Venture Crew Uniform- Required BSA ?

[shortridge]

In reference to halikiki's question, Venturers may not wear the Boy Scout shirt:

 

"Male and female Venturers should not wear the Boy Scout tan shirt with green shoulder loops." (p. 338 of the Venturing Leader Manual)

 

So the decision of the crew does have some limits.

[Stosh]

When all is said and done and the smoke clears, the Venturing Crews can indeed wear the campaign hat and any other hat they wish. Just because it's not part of the official uniform doesn't mean it can't be worn. Take it off for flag ceremonies and inspections. I wear the expedition hat with the SM pin rather than the adult universal pin, I wear brass numbers indicating my troop, military hat cord, and have received a lot of compliments. It's an official hat made unofficial. After 15 years, no one has ever made any comment about it's inappropriateness.

 

My Venturing crew is uniformly dress in totally non-BSA uniforms, but everyone knows they are a BSA organization because we tell people they are, end of discussion.

 

Stosh

[emb021]

"In reference to halikiki's question, Venturers may not wear the Boy Scout shirt:

 

"Male and female Venturers should not wear the Boy Scout tan shirt with green shoulder loops." (p. 338 of the Venturing Leader Manual)

 

So the decision of the crew does have some limits."

 

Well, actually there are several limitations on crew decisions about uniforms.

 

You mentioned one.

 

Another is that if you wear the green shirt, you MUST follow uniforming policy, including wearing the shoulder loops (green, silver or gold as appropriate). So no wearing patches in other locations, no wearing non-standard loops or deciding not to wear the loops.

 

Also, the color of the pants worn with the green venturing shirt is pretty clear: charcoal gray. So no tan pants/shorts, jeans, etc that you often see.

 

[shortridge]

Unfortunately, BSA's policies on Venturing uniforms don't exactly address all the questions and permutations.

 

The key section from the Venturing Leader Manual, pp. 338-9:

 

"The BSA green Venturing shirt is available for wear by Venturers and adult leaders... [shirt and charcoal gray shorts/pants are] the recommended field uniform for Venturers."

 

That seems pretty clear to me. If you're going to wear the shirt, you wear the pants or shorts, too.

 

But the paragraph then winds up with the extremely broad statement: "A uniform, if any, is the choice of the crew." That sentence, combined with the phrase "recommended field uniform," undoubtedly creates uncertainty and confusion.

 

A simple, straightforward declarative sentence would put a lot of questions to rest.

[John-in-KC]

One comment from the Venturing leader specific training:

 

*The Uniform* is not a method of Venturing, as it is Cub Scouting or Boy Scouting.

 

The Crew can determine the attire they choose to wear, be it coat and tie, a band uniform, costumage for a theater-arts crew, a T-shirt, or the items Supply Corporation furnishes.

 

As for the burlap cloth BSA furnished gray trou and shorts, I know more than one crew which has elected to discard them, uniform guide be hung. Columbia, Cabela's and REI all make peer items of better quality at lesser price. Young adults tend to think in those terms.

[Eagle92]

In reference to the offical shorts, when I was out looking for gray shorts, this is prior to the offical shorts coming out in Aug '99, I was at REI looking at gray camping shorts. I found a nice pair of REI shorts that looked good, but had elastic in them which I hate. A few months later BSA came out with the offical Venturing shorts, and they were the EXACT same REI shorts I rejected a few months earlier, except they added the Venturing tag.

[emb021]

"A simple, straightforward declarative sentence would put a lot of questions to rest."

 

Sometimes I think that a lot of the 'discussions' on-line (and in person) about BSA policies/procedures would go away if National was a little better about putting things in writing.

 

"But the paragraph then winds up with the extremely broad statement: "A uniform, if any, is the choice of the crew." That sentence, combined with the phrase "recommended field uniform," undoubtedly creates uncertainty and confusion."

 

Well, the statement about Uniforms in the Venturing literature must be read (and understood) in total. Too many people take that final statement and ignore all the rest.

 

They ignore the statement about the recommended uniform that specifies the color of the pants/shorts to be worn with them.

 

They ignore the statement about the recommended shirt that says you must follow uniforming policies about insignia placement, including the use of the green loops (or silver or gold).

 

They ignore the statement that use of the tan Boy Scout uniform is NOT an option for Venturers.

 

They really need to read the entire statement, not just cherry-pick one part of it.

 

 

[MVScouter]

I just heard the new Venturing Switchback grey pants will be available in Jan. of 2009.

 

My only comment of the choice of Venturing shirt, in whatever form is taken, the council strip and the crew unit number should be added, and the american flag also. Some kind of Venturing Logo would be nice also. Even if a crew wears Hawaiian shirts, they should identify themselves as a Venturing BSA unit somehow. My crew is wearing long sleeve hunting shirts because we are a shooting sports crew, and they wear those patches.