Official headgear

[wmjivey]

Okay guys, with so many hats floating around we have been having discussion about which hats the boys can wear with their uniform and whether or not if wearing a nonuniform scout hat they have to take it off during flag. My position is only the hats on the uniform list and older UNIFORM hats can be worn durning flag. Just because a hat is made by the Scout shop, unless it was voted on by the Troop, does not make it a piece of the official uniform and should taken off. I have been known of course in being wrong so can anyone enlighten us?

[Stosh]

I don't think a Philmont hat should be considered part of the BSA uniform. It comes off at flags. Otherwise, maybe his lucky Pinewood Derby cap would do well on a boy when he goes for his Eagle BOR... Yeah, right, that's gonna fly.

 

Stosh

[Kahuna]

From a military point of view: I would say that any headgear a Scout is allowed to wear with his uniform should remain on for saluting the flag. If it's not official in your unit, the Scout shouldn't be wearing it in the first place.

 

Most units do have an official hat, I know ours always have, and that's what the boys should wear. If they are allowed to wear something else, then that is official from the unit point of view.

 

If a Scout was wearing jeans with his uniform, should he take them off to salute the flag?

[Stosh]

If he's wearing blue jeans, he's not in uniform, he should be using the civilian salute with hand over heart.

 

When my boys show up without uniform, they stand with the parents and salute as a civilian.

 

Stosh

[Gold Winger]

Last time that I checked, 99.99% of Scouts are civilians, in or out of uniforms.

[milwscout580]

In my troop, we do not require anything more than the shirt. (I only started wearing the full uniform during Junior Leadership Training a few years ago, as part of my agreement under "setting the example.") So, if jblake47 were our troop's Scoutmaster, there would be two people with the Scout salute, and everyone else would be using the hand-over-heart method

 

When I work at camp, or at OA functions, any hat with a BSA or BSA-related logo (like an OA logo) or a Scout camp-related hat counts as a uniform hat. Other hats should be taken off during flag.

 

(edited for spelling)(This message has been edited by milwscout580)

[scoutldr]

Aww, milwscout...you had to go and push that button, didn't you.

[Eagle92]

The hat should be whatever the PLC wants it to be. It can be the offical cap, the expedition hat, scout camp hat, whatever the boys decide. My original troop originally limited to the scout ball caps and Smokeys for those who went through WB or Brownsea. Overtime the scouts decided any scout hat was ok so you saw Philmont hats, jamboree hats, scout camp hats, and when we stated doing exchanges with a Canadian troops, Canadian Scout hats. As for my EBOR, I had my smokey on!

[Stosh]

As others have pointed out, each person makes up their mind as to what is respectful and does it their own way. "Full-uniform" is whatever the troop wants it to be. Saluting is whatever trips your trigger, and the flag code is of no consequence, so what difference does it make?

 

So whether it says, those in uniform, indoors stand mute at attention during the Pledge, no one does it anyway, so no big deal.

 

Wear whatever hat the SM wishes because only his opinion counts in the long run. End of discussion. :^)

 

Stosh

[epalmer84]

If a Scout appears at a flag ceremony wearing jeans and a t-shirt and salutes, where is the harm? The concept is one of respect to the flag as a symbol or our nation.

 

Ed Palmer

[Stosh]

As long as it's a no harm situation, then it shouldn't make any difference if the scout won't stand up, won't salute, won't take his hat off, won't tuck his shirt in or buttoned up, or anything else that someone might think is respectful as long as the scout doesn't do any of these things with disrespect. Yep, I can live with that. After all personal liberties are at stake here. And as far as that is concerned, why teach flag as a requirement? Surely as long as no disrespect is intended, one can wad the flag up and stuff it in a brown paper sack and break less Flag Code recommendations than if he wouldn't take his hat off. Gotta love this thread, it has so many twists and deviations that one could go on for years and never come to any resemblance of consensus...and everyone would be correct.

 

Stosh