Issue 602 – June 4, 2019

Hi Andy,

I enjoy reading your weekly columns… But I do notice that the BSA’s GUIDE TO SAFE SCOUTING seems to be catching so many of us left and right. I did notice one slight problem with your answer to the question on the composition of PLC (Patrol Leaders Council) meetings (Issue #600). You said that the Scoutmaster is present to advise the Senior Patrol Leader, who runs these meetings, or to provide information that may be needed for decision-making. But the GTSS says there actually needs to be two registered adult (age 21+) leaders at the PLC to comply, and, if the Scouts BSA troop is one for girls, then one of the registered adults needs to be female. Not that that second person needs to participate, but he or she does need to be there. Thanks! (Kirk Wood)

Yup, that’s how it works: Two registered adults are required at any and all gatherings of Scouts (except for drivers of motor vehicles transporting multiple Scouts, for which the GTSS goes on to state that this adult need not be either registered or accompanied by a second adult, registered or otherwise ).

And you’re right on point when you recognize that that second adult for a PLC meeting doesn’t need to be an actual participant. In fact, an ASM is the best candidate for this role, so long as he or she remains silent throughout. This fulfills the GTSS protocol and simultaneously preserves the integrity of the PLC meetings.
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Hi Andy,

Is there a national policy on how many Scouts a brand-new troop needs to register, to get started? Is a local council allowed to set a minimum?

We’re getting our new Scouts BSA troop for girls off the ground, but only have only three girls registered right now. Our council says we must have five, but our Scout Executive is willing to waive this to four.

Scouting friends have told me they started new troops (in other councils) with three youth, and that’s where my confusion is coming from.

Our three girls are very eager! I’d hate to lose their interest and enthusiasm while we try to recruit two more. Any ideas about this? (Chuck Spence)

Here’s the current deal on minimum youth for a new Scouting unit…

Historically, that number has been set at five youth and three adults, and all councils generally abide by this. There are exceptions, of course, and each council makes its own decision, based on circumstances. Right now, a new Scouts BSA troop for girls is one of those exceptions, and the BSA national office has informed all 260 BSA councils that they can accept as few as three youth (but still three adults, as far as I know) to get started…but that’s a decision each local council (like yours) is free to make.

So yes, as far as the BSA national office is concerned, three youth will not be “rejected” but it’s still up to the council to set the lower limit.

If I were in your shoes, I’d do two things. First, I’d ask these three girls to ask one friend each—a “BFFL”—to come along with them to have some new kind of FUN! Second, while your three girls are getting their BFFLs to come along with them, I’d ask the council to give you, let’s say, till October to get to four girls, but in the meanwhile to register the troop with three girls, just to get started!

As soon as you’ve done this, get out there and find something for these new Scouts to do! Let the girls decide from options you suggest, and see what happens! I’ll bet that, after their first outing as Scouts, asking others to join up will be much easier because they’ve all had a great first experience!
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Hi Andy,

I found your site while doing some research on one of my uniforms. I’ve served as a Den Leader for the last couple of years and my son has just transitioned into a Scouts BSA troop here in Chattanooga.

I’ve recently lost a good bit of weight, so I grabbed one of my own old uniforms from high school and college, for an event at the National Cemetery. It turned more heads than I expected, and many people couldn’t figure out how I had a BSA uniform shirt in forest green—the former Explorer and now Venturing color.

I relayed to them what we Scouts were told at the time, and I later went online to verify it, and I’m really surprised that I