What would you do?

[John-in-KC]

Eagle 92:

 

Six Words:

 

GO FOR IT!! DON'T LOOK BACK!!!

[Basementdweller]

No feedback on my sleeping bag question?

[Eagle92]

Basement,

If it's OK I'll post a reply in the spun off thread. I've actually been thinking about this all day, remembering things from different units I've been affiliated with, and also a digression; "district owned" property.

[shortridge]

John-in-KC

 

Thanks for the clarification. Now I know we're talking about the same thing. But I'm still not entirely clear by what you mean in your reference in this thread - the prohibition is against military uniforms, not camping gear.

[Eagle92]

Apparently the memo sent to Scout Execs only prohibited ANY camouflage stuff, i.e. coats in addition to pants, AS WELL AS military equipment. So stuff like canteens, sleeping bags, etc are not supposed to be used at scout functions. Never heard of this before until this board, and that is after 26 years in the program.

 

There are some who maintain you are an irresponsible leaders for using the surplus equipment, and that there are ways to get affordable equipment from places like Walmart. I stated that there are some out there who cannot even afford the cheap stuff, and that at times it's just that cheap stuff that will break on you in the middle of a trip. My view is that surplus stuff is designed for abuse, lasts a very long time, and sometimes is cheaper than the 'cheap" stuffm so use it.

 

I started this thread to see what the consensus was on suplus equipment to see if i was in the minority. Apparently I'm not.

[shortridge]

That memo, as I understand it, is not part of the Rules & Regulations. Its contents are not reflected in the Boy Scout Handbook, the Scoutmaster's Handbook, or any of the countless other training materials out there. The only thing we know about it is that Mike Walton had a copy at one point, and quoted a paragraph from it.

 

Quite frankly, I think we may be making a mountain out of a molehill here.

[hops_scout]

So how bout this one.. I know a leader how has an all-black Camelbak. Guess what-- I'm pretty sure that specific color style is "military" or "law enforcement" but it's plain black. If somebody is going to try telling him he can't use THAT (in truth it's "military-spec") then that person better have equipment to GIVE to leaders and scouts...

[John-in-KC]

shortridge,

 

My last concern at this point is from the perspective of the military unit. There are ways to properly dispose of excess property, be the unit active, reserve, or National Guard. On the military side, they need to do the property disposal properly.

 

On the Scout unit side, they need to keep any transfer paperwork they receive with the proper for an extended timeframe: 5 years or so. The last thing anyone needs is a claim the property was transferred improperly, or that Federal property was "diverted." It's not pretty

[Eagle92]

The paperwork is what concerns me as I've heard some interesting stories about these surplus programs. As I mention in another thread, at the 2 scout camps I've worked at, we used a lot of surplus gear. Apparently the first one had no problems getting the gear needed since that council also had the CG of the 4th MarDiv on the exec. board. I bet those stars and pale blue ribbon he wore helped us tremendously.

 

The second camp had problems out the ying yang. Yes they got stuff, but they also got a lot of the wrong stuff as well. The most memorable was the camp trying to get a 4wd pick up truck for the back country, and getting a deuce and a half instead.

 

 

[SctDad]

Eagle92

 

Whats wrong with the Deuce, it is just a big pick-up. OK OK REALLY BIG.

 

I am guessing that some of the surplus equipment would be at the seabase. Or maybe I am wrong.

[HobcawChaos]

Say "Thanks for the gear" and "Thanks even more for your service". Then find out what the units mailing address is so that the troops can "adopt them" while deployed and send cards, pictures with said gear, and letters!