What to do with long scout pants with holes

[kraut-60]

I bought my son a pair of BSA shorts off e-bay a while back. They have the large pocket above the knee on the side and I figured they were simply the shorts version of the older pants that featured the large cargo pocket on the leg.

 

Turns out that the shorts are really only pants that had the legs bobbed shorter. The good knews is that they are long enough to qualify as being sort cool in my sons description.

 

Seems also that other scouts said they'd like some like his as the length is on par with the longer style shorts so popular today with teen age boys.

 

I am going to look for scout pants that are "holy" at or below the knees and get them bobbed and see if the scouts in my troop will want to wear them.

 

I'm sure an aspiring UP will inform me that such a modification will go against BSA policy and that anarchy will soon follow, but I feel that if this will get scouts to wear official but tastefully modified uniform pants/shorts, then whats the harm?

 

This will also help to re-use pants that would otherwise be good only for patch material. Perhaps the excess material could be used to make pockets for the legs if the newer style pants are used for this conversion?

 

Okay, forum...fellow scouters...lurkers..shirkers..UP types...whats your 2 cents say?

[moxieman]

The UP (Uniform Police for any 'newbies' on the forum) will roast you alive for this.

 

If a member of the UP in your area complains, respond with "A Scout Is THRIFTY."

Especially, when many scouts don't even own uniform pants or shorts, despite the requirement in many units to have a Full Uniform for the board of review. I know many an Eagle Candidate who don't own uniform pants/shorts, who scramble to borrow a pair for that BoR.

 

Attention UP: I'm all for Full Uniforming. When I was at the unit level, our unit had a uniform bank to help with this.

 

Now that I'm at the district volunteer level, I set the example by wearing full/proper uniform down to the socks and official scout belt. You're welcome to come measure the distance from the top seam of my uniform shirt to the World Crest and to the top of my left pocket to ensure it's half-way between the two.(This message has been edited by moxieman)

[frank10]

The UP can have at it, but I don't know in what BSA book it says how high to hem your pants.

[FScouter]

Explain. What is a "UP"?

[moxieman]

FScouter, please see my earlier response in this thread. The UP is shorthand for Uniform Police--ie, the segment of the "rules book quoters" who are sticklers for exact and proper uniforming no matter what. I have personally encountered some in my home council who use a tapemeasure during a uniform inspection in their unit to ensure all insigna was properly placed.

 

 

[kraut-60]

Wingnut; I like your answer, nowhere does it state how high a pair of pants should be hemmed.

 

Please dont hijack the thread as a sniper session on the crux of what is the uniform police. We all are the uniform police,... I know I am, if I want to be. I wear my uniform correctly and constantly to all scouting events and meetings, to me that is being my version of "UP".

 

Measuring the distance a patch is out of line should only be an issue when getting the photos ready for the new scout catalog, along with proper placement of patches of course.

 

There is NO official uniform police, hopefully only scouters who set a proper example of uniform dress.

 

Having our scouts wear the uniform is not a goal or aim in scouting, but it is a method I like to see practiced, and I will support scouts who willingly wear their uniform, even if they do modify it within reason.

 

The uniform can be a great source of esprit de corps if used effectively, but it can be a major stumbling block if forced on and over regulated.

 

 

[Jeffrey H]

"I have personally encountered some in my home council who use a tapemeasure during a uniform inspection..."

That is a silly over-the-top procedure that does not add any value to the scouting experience.  This is the boy scouts, not the military.  The guiding principle behind unifom inspections is "neatness" in overall appearance (Cub Leaders Manual).  I only mention something to the Scout if the patch is not on the proper pocket or sleeve or not in the proper order. 

 

 

[acco40]

Okay, I'm somewhat disgruntled for haveing been told that I can no longer wear my OA Lodge flap, designed for the 2005 National Jamboree by a fellow Scouter. Not sure if he was correct or not but ...

 

Length of pants/shorts is not the issue. Are these the "older style" pants? If so, they should only be worn with the shirts of the same era.

[Fuzzy Bear]

"Your troop may also be able to let you use uniforms that older Scouts have outgrown." Page 567 OBSHB

 

The way I read this, it doesn't say anything about e-bay.

 

The UP

 

 

[kraut-60]

acco40; the pants were/are the same fabric as the current pants/shorts. The style is the one that has a non elastic waistband and the cargo pockets were placed on the pants upper thigh centered on the outer seam, I believe they were still availible in the mid 1990's until the current style came into use. I think you should wear the lodge flap you prefer as long as it was issued to identify the lodge you are a member of.

 

Fuzzy Bear;why is mentioning or not mentioning the source of used uniforms relevant? And by signing "The UP" are you identifying yourself as such?

[FScouter]

The UP is shorthand for Uniform Police--ie, the segment of the "rules book quoters" who are sticklers for exact and proper uniforming no matter what.

 

I disagree. UP is a derogatory and disrespectful term used by those that dont like being reminded that the BSA uniform is defined and controlled by BSA and that modifications, substitution, customization, and redefinition by individuals and units is contrary to the purposes of the uniform method and is not permitted.

[Fuzzy Bear]

kraut-60,

Think and Grin.

FB

[Hunt]

The UP is shorthand for Uniform Police--ie, the segment of the "rules book quoters" who are sticklers for exact and proper uniforming no matter what.

 

"I disagree. UP is a derogatory and disrespectful term used by those that dont like being reminded that the BSA uniform is defined and controlled by BSA and that modifications, substitution, customization, and redefinition by individuals and units is contrary to the purposes of the uniform method and is not permitted."

 

It seems to me that the two quoted statements above are not contradictory. I think that both are partly untrue, however--I don't think there is anyone who insists on totally correct uniforming "no matter what," and it simply isn't true that modifications of the uniform are "not permitted." They are permitted and tolerated, and are often observed on the uniforms of high-level scouters. My son recently went to Philmont with a Council contingent, and we were severely warned that everyone must be in proper uniform, and that the Council leaders were sticklers, etc, etc. Of the two council leaders I saw, one had a Tot'n Chip on his pocket flap, and the other had a patrol patch. (I would say, perhaps, that modifications are not authorized.)