercifully, he was told how "gay" it made him look. He still wore it, as it was as he put it, "his thing". Two years later about 5 guys now sport the red beret. He looks on it as his contribution. Didnt the army go to a beret as the official headwear?

 

Any way, make the pants b/w earable, or at least come up with field pants and let the current pants stay as dress uniform pants.

[NJCubScouter]

Well Venturer, the field cap (aka overseas hat aka flat hat) was NOT before MY time, it was the hat I wore when I became a Boy Scout. There was never a question of, do we like the hat, or what other kind of hat can we wear, because there was no other hat. If you were a Boy Scout, that was the hat. It was when I was 14 or 15 (1972-73) that the BSA introduced the red beret and re-introduced what we called the Smokey the Bear hat (aka the campaign hat, the Baden-Powell hat). I think it was shortly thereafter that the first baseball-type cap came out. My troop's initial vote was for the Smokey hat and everyone wore one, although my father's photo collection suggests that there was a phasing-in of the baseball cap while I was still in the troop, which means we were non-uniform. Oh well, that's what the BSA gets for selling 4 different hats at the same time. (My Cub pack this year is going to feature about 6 different hats: The old Webelos hat that my son has, the new Webelos hat that the new 4th graders will get, the new Bear hat, the old "Cub Scout" hat that the Bears got last year, and will undoubtedly be worn by some of them, the new Wolf hat, and the Tiger hat. Wow, that is exactly 6. Actually, if any of the new Tigers get hand-me-downs of the old orange and white Tiger hat, that would be permitted also, for a total of 7.)

 

Anyway, as for the field cap, I doubt very many troops stayed with it for very long after the other options arrived. I cannot imagine anyone wearing it now, though it is always possible that in some small pocket of America, the boys still look like they did on the cover of the 1960's-era handbook. I still have my flat hat -- long after the Smokey hat lost its shape.

[Venturer2002]

No NJCubScouter,

 

It was waaayyy before MY time. I was born in the mid 80's, the field cap was discontinued awhile before my birth I think. I didn't mean it was before your time, because I don't know when your time was (although I assume you're a might bit older than myself)

 

I just offered up my opinion as a youth member on the baseball cap (I know I'm not alone), and didn't mean you to take it so seriously, it's always hard to judge tone on the internet.

 

 

 

[OldGreyEagle]

To get this thread back on track, my ultimate uniform would be:

 

Cotton or canvas pants, you know, the kind with extra, extra wide legs with 3 zippered pouches on each leg. They should ride extra low on the hips so the offical BSA boxers waist band can be seen. The waist band would be the letters BSA followed by a imprint of a square knot repeating itself. The shoes would be a white pair of K-Swiss.

 

The uniform top would be a pull over, modeled on a hockey "sweater" although of a thinner material for summer and heated indoor wearing. The patches would go where they do now. For head gear a nice stocking cap would be mandatory, in red,or green, the color of your loops (just to be consistent)Oh yeah, did I mention the pullover still has epaulets on it?

 

Anyway, make that the official uniform and I wonder how many troops would be in full uniform... until the fashions change?

[yaworski]

I would go back to the rugged cotton shirt of the 60's and earlier. That shirt was tough enough that it could be worn in the field and survive. Let Scouts learn to iron, it only takes five minutes to do a shirt. Make the collar like a dress shirt with a band so it can be buttoned and look OK. Get rid of the epaulets.

 

For trousers, I'd go with a tough work type like those made by Dickies. Cotton/poly would probably be best because they hold a crease and all trousers are a pain to iron (much longer than five minutes).

 

I'm not a big fan of cargo pockets because I don't like heavy things flapping around my knees. However the back pockets would need flaps and the front pockets shouldn't be patch pockets because stuff falls out of patch pockets too easily. Big rugged belt loops, and enough to support the trousers without sagging when the pockets are loaded. A couple special compartments in the front pockets would be nice. In one you could have a sub-pocket big enough for a compass and in the other, a sub-pocket for a pocketknife or leatherman. Make long rise available for us tall, chubby types who don't like their gut flopping over the waistband.

 

Colors? The current colors are OK.

 

Neckerchief. Mandatory and make it big again. Maybe even the old square one that is very useful.

 

Headgear. The garrison cap looks sharp and is easy to stash but serves no useful purpose in the outdoor. I like the campaign hat but they are too expensive at the Scout Shop. Let's go with the old expedition hat.

 

Old expedition hat? I got my expedition hat about six years ago. The new ones have a much higher crown and are made of a much stiffer felt.

 

On the subject of hats, BP-Scouting in Canada and WOSM sell Campaign hats for about $25 to $30. If BSA had a Scout campaign hat in that range, it would be a doable option.

 

Encourage the wearing of cotton t-shirts, they keep you cool in the summer and warm in the winter.

 

Shoes? Shined leather shoes would be nice for dress occasions.

 

 

[yaworski]

While we're redesigning the uniform, let's change the position patches. Why on Earth do we need a patch that says, "Patrol Leader" when the green bars mean patrol leader? If people don't know what the green bars mean, they can ask just like they do when they are talking to an Army officer and they don't know what the gold oak leaves mean.

 

Let's put some sort of community strip back on the uniform. Either get rid of the Council patch or put the community in the troop number patch.

 

 

[OldGreyEagle]

With all the silkscreening and embroidery done on hats and shirts, you do think a community patch should be an option, made the uniform more personal

[Venturer2002]

I know this is pretty divergent, but how about a Boy Scout Car, sort of like the Looney Tunes Chevy Venture vans? Olive Green/Khaki/Red interior, changeable seat covers for Cub Scouting, Boy Scouting, and Venturing. Built in storage in the back for tents, backpacks, lanterns, etc. A little computerized map display showing nearest state parks, national parks, and scout shops. Whaddaya think?

[OldGreyEagle]

It would have to be a chevy, remeniscent of the 89 impala station wagon with the fleur de lis hood ornament. The interior would be khacki, with the red piping from the old uniform pants. While it would almost have to have 4 wheel drive, it would also have to be a "green" car, a hybrid, gas and electric. The wheels would all be off set, so it would leave 4 tire marks as a nod to leave no trace. Never retracing the same path.

 

The base model would be "The First Class" edition

the next step up would be "The Star" the highest level would be "The Silver Buffalo" model.

 

The only problem would be the financing plan would be "Life"

[Venturer2002]

A snap-on collar would be great on a uniform shirt, so you could have a 70's style v-neck or *snap* a 90's style uniform shirt. Would make it great for people who want to wear a neckerchief the traditional (correct) way.