Official Neckerchief

[DuctTape]

Our troop has a single necker. I am not a fan of it for a number of reasons, but it is a minor issue to me so I will not delve into it. However if it were up to me the troop would not have one, but each patrol would have their own.

[Stosh]

36" square.

 

Council patch sewn on one corner.

Unit numerals below that.

Patrol patch below that.

Can all be sewn with a machine.

Can be hemmed or embroidered/surged with different colors to indicate patrol as well.

 

Troop color     Patrol hem,   POR trim

Black necker, white hemmed, gold trim - PL, patrol 1

Black necker, white hemmed, sky blue trim - APL. patrol 1

Black necker, white hemmed, yellow trim - QM. patrol 1

Black necker, red hemmed, gold trim - PL, patrol 2

Black necker, red hemmed, sky blue trim - APL, patrol 2

Black necker, red hemmed, yellow trim - QM, patrol 2

etc.

 

My honor patrol boys also wore the expedition hat with colored hat cords and brass numbers as well.  Gold hat cord - PL, sky blue hat cord - APL yellow hat cord - QM, everyone else had a woven tan/green hat cord.  The hat cords could also be made to match the necker colors.

Edited April 7, 2016 by Stosh

[Krampus]

So do your boys actually want the neckers? In our unit they've voted them out and, out of a large troop, we can never get more than 20 boys that want them back.

[Stosh]

If all the boys are in the same patrol, why not?  If no necker is for the official uniform, they can still wear neckers with non-uniform wear.  The boys can still look like scouts even when not in uniform.  And what's to say the kid walking down the street in a Boy Scout t-shirt didn't pick it up at the Salvation Army Store?  To me if one what's to look like a scout, it's full uniform or when not in uniform a necker.    The boys can't vote out non-uniform clothing....

 

And to directly answer your question.  Yes the boys do want to wear the neckers.

Edited April 7, 2016 by Stosh

[Krampus]

@@Stosh, so neckers are part of your "mandatory" troop uniform. For us they are not after the boys voted them out...in a landslide. Can't say I care either way. I think the uniform, if worn properly, looks just as sharp with as without. The nice thing is that the uniform guidelines allow both looks.

[blw2]

OUr apparently do want them as well.... although their affirmation of this predates my troop membership...

 

Our troop has a single necker. I am not a fan of it for a number of reasons, but it is a minor issue to me so I will not delve into it. However if it were up to me the troop would not have one, but each patrol would have their own.

I'm in the same boat.  I never did like our color either.... but that's a personal opinion and I don't matter anyway....

 

Troop has the scout shop black with silver trim selected as their troop standard.  This predates any effort of boy lead, back when i was in the pack, but apparently a year or so ago it was decided by the scouts to keep it.

 

If it were up to me, I'd want the same as duct tape does.... patrol standards, not troop standards

and if I was a scout where my opinion would matter, I'd probably push for square neckers, maybe a nice absorbent microfiber.... 

square to increase utility

microfiber for use as one of those new fangled high-tech evaporative cooling towels

on the other hand ... maybe I'd just go for an off the shelf thing so they're easier to replace....

[Stosh]

I have had different systems over the years.

 

Troop 1) had troop necker, boys all required to wear it.  Honor patrol had their own necker and wore them while doing patrol activities or activities as a patrol, i.e. camporee competitions, etc.

Troop 2) had troop necker, boys  could wear that or any other earned necker they wished at any time.

Troop 3) has troop/patrol neckers (All blaze orange with patrol color trim around the edges) are encouraged to wear them at all times.

 

As SM I wear the troop blaze orange with white trim, my centennial jamboree at time, my WB necker, at times, and green SM tie at times.  It all depends on my mood.

 

@@Stosh, so neckers are part of your "mandatory" troop uniform. For us they are not after the boys voted them out...in a landslide. Can't say I care either way. I think the uniform, if worn properly, looks just as sharp with as without. The nice thing is that the uniform guidelines allow both looks.

