Camping MB

[yarrow]

Some boys are going to take Camping MB at summer camp this year. Requirements #9a and 9b require a minimum amount of camping and also that certain activities happened on these campouts. Things like 15 mile bike ride, rappeling 30 ft, Hiking up at least 2000 ft, etc. These obviously will not be done at camp.

 

Some boys have been in scouting a only a few years, others many more. The advancement chair and SM had no problem signing off on the camping done prior to the upcoming summer camp badge, but now one of the dads is complaining that the camping must now be repeated to qualify since the badge is now just being started.

 

In the case of our new scouts that would mean that they would have had to come into the troop and immediately signed the blue card for Camping MB and for some of our older scouts there may not be enough time left for them to do the 20 nights and activities again. What's up with this? Seems a little picaune. I understand the sequence of doing merit badges and the application needs to be filled out before the badge is started, but I also don't have a problem on this particular badge to allow counting their current camping tally.

 

How do you handle this badge?

[Bob White]

Yarrow,

I believe you have misinterpreted the requirement.

 

 

9a says "Camp out a total of at least 20 days and 20 nights. (You may use a week of long-term camp toward this requirement.) Sleep each night under the sky or in a tent you have pitched."

 

9b says " On any of these camping experiences, you must do TWO of the following, only with proper preparation and under qualified supervision:" it then goes on to list 6 items.

 

Note that it says on any not on every.

 

Your scouts only need to do one campout where they do 2 of the 6 listed items.

 

 

Bob White

 

[le Voyageur]

Yarrow

 

When at camp, take a momemt with either the Program Director and/or the Scoutcraft director and go over any requirments of the Camping MB your Scouts have completed prior to camp.

 

(some Camp Commissioners will do this as an automatic and pass the information on to the various directors, so also consider the CC as a troop resource while at camp)

[Mike Long]

"9. Show experience in camping by doing the following." Leads me to believe that the Scout should already have done these things or should be in the process of finishing them.

 

I allow the Scouts to use their current camping tally for #9, but on #7 (the preparation requirement) I require it to be done after the Scout officially starts working on the badge.

 

Wrong /right? Comments?

 

[SagerScout]

Thanks for your question - I just want to say I had the same question! My son has been a Scout off and on for 3 years, and since he likes camping and we do family camping as well he's easily met that 20 night requirement already - but we've been waiting for a merit badge couselor list promised by our council for TWO YEARS (no exaggeration!) and so technically he hasn't even started the merit badge. I just signed up to counsel it and plan to encourage all the new boys in our troop to start work on it immediately or soon at least to avoid them suffering this problem. But it would have been nice to have someone point this requirement out fairly early in the game.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[SagerScout]

PS: Bob, I believe you may have misread the concern. My understanding is that they are saying that every part of every requirement, including 20 nights of camping, must be done AFTER the blue card. Therefore, for instance, if a boy goes to summer camp or any troop campouts BEFORE filling out the blue card, those nights won't count.

 

I'm personally backing the poster who says it's ok to count the total nights as long as the preparation requirements are done AFTER the blue card...but honestly it doesn't seem to meet what I was told in training.

 

If the SM can't find a counselor early in the Scouts career for this badge that might take 2 years to earn, it seems as if you are penalizing the boy for doing scouting anyway.

[Bob White]

Sorry Sager,

It seemed to me like your concern was the time it would take to do all those activities.

 

I would think most scouts make the twenty days and nights in less than one year. After they attend summer camp it is only 7 weekend campouts to complete the required time.

 

I agree with the others, it's up to the counselor not the dad. As a camping MB couselor I accept verification from the troop that the scout has met the 20 days and nights.

 

Bob

[OldGreyEagle]

Just took a quick tour of my second most favorite web site in the WHOLE WIDE WORLD, meritbadge.com, and I couldnt find a line about having to have signed blue card before you can count any activity towards a merit badge.

 

During our week of Summer Camp, the Camping merit is offered. The scouts plan duty rosters, menus, etc. Most complete the merit badge by the end of the week because the Scoutmaster sends in verification of the 20 nights of camping (in tents even). Camp Staff will have those "extra activities planned during the week for those who havent done them yet. Now, if those scouts cant count previous nights of camping before summer camp toward the merit badge, let me know becasue our council is doing it wrong, and has for many years (not that that isnt possible)And I think they wouldnt be the only camp who does it this way!

