The Uniform Police and uniforming errors

[Fat Old Guy]

As a member of the Uniform Police, I would say that 90% of all uniform errors, in particular patch mis-placement, result from not caring.

 

What? How dare you say that? Grandma sewed the patches on and she didn't know any better!

 

Simple, if Grandma didn't know where the patches went and didn't bother to ask, she didn't care enough to find out where they went.

 

On the other hand, if Grandma asks the Scoutmaster and he gives her bad gouge, that's another story but maybe that shifts the blame to the Scout.

 

If the Scout cared, he'd have given the handbook to Grandma and shown her the diagrams but that isn't any guarantee.

 

We have a Scout whose mom is a retired Army officer. When her son joined she asked me where all the patches went. I showed her the diagrams in the book and gave her a copy of the uniform inspection sheet. Did she get it right? Not hardly. There's a three inch gap between the CSP and the troop number and the quality unit patch is above the right pocket. I would have thought that a retired Army officer would have paid more attention to the uniform.

 

Then we have the people who KNOW that something is wrong but do it anyway. The 50 year old guys that I see wearing Tiger Cub service stars are a good example. I've asked a couple about it and they say that they know it is wrong but they want to show that they were involved with Tiger Cubs.

 

There's a dad involved with my troop that insists on wearing all of his "parent pins" on his uniform. Actually, I see many parents doing that. Why? Because they don't want to wear the pins on their "Civilian clothes" and don't care that it isn't proper on their uniforms.

 

Am I 100% accurate all of the time? Nope. I have a 3/8" gap between my troop number and CSP. When my son was a new Cub Scout he had an experienced shirt and I blindly sewed his new CSP and pack number on where the old ones had been.

 

I also have to admit that from time to time I wear a WOSM belt buckle. Why? It looks neat and I just don't care.

[acco40]

The same can be said for posters that misspell and use improper grammar. With the availability of dictionaries (on-line too!) and English textbooks, they just don't care!

 

It is all priorities. Face it, with most, scouting doesn't rank as their number one priority.

[Fat Old Guy]

Stapler Guy, u r write on both countz. [sic, sic, sic, and sic]

 

[Adrianvs]

That's an important distinction, FOG. I think that both situations need to be handled differently (each with courtesy and kindness of course), but the difficulty comes in determining which situation we have in any particular case.

[Fuzzy Bear]

FOG,

 

Did you really gouge Gma?

 

Remember, the uniform is only 1/7 of the methods of Scouting. There are seven other areas for us to be off by more than 3/8 of an inch.

 

We really do need a lot more policing for all of the stuff in Scouting. Being busy is just an excuse for those who are not very effective. Laziness is an excuse given for those that have been too busy to sleep. Not caring is an excuse for those that have slept too much to be busy. Not knowing is an excuse given for those that have been too busy and are sleeping too much making them lazy. Knowing yet not doing is an excuse for those that are lazy and self indulgent but are also known to be too busy and ineffective. We all have our little shortcomings. We must find a way out of this mess and poor excuses are for those with little sense. (cents) Ha Ha

 

Disclaimer: Humor is generally only a form of self abuse. So, don't try this at home.

[acco40]

1/7th of the methods? I guess all seven methods yields all two and 5/8ths aims?

[Fat Old Guy]

Fuzzy Bear said, "We really do need a lot more policing for all of the stuff in Scouting."

 

How true.

 

The Ideals Well, we know that he beats up younger kids at school and doesn't help out at home but we shouldn't "punish" him for that.

 

The Patrol Method The boys really don't know what they should be doing so I'll TELL them.

 

The Outdoors Hike? Camp? Surely you jest.

 

Advancement Okay, so he doesn't know how to tie a bowline but we'll advance him so he doesn't feel left out.

 

Association with Adults Bicker, lie, cheat

 

Personal Growth See ideals

 

Leadership Development See Patrol method

 

The Uniform What the heck, it's only Scouts.(This message has been edited by Fat Old Guy)

[Sturgen]

This may be a little off, but why is grandma sewing the badges on, does the kid not have fingers? Perhaps he is quadriplegic? Maybe its me, but shouldnt the kid be sewing his own badges on? Its not that hard, with the exception of those already on my uniform, I sewed every badge onto my BSA and Venturing uniforms, alas, my mother did sew my cubbie patches on to the good old fashioned blues. Personally I recognize the importance of proper uniforming, the boys in my troop fear my pocketknife, which has removed many an improperly worn patch, however if your going to be picky about 1/8 in regards to where a patch is, then I would suggest a examination from a licensed therapist, perhaps you suffer from OCD.

[Fat Old Guy]

"This may be a little off, but why is grandma sewing the badges on, does the kid not have fingers?"

 

That is a question that I ask on a regular basis. My son sews his patches on his uniform as does my daughter. However, many a mom just rolls her eyes when I suggest that junior do his own sewing. Then again, my wife thinks that I'm an ogre for making my kids sew their own patches on their uniforms.

 

Something else that I don't understand is why people will put a patch on crooked and not fix it. I use a T-square and a ruler to get my patches on straight but I'm often foiled by BSA's wonderful uniforms that have pockets on crooked and sleeves that aren't symetrical.

 

 

[evmori]

I really don't see anything wrong with grandma doing the sewing. Sure the Scout should learn to sew! But if grandma wants to handle the task, let her! Just make sure she does it correctly!

 

Ed Mori

1 Peter 4:10

[scoutldr]

"Then we have the people who KNOW that something is wrong but do it anyway. The 50 year old guys that I see wearing Tiger Cub service stars are a good example. I've asked a couple about it and they say that they know it is wrong but they want to show that they were involved with Tiger Cubs."

 

I am willing to be proven wrong (and there is no dearth of colleagues here who are up to the challenge!), but it is my recollection that, in the early days of Tiger Cubs, both youth and adult partner were registered together as members of the Pack. Adults were then able to wear the orange service star showing their registered status for that year. The orange backgrounds have since been eliminated and all cubs wear the yellow and adult registered leaders wear the blue. I personally wear all four, yellow, green, red and blue, showing my actual tenure in the various programs. I know it is permissible for adults to combine all of their years into a single blue star, but I think that is inaccurate and misleading. Not that anyone cares. I have a bigger problem with Scouts and Scouters (the majority of them, by my observation), who don't bother to wear stars at all. That's just lazy.

 

 

 

[acco40]

SERVICE STARS ARE WORN AT THE OPTION OF THE WEARER. Service stars are not for "everyday" wear in my book (and I think the Insignia Guide too but I don't have it with me). Just like medals, service stars and other assorted pins don't hold up well in the field (and it is a FIELD uniform).

If worn, service stars are worn centered on the left pocket button slightly above the left pocket seam.

 

As for a 50 year old wearing a Tiger service star, that is in error. First, Tiger Cubs did not exist when that man was a youth (unless he was in a special program for special adults who may be Scouts as adults). The orange backing (not issued anymore) was for Tiger YOUTH only. Tiger Cub leaders (partners) wear the light blue backing on their service stars

 

 

[NJCubScouter]

FOG says:

 

The Outdoors Hike? Camp? Surely you jest.

 

Do people really take that attitude in your troop? Or your district or council? If so it is a lot different where I am. There is a lot of emphasis and interest in camping by the boys, and the adults support it by doing the legwork for teh activities requested by the boys. From what I have seen and heard at Roundtables and camporees, other units in our area are no different. Our troop happens to do less hiking and backpacking than some other units (and less than it should), but I think that is a matter of both the boys and adults getting into something of a "rut" as far as the kinds of activities planned, rather than any grand design or real aversion to it.

 

So maybe you are just talking about a local issue.

 

 

 

[scoutldr]

"SERVICE STARS ARE WORN AT THE OPTION OF THE WEARER" What makes the stars any more optional than any other insignia? I checked the latest Uniform and Insignia Guide, and it is silent, except for a note on p. 42, which says "Service stars may be worn by all youth and adult members who have at least one year of tenure with the Boy Scouts of America...." I guess since it says "may" rather than "shall" or "must", it's "optional."

[Eamonn]

I do really hope that Sturgen was joking when he posted: "The boy's in my troop fear my pocketknife."

If he isn't will someone please take that knife away from him as quickly as possible. Fear is not any form of leadership that belongs in the BSA.An action like the one that he is prescribing has no place in Scouting. He would do well to read over the Scout Law and think how far out of order he is.

Eamonn