@@Krampus, it is not clear from my earlier post that the current troop I am involved with does not have mandatory neckers. (#3 above).  However, they did decide to have patrol neckers and the adults decided to have their own neckers as well.  The troop rule is look and act like a scout.  This doesn't require a necker because the issue has never been voted on.  Some of the boys thought it would be good, others said they didn't like it.  We had the discussion about the neckers being a symbol of scouting even though the uniforms varied from one country to the next.  The PL's take a quick "uniform inspection" before flags and if all the boys have their neckers they all wear neckers.  If one boy forgot, they don't wear them...for the flags.  They are all "uniform" that way.  Even if they take them off for flags, some put them back on afterwards. 

 

Because they are blaze orange and I can tell my boys from great distances, I request they wear their neckers at scout activities where I may need to find them, summer camp, camporees, traveling, etc.  They understand and respect that request.  If they don't have their necker, I don't make a big deal about it, but sometimes their patrol partners do.

 

The neckers are hand-made and belong to the patrol.  If a boy loses or destroys the necker, he needs to pay to have another one made to replace it.  When a boy joins a patrol he is issued a necker.  After a certain amount of camaraderie has been established the boys tend to wear the necker.

 

We are a full uniform troop, but when the boys are in their camp site, they do not need to be in uniform.  I have seen a boy or two that will wear his patrol necker with non-uniform clothing.  They also tend to wear their neckers outside of their coats for identification purposes when traveling in colder weather and jackets are necessary and uniforms aren't obvious. 

 

We don't do much with the BSA rules (except what's on the Inspection Sheet) and there is no penalties beyond that.  Like the BSA hats, some boys wear them, others don't.  It's not a battle we have ever had to fight.  When I was an ASM in a necker required adult-run troop, it was a constant hassle.  Surprisingly my boys now in my current troop look better than those of my first troop when I was ASM.

[blw2]

stosh wrote

The PL's take a quick "uniform inspection" before flags and if all the boys have their neckers they all wear neckers.  If one boy forgot, they don't wear them...for the flags.  

 

reminds me of the movie "Heartbreak Ridge"

[Eagle94-A1]

It's cool how the patrol neckers are done, but I admit I like the idea of one color neckerchief for everyone int e troop. Part of that stems from the way my troop did things. When we were invested in the troop, we received the troop necker, totem, and woggle. If we switched patrols, we didn't need a new necker. Grant you folks rarely changed patrols. I think I changed the most out of my friends, 3 times.

 

Then there is another reason why I would not want to change neckers, I liked having Green Bar Bill's signature prominently displayed above the  troop patch on the necker.

 

With all do respect, I think Green Bar Bill's signature trumps the different patrol borders   Just wished I would have used someone else's necker for first aid purposes instead of the autographed one.  

[blw2]

yeah, of course a signed collectable is a whole other consideration...

 

But I kinda think that points to the whole point in the idea of patrol neckers as opposed to troop.

 

Is he a member of that patrol, or the troop?  Which one trumps?

 

Now I can certainly see the advantage of being able to spot your scouts from afar at a district campout

 

But if you're trying to look for ways to foster the patrol method, patrol spirit, etc.... having a patrol specific necker is certainly an approach!

[Stosh]

A solid colored necker for troop and various trim colors for patrols work really nice.  Best of both worlds.

[Tampa Turtle]

@@Stosh, so neckers are part of your "mandatory" troop uniform. For us they are not after the boys voted them out...in a landslide. Can't say I care either way. I think the uniform, if worn properly, looks just as sharp with as without. The nice thing is that the uniform guidelines allow both looks.

Our Troop does with out them also. Too dang hot. 

[Eagledad]

_{I read on another forum that the BSA is considering the necker as required uniform. I understand it is an attempt to be more inline with scouting programs in other nations. I don't know anything else.}

 

_Barry

[jr56]

Sounds like a really good idea to me.

[Eagle94-A1]

_{I read on another forum that the BSA is considering the necker as required uniform. I understand it is an attempt to be more inline with scouting programs in other nations. I don't know anything else.}

 

_Barry

 

Unless national plans on making them, I don't see this happening. And last I heard, they are not making neckerchiefs anymore, only getting rid of the ones in stock. And none of my troops old neckers are in stock anymore.  That's why they did the custom route.