Being UNIFORM while in uniform

[Scoutfish]

Just a curious thought I had. I'm not suggesting, condoning or implying that there should be a troop or pack regulation uniform...just wondering,

 

I'm thinking of buying me a leather necker slider. Just looking at the pictures, it "seems" like they wouldn't slip. I think it looks pretty cool too.

 

But looking at our leaders, some like to wear the same slider that thier den does( I did up til becoming cubmaster, then switched to fleur de lis). Some wear the bolo tie and some use homemade sliders.

 

Personally, I don't care what slider is worn as long as it's correct: ie: You don't wear a Tiger slide if you are a Bear DL conducting a Bear den meeting. Just wrong, although I'm not about to call in the UP or firing squad.

 

But there is a small ( less that .01 percent) part of me that wonders if , as leaders and examples to the scout, if we shouldn't maintain a "pack uniformed" uniform?

 

That make sense? If one wears a bolo, all wear a bolo. If one wears a leather slider, all wear it.

 

Granted, I know that a slider wil not determine the quality of our program. I do not even plan on pursueing or mentioning this to my pack as I think it's pretty trivial in iteslf.

 

It was just a curious thought.

 

Does you den or troop or whatever have a specific leader uniform to be worn.

 

 

[ParkMan]

 

Good question - I think the answer would be different based upon the message that different units would want to send.

 

In my unit, the concept that I'd go for is that in areas where the uniform is specified, we should indeed be uniform. i.e., we should all wear the shirt, the pants, etc...

 

In areas that are not specified, I think it permits the leaders to show creativity to the boys. i.e, I'm wearing a homemade slide, the Bear DL is wearing the official Bear slide, and the Webolos leader is wearing a bolo. The same thing is true for hats and the temporary patches.

 

To me, the message then becomes, you should take the uniform seriously and wear it with pride, but show you individuality where allowed.

 

 

Of course, a different unit may want to send a different message - it all depends on your unit culture.

 

 

[resqman]

While a Den leader, I heard from my son that he did not want to wear a neckerchief beccause it was hot. I decieded to turn the discussion a different direction. So I carved several wooden slides from the scout store. Then I found some web sites for ideas and carved some more. Then I got out my leatherworking tools and stamped some leather for slides. Then I had a den project where each cub stamped his own leather slide.

 

The Pack had a pinewood derby so I bought a 6 pack of "matchbox" cars from the dollar store and glued pvc pipe to the back side and gave every den member their own custom slide. The Pack meetings had slide making as a craft during pack meetings where the Pack provided film canisters and varied supplies to make slides filled with items. Wilderness survival, first aid, etc.

 

Pretty soon, custom slides were the norm in the pack. The scouts enjoyed the diversity. Less pushback from my son about wearing a neckerchief.

 

We graduated to Boy Scouts. I had a backlog of 2 dozen handcarved slides. My son and I wore a different slide every meeting. People noticed and asked about them. The troop had a garage sale and I donated 1/2 dozen slides. Troop sold them and now scouts in the troop are wearing my custom slides. At summer camp scouts watched as I carved slides during the week. It peaked their interest and they bought kits from the trading post and carved their own. Now 1/4 of them trooop has custom slides. I have carved slides for the woodbadge graduates of our troop. Adults wear custom slides.

 

One campout a scout lost or misplaced his slide. One of the adults weaved a woggle from some lightweight rope/twine and within half an hour, that scout had a new slide. Two years later and he is still wearing the woggle tied by an ASM on that Sunday morning of a campout.

 

By all means encourage custom slides. There are several websites that feature slides ideas for cub and boy scouts.

 

Our troop has a custom neckerchief. We are a fully uniformed troop and wear neckertchiefs to weekly troop meetings, monthly campouts, and almost every other occasion. Personalized slides eoncourage the wearing of neckerchiefs. I encourage you to promote personal slide creation.

[SSScout]

One of the neat things about the Scout uniform (and by that I mean all versions: Cub, Boy, Vanture, Sea) is that it can be "customized" to a certain extent. The necker is the usual place to start.

Originally, it was meant to be part of the Scout's "Be Prepared" kit. The slide made it easy and quick to get off and use. Signal flag, first aid bandage, arm sling, pole repair, dust mask, sweat bandana, I have an old book that lists no fewer than 25 different uses for a Scout neckerchief. Then, it became (in USA at least) more of a decoration, like a man's tie. No real use, just a symbol. The necker in my son's troop is a good 5" smaller than the one from my Scout days. And a money maker (how many Cub neckers?)

By regulation, a Scout Troop may design and wear it's own, custom, necker. There is no prohibition about the slide (woggle, traditionally), so custom, hand made slides are to be encouraged. Nice Cub craft. Commemorative item. Award a special slide instead of a patch. Come to think of it, I can't think of any prohibition of a Cub Pack just wearing the yellow Cub necker.