[Mike Long]

Well OGE, that's the way I got my Camping MB in the 80's

 

As a matter of fact every single Boy Scout Summer camp in Florida, Georgia, and Western N.C. do it that way. I have this years information on all of them (cause we were looking for one to go to) and they all say that Scouts need to provide documentation approved by the Scoutmaster regarding MB requirements done proir to camp for that work to be accepted. That alone flys in the face of the "Can't start till a card is issued" argument.

 

I broke out the BS Requirements book and nowhere does it say that all requirements must be completed after the blue card is issued. It does say that the specifics of how the requirements are fullfilled is up to the counselor as long as the requirements are met to the letter without adding or deleting anything.

 

So if the counselor says they count, they count. Several BSA councils say they count. I'm thinking that almost the entire Southeastern region's summer camp programs are right and that dad is wrong.

[smaster101]

I can never understand why adult scouters come up with rules to restrict advancement of scouts. This discussion of camping MB is a perfect example. As long as a boy completes the requirements why should it matter when the blue card was signed? As leaders we should be doing whatever we need to do to encourage scouts to participate in the program, and reward them when they do. How frustrating for a boy to feel he's done all the requirements only to be told he had to start after a card was signed. No wonder so many boys quit before they make Eagle.

 

In our troop we keep track of the number of nights each scout camps out, and as Scoutmaster, I make sure that there is enough variety of activity on each campout to eventually cover the camping MB requirements. Then, after a scouts been active for about 3 years he is usually experienced enough and has attended enough campouts to qualify for completion of the badge. There are additional requirements that they have to finish up, but in reality the scout starts working on the badge from his first campout.

[yarrow]

Well, my boy and several others are two year campers are going to take Camping MB and #9a,b were to be done outside of summer camp for obvious reasons. They have done the 20 days/nights camping required and were careful not to count the summer camping more than allowed. Plus they have done at least two of the higher adventure type activities on several campouts (didn't intend to imply on an earlier post that those were required for every campout) so I believe those campouts should be counted toward #9a,b. We also have several 16-17 years olds just starting this badge for Eagle push. I would really hate to tell them to restart their camping tally for this badge. It would be very discouraging. Like I said the advancement chair and SM didn't have a problem, just this one dad (whose boy has missed/skipped several of the campouts that included the higher adventure activities). I'm sure from one perspective he is correct.

[EagleWB]

As a MB counselor I will take a note from the SM stating the boy has the nights, as long as they are scout related. There is no other way for me to know unless he is in my Troop. If a boy had to wait to count his days he would have to hold on to his blue card for a year or more. I also don't know where it says you must have a blue card before starting a MB. I think this originated so the SM would know what the boys are working on. I know some counselors who work with the boys on different merit badges and when they are done then ask for cards. I think this is either a counselors decision or a Troop policy.

[SagerScout]

Yes, I would wish that most scouts would get 20 nights in a year but since our troop has a high percentage of scouts that are restricted from outdoor activities for health reasons in spring and fall, some of them may not. For quite a while my family was used to my son's annual hospital stay in March/April, and another in September, and then we had the traditional Thanksgiving Turkey served with care by a hospital volunteer.... other kids in my troop are somewhat more severely affected by their asthma. They've been to asthma camp 3 times but there are no tents there.

[Bob White]

Eagle WB,

 

The Boy Scout Handbook pg 187 says for the first step in earning a MB, "Obtain from your Scoutmaster a signed Merit Badge application and the name of a qualified counselor for that merit badge."

 

It's OK if the counselor doesn't ask for it right away (although they should), but the scout needs to notify his SM first and get a blue card and an approved counselor.

 

Hope this helps,

Bob(This message has been edited by Bob White)

[evmori]

Bob,

While the Scout needs a signed merit badge card, does anything he does prior to getting a signed card count toward the merit badge?

 

Ed Mori

Scoutmaster

Troop 1