Terminology

[allangr1024]

You know, even though the BSA has been trying to get us to stop using the term "Class A uniforms"  and "Class B uniforms",  and instead use terms like "Field Uniform", I rarely hear the sanctioned terms, and much more often hear about Class A's or Class B's.

If there is such reluctance to change the usage of terms to refer to clothing,  how much more so will there be resistance to talking about people and groups in terms that have been in use for generations.  You are not going to find this change occurring unless the Scouts BSA enforcement division steps in and starts revoking peoples membership for infractions of the naming conventions.  They will do it fairly, giving offenders a certain number of chances to get it right.  Something like:  3 strikes and you'r out.

 

 

Edited April 12, 2019 by allangr1024

[mrkstvns]

49 minutes ago, allangr1024 said:

You know, even though the BSA has been trying to get us to stop using the term "Class A uniforms"  and "Class B uniforms",  and instead use terms like "Field Uniform", I rarely hear the sanctioned terms, and much more often hear about Class A's or Class B's.

I think it's funny that BSA calls the Class-A uniform a "field uniform", yet when the troop goes out in the field for a weekend activity, it's the Class-B (i.e., troop T-shirt) that the boys wear.

The Class-A is more of an "indoor, don't get it dirty" uniform.

[MattR]

15 minutes ago, mrkstvns said:

The Class-A is more of an "indoor, don't get it dirty" uniform.

Isn't that the definition of a dress uniform? But I completely agree. Too much bling, not enough field.

[qwazse]

3 hours ago, mrkstvns said:

I think it's funny that BSA calls the Class-A uniform a "field uniform", yet when the troop goes out in the field for a weekend activity, it's the Class-B (i.e., troop T-shirt) that the boys wear.

The Class-A is more of an "indoor, don't get it dirty" uniform.

 

2 hours ago, MattR said:

Isn't that the definition of a dress uniform? But I completely agree. Too much bling, not enough field.

The equivalent of "Class-A" in the military would be a blue jacket/red tie combo. The equivalent of military "Class-B" would be the field uniform. Then there's the BDU -- with no youth equivalent, and the fitness uniform (a.k.a. gym cloths) which would be our scouts' activity shirts.

The boys' scout uniform should not be treated as an "indoor, don't get it dirty" piece of cloth. However, that ideal is undermined by the obsession with the "third world general" feel of the ODL design, the cost-effective alternative of imported t-shirts, the size of patches, and the rise of technical fabric for every type of activity. Maybe even the Army's sharp look of their "Class-B" uniform has this effect as well. The insignia guide doesn't help, as armchair wonks now feel free to criticize every image that scouting magazine posts of scouts and scouters in action with something non-compliant.

A good scout uniform should look like it's seen a few campfires. Inspection sheets should probably include bonus points for stains and smudges.

Edited April 12, 2019 by qwazse

[elitts]

On 4/8/2019 at 11:20 AM, mrkstvns said:

I, for one, have far more important things to worry about than terminology.  For example, how much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could, in fact, chuck wood?

8lbs per day.  I've tested it extensively.