The pain continues!

[Fat Old Guy]

At a district event I saw

 

A Scout wearing TWO position patches on his left sleeve

A Scout wearing a Den Chief patch on his right sleeve

A Scout wearing THREE religious medal square knots

An adult wearing a temporary patch on both pockets AND his right sleeve.

[FScouter]

Since in the world of fog, the uniform is "not required", why would you be concerned with patch placement? I daresay their uniforms look a whole lot better than your purple shirt and plaid pants uniform.

[Fat Old Guy]

Even though the uniform is not required, if it is worn, it should be worn properly.

[Fuzzy Bear]

I have now read Pain 1 and Little Pain 2 (the continuing saga). I would like to comment about Method number 8 of the Scouting program that professes to assist us in achieving the Aims set out by Scouting through the use of the Scout uniform. Although the uniform is not required, the question still remains; can a Scout achieve the Aims of Scouting without a uniform?

 

One group does not distinguish between the methods and the requirements. If a method is a means of attaining a goal and the method is not used, how can the aims be acquired? The Aims are met only after the Methods have been used and the badge requirements have been met.

 

The other group says that the Aims are not necessarily built upon items that are not required. Badges have requirements and since the uniform has not found its' way into the requirements, then the Aims must be achievable by Methods and requirements achieved and instituted by the Scout and unit in some arbitrary way.

 

I want to propose a third alternative. The badge requirements are an item that lead the Scout through one Method of Scouting and that is advancement. Some requirements refer to another Method of the program and that is Leadership. (This goes on) Just because the requirements do not specify that a Scout accomplish one of the Methods does not necessarily mean that the Scout will not engage the Aims. Isn't an Aim a direction rather than a goal?

 

Let me digress, physical fitness is an Aim. After spending the first part of my life being active and the second part being inactive, I have found that physical fitness is best left as an (active) Aim, as far as my health and life is concerned. If I were to achieve my Aim, I would now be called Fat Old Guy, instead of Fuzzy Bear (i.e., one who is pudgy and must walk every day and eat reasonably).

 

The other Aims are similar in nature and most likely point us in the direction of another answer/question. When does a Scout become a Scout or when does a Scout reach the Aims of Scouting? I want to propose that a Scout becomes a Scout not because he has met a requirement or engaged in a specific method but has made a decision to be a Scout. The next step comes when the individual engages in some of the requirements and some of the methods. Steps beyond this leads a person into their adult life to make decisions based on the Scout Oath and Law, and hopefully the uniform. It may well be the aim of Scouting to help us change for the best throughout life.

 

Does this solve the problem of the uniform? No, the answer cannot be found because we do not agree on one dad-gum thing.

 

[OldGreyEagle]

Maybe if the Mission of the Boy Scouts of America was the target of everyones' program, then the relationship between Aims and Methods would be easier to understand,

 

or not...

[Bob White]

A nice compact and accurate way to understand the relationship comes straight from the recently maligned BSA training.

 

(Methods)How we do,

(Aims)What we do,

(Mission)Why we do.

[Owl62]

All good points here.

 

Well put Bob.

 

I have to admit that I have one BSA insignia that I wear on my uniform, that I cannot find anywhere in the Insignia guide that it is either authorized or not authorized. But it or some like it are still sold in nearly every Scout shop right along with other Scout insignia. But I wear it. And with pride. It is the only insignia that as an adult, I actually had to earn - and in front of many others. It took me one complete weekend to earn it. I wear it all the time and have never once had anyone tell me it was wrong. I have had some ask about it. They used to be very common 20 or 30 years ago. Authorized back then. Somewhere along the line, they just kind of disapeared out of the Insignia Guide. I am not sure why.

 

Now there will be those of you who will say that it is not uniform, not authorized, etc. But it is an official BSA insignia. And as far as I am concerned that is enough. There is just no guidance on where or how to wear it. Orignially they were worn on the shirt pocket flap. Some now say that at best it is a temporary insignia and must be worn on the right pocket. Problem is, it is not a temporary insignia. And it can still be earned. So I wear it on my left shirt pocket flap - since the OA seems to have a monopoly on the right shirt pocket flap.

 

When I see violations of the uniform insignia guide, I just quietly advise the person of the fact and move on - assuming they are in the program. What about people who are not registered that wear Scout uniform parts? I see that occasionally. It appears to be a growing fad. It is wrong, but what to do.

 

Then there are the unofficial interpreter strips (Southern Drawl, Texan, Redneck, Hillbilly, Jive, HTML, etc.). I see these from time to time.

 

Patrol patches worn by adults - yet we put adults into patrols in adult training. Most units I have ever been in, the adults unofficially formed a patrol of their own, with a flag, and patrol patch. (Some of the names were: Adult Patrol, Experienced Patrol, Rocking Chair Patrol, Old Fogey Patrol, etc.) Not uniform. Nope. But the Scouts saw us look and act like a patrol and learned.

 

i am not in anyway suggesting that we should deliberately circumvent rules or policies or wear in appropriate or improper uniforms.

 

 

[Fat Old Guy]

Okay Owl, what is the insignia?