Issue 559 – March 14, 2018

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Hi Andy,

We just had three Scouts help out at a Wounded Warriors Hockey Game as the flag detail for the opening ceremony. After they’d completed this, they stayed and watched all or part of the game. One Scout was there for about a half-hour; the other two for an hour-and-a-half each. Since they only did the (brief) opening ceremony and spend most of their time watching the game, would this actually count as “service,” or just as a Scouting activity? (John Burnham)

Well how about this for starters: How long did it take for these Scouts to get to and from the game? I’m thinking this time should be counted, too. The next thing I’d ask is this: What did they get out of doing this? If it was the pride and satisfaction of “getting it right” and representing Scouting in an honorable manner, then I’d encourage counting all the time involved and definitely considering it in the arena of “service to the community at large.”
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Dear Andy,

I’m Cubmaster of a large pack with a very strong retention rate, with growth each year even though we just graduated two dozen Webelos Scouts who all joined Boy Scouting in our “brother” troop. Our newly appointed Chartered Organization Representative (“CR” for short) is former Scoutmaster of that troop (this becomes important in just a moment).

On a recent family camping outing, one of our pack’s adult volunteers demonstrated what I’ll loosely term “inappropriate behavior” (and was stopped before things got worse. We pack leaders correctly followed all the necessary steps including informing the correct people at our council service center. This has, apparently, backfired, because our new CR and this man are personal friends and, when he described his own version of what happened to the CR, well, frankly, he lied about what he’d done and how we were obliged to handle the situation. The end-result is that now this CR is making our lives a living nightmare. He’s now dictating our calendar (e.g., he arbitrarily moved our Pinewood Derby date with no discussion, no meeting, and no collaboration), he’s demanding that we fill out Tour Permits (even though these were eliminated by the BSA some years ago), and more! We, who are working hard to keep this pack operational with as little extra nonsense as possible, are finding his “orders” to us draconian at best. What can we do about this? (Overworked Cubmaster, Den Leaders, and committee)

Waste no time! Gather a few Den Leaders plus your Committee Chair and sit down—in-person—with the head of your chartered organization and tell him or her exactly what you’ve just told me. Then ask for an immediate change in CRs, meaning: No “I’ll have a talk with him malarkey,” it’s a flat-out change, period. And, by the way, it’s perfectly normal for your Committee Chair to “double” as CR—this is the one time a unit-level person can be dual-registered!
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Hi Andy,

A few months ago, a Scout from an LDS (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints) troop joined our troop with the specific goal of reaching Eagle rank. (As he described his former situation, his troop just wasn’t active enough to provide the kind of program that would facilitate rank advancement.)

As it turned out, that troop was also not very conscientious when it came to record-keeping (e.g., advancement reports filed, etc.). He told us that he’d earned a fairly large number of Eagle-required merit badges, but the troop had no record of these and he didn’t have any hard evidence either—no pocket cards, no Scout’s segment of the “blue cards,” no badges, nothing! He also told us he earned First Class rank, but he’s not wearing that ranks badge and his handbook is blank on the pages to be initialed and dated.
We reached out to his former Scoutmaster, who promised to find the necessary paperwork and get it turned in, but that was a half-year ago and nothing’s happened that we know of. We’re now running out of time. This Scout needs to have his Life rank Scoutmaster conference and board of review as soon as possible or he won’t have a six-month “window” to make it to Eagle. Can we do the conference and review absent any hard evidence that he’s completed First Class? If not, what do we do here? (Name & Council Withheld)

You all aren’t “running out of time” – This Scout is! Ultimately, the responsibility for keeping track of advancement falls to the Scout himself. If he has no evidence of having done what he says he has, it’s up to him to correct this. He needs to make a list of the merit badges he’s earned, and then—using the district’s or council’s merit badge counselor list, or other resource—track down his counselors and ask them to scan and send you the counselor’s segment of the original blue cards.

Similarly, to get to First Class he’s had at least three boards of review, and I can’t believe he can’t remember at least one person from each of these who can verify his completion. They can easily write a brief note confirming that he earned the ranks through First Class. Again, this is his responsibility, not yours.

But here’s a question in return: In order to hold a board of review for Life rank, he needs to have been a Star for at least six (6) months, and the tenure between First Class and Star is four (4) months. So what happened here? Is he First Class, or is he Star rank?

Finally, let’s remember that a Scoutmaster conference definitely does not need to be the last requirement completed before a Scout’s rank board of review. The GTA (Topic 4.2.3.5) states: “…it is not required that (the conference) be the last step before the board of review.” The conference can be held at any time, from the time the Scout starts toward his next rank up to just prior to the board of review for that rank.
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Hi Andy,

I have two Cub Scout sons who have grown up in a family that participates in several shooting sports programs outside of Scouting. Consequently, they both have earned several competitive medals shooting bb guns (outside of Scouting).

The other day I was looking for information about wearing medals and such, and I discovered this web page: http://www.scoutinsignia.com/medals.htm The page suggested that that the current NRA Pro Marksman medals, which my sons earned this year, could be worn on the uniform. I’m somewhat skeptical because first, they earned them outside of Scouting, and second, it was in a bb gun match held outside the typical council/district limitations for such activities. The only other positive item I can find on this is in the BSA National Shooting Sports Manual. Page 42 describes the NRA Qualification program and medals, but doesn’t state if they can be worn on the Scout uniform, or any requirements or stipulations. So although that webpage suggests the medals can be worn, and I’m sure my boys would love to wear their medals, I’m not totally confident that they can or should. (Mike Kendra, WDL, Shenandoah Area Council, WV)

That site—an unofficial one, like my own—isn’t the one you want to consult for an “ultimate answer” (and neither is mine, for that matter). The difference between the two is that unless I’m specifically asked to offer an opinion, I do the very best job I can to provide what the BSA—not me—has to say. So, with that in mind, here’s what the BSA says, taken from the GUIDE TO AWARDS AND INSIGNIA (SKU 614937): “The general rule is that badges awarded by organizations other than the BSA may not be worn on an official uniform (of the BSA).” This regulation goes on to note that there are “notable exceptions” including religious emblems and “those…approved by local councils in conjunction with the national Program Impact Department…” (the italics are mine). That phrase suggests to me that a local council all by itself can’t “approve” a non-BSA badge or award—approval is done in accordance with a national BSA body. Further, I find no mention of the NRA among the statements in that GUIDE.

So, let’s look for a work-around that satisfies both sides of this equation… Do your sons have red youth patch vests (check scoutstuff.org – SKU 55291-4)? If so, that’s where I’d recommend wearing those marksmanship medals.

Happy Scouting!

Andy

Have a question? Facing a dilemma? Wondering where to find a BSA policy or guideline? Just write to me at: askandybsa@yahoo.com.
Please include your name and council. (If you’d prefer to be anonymous, if published, let me know and that’s what we’ll do.)

[No. 559– 3/14/2018 – Copyright © Andy McCommish 2018]