Uniform Inspection

[briantshore]

As a soon to be Webeloes I Leader, I have started to make some contacts with a local Boy Scout Troop. The other night they had uniform inspections. The Adult Leaders inspected the 3 patrols of the troop. I was thinking later, that it would be interesting to let the boys inspect the leaders also. This is a troop that had about 5 Leaders at the meetings. One of them had a tan shirt on, but with only the U.S. flag patch on. My thinking was, that the adult leaders should be setting the correct example. What are your thoughts???

[MaScout]

Right on, briant! Our troop usually inspects adults at the same time the youth are checked. In fact I can't remember the last time we did one without the other. And then, one night, the SPL asked several adult leaders to present the flags! Just for kicks. Some of them really spluttered, but we did them, and did fine. It really puts things in perspective when adults are held to the same standards as the youth.

[TheScout]

Adults should not be inspecting uniforms at all. Thats what junior leadership is for.

[MaScout]

Mostly, I agree with The Scout about who should be doing the uniform inspection. But the same as when the SPL asked the adults to present the flags, the adults might be the ones asked to perform the uniform inspection. Youth leaders should be encouraged to do this, but in the end, it should be performed by whomever is asked.

[Fuzzy Bear]

The purposes of the (*quite expensive) Boy Scout Uniform are to Set the Example and to level class distinctions. When it is inspected by the SPL, Troop Commissioner, the Troop Committee, the Patrol Leaders, etc. it is to make sure that the (*many fairly expensive) patches are in all of the right places. This allows the Scout that has not followed the fairly difficult directions of patch placement to remove the patches and to begin anew.

 

Patch attachment procedures are a column all their own and includes an array of needle work, glue and anything else that gets the job done. Of course, the taking off patch procedures are generally as difficult as the attaching and also makes for problems resulting from the original attaching procedures, meaning glue spots and other associated difficulties.

 

Another column is the (re)purchasing of the uniform for those in the lower income classes that find it difficult to come up with the amounts necessary to Set a good Example and also in hopes of easing the class distinction strain. Several ways of making money can be found in the back of Boys' Life Magazine, Scouting Magazine, etc. all of which may take one a Scouting career to arrive with enough money to cover the cost.

 

Closely connected to this whole procedure is the development of character in the form of patience and reverence and then there are the fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, etc. that is another outcome and column.

 

So, the Uniform Inspection finds itself as a part of the quilt-work or fabric of Scouting. Determining who is in charge of doing the inspection means that they need to also be able to come up with a few more answers than pointing out that a patch is in the wrong place but that is a start. FB

 

[resqman]

"the fairly difficult directions of patch placement"

 

Can you help me understand what is difficult about the placement of the patches?

 

BSA provides lots of documentation on badge placement. There is a diagram in the cover of every scout handbook, along with additional diagrams and explantations in the text, along with inspection sheets delineating the placement.

 

Badges are of very specific shapes and sizes and it is difficult to mistakenly confuse a troop number with a council stripe for example. I just don't see where it is all that difficult.

 

Can you help me to better understand where the confusion comes from?

 

[FScouter]

"Can you help me to better understand where the confusion comes from? "

 

Gee, that's a tough one. I like the uniform and use the uniform method. No confusion here.

[briantshore]

Fuzzy Bear, As for the cost of the expensive uniforms, please refer to the topic of E-bay uniforms that I have started earlyer on the Uniform Foram.

[Newbie Den Leader]

"One of them had a tan shirt on, but with only the U.S. flag patch on. My thinking was, that the adult leaders should be setting the correct example. What are your thoughts???"

 

 

 

He may be a new leader and is currently a "work-in-progress". Maybe he just bought the shirt and did not have the time to sew on the patches before the meeting. Maybe his leader position in the troop is yet to be clearly defined and he is waiting until later to purchase his position patch. In any case, he made the effort to be in uniform and is trying to be an example for the boys.

 

However, if his shirt still looks the same after one or two months I would say that the uniform is not very important to him in his role as a leader. With that said, the most important job he has is to be a person of high integrity and character for the boys. If he is that kind of person, then his priorities are in the right place. The "full" uniform can wait.