Our Troop occassionally has a slide contest, we invite a local professional artist to judge it. Ask local stores to donate some prizes (ice cream cones, tacos, cupcakes,smoothies. Very popular!). Categories have included "most useful" (small flashlight), "most Scouty" (75th anniversity of Cub Scouts), "most colorful" (treasure chest), "Best overall" (a carved long horn head).

I spoke to a Scouter who had visited South Africa. He reported visiting with a Scout Troop there who had yellow Tshirts and red neckers. That was their whole uniform. They were glad to be Scouts. Carved their own woggles from local tree stems that happened to get hollow naturally. Ranks were recognized with ribbons pinned to the shirt.

Beaver Patrol wears a Beaver tail carved woggle. Eagle Patrol all wears a bird's head. Et Cetera.

 

 

Necker too warm? Loosen it up alittle. You might like it again come wintertime, but wear it well.

[desertrat77]

Scoutfish, you should wear whatever slide you wish.

 

Yes, it's a uniform, but this is a volunteer organization, comprised of people from every walk of life.

 

Variety is a good thing.

[rdclements]

Nice story, resqman.

 

When I was CM I wore a different slide to each pack meeting, based on the theme for the evening. Like resqman's matchbox cars at the PWD, I would usually hotglue a 1/2" PVC ring to the back of a little toy or something.

 

Another tradition that I picked up when I was a scout. Collect the brass grommets from the ashes after a flag retirement. Tie the grommet into a small loop of leather to make it into a slide. Use them for impact awards; presented to scouts who do something extra. I usually present the young man with the one that I'm wearing and make myself another.

 

-R

[perdidochas]

I agree with you about bolo vs. necker vs. no necker . The leaders should ideally be uniform. However, the sliders should be leader's choice.

[Jeffrey H]

I have the standard blue and gold Cub Scout neckerchief slide and the standard Cub Scout Leader neckerchief that I wear to all Cub Scout Meetings. The only exception was when I was a Webelos DL, I wore the the Webelos Neckerchief and Slide.

 

It's up to your Pack, but leaders should have leeway in their choice of neckerchiefs and slides. If makes it more fun and adds a little variety while we are in uniform.

 

Back "in the day" when neckerchiefs were more common in Boy Scout Troops, it was very common for Scouts to wear indiviualized slides.

[Twocubdad]

Ditto resqman. One reason I pushed hard for neckers in the troop is that homemade slides are such a neat old Scouting tradition. Google "Whittlin' Jim" and you can find all the old slide plans from Boy's Life. I printed all the plans and have them in a binder we take to summer camp.

[ScoutNut]

I love my slide collection! I have one to reflect the theme of every Pack meeting. The boys get a kick out of seeing them. They also get a kick out of making their own slides!

 

BSA specifically allows variety in necker slides. There is enough uniformity in Scouting, and in life.

 

Lets hear it for this bit of individualism!

[Narraticong]

Being an "older" guy, I have a collection of slides, neckerchiefs, patches, etc. going back to the 60's and 70's. I like to wear some of the old stuff now and then as a conversation starter with the boys. Although it was before my time as a Scout, I like to wear items from the 50th Anniversary of Scouting. It helps remind us of our history.

 

Wear what you like. Scouting is for the boys, but it's nice if it's fun for us adults, too!

 

Ken

[oldisnewagain1]

An interesting observation;

 

Our troop has troop neckerchief but typically the boys only wear them at special ceremonies. A year ago began wearing a neckerchief at every meeting and every function with the troop. I also wore a different slide I had made each time. By the end of the year, I was seeing more boys wear a neckerchief at troop meetings. Some with slides they made or ones their fathers and grandfathers had made when they were Scouts.

 

Bill

http://channelingwhittlinjim.blogspot.com/

 

[VigilEagle04]

I have many different slides. I have the new three-hole design ones (OA, Jambo 2005, and Eagle), I have a couple wooden ones, about a half dozen woggles, a couple Canadian style ones, several event specific ones, and my three standards.

 

If you want an "official" slide for Cub Scouting, that would be a good one for a leader, look for the older Cub Scout slide. When I went through, the slide was the same for Wolf and Bear, it was just the Cub Scout emblem on the gold colored slide. Not sure how easy they are to find, but if you want uniformity with the uniforms, it's an idea.

[Twocubdad]

Three years ago we had a couple guys go to World Jamboree. Everywhere else in the world the one piece of ubiquitous Scouting gear is the necker. At world you would see kids in cut-off jeans, an ABBA t-shirt and their contingent neckerchief. Our guys got the bug and came home wearing neckerchiefs for everything which soon caught on with the rest of the troop.

 

Amazing what setting a good example will do.

[desertrat77]

Wearing old school/large size/locally made neckerchiefs is also a great way to encourage the trend as well. They are also more functional than the smaller, made-by-National ones. National has made a centennial neckerchief that is old-school size, I've heard good things about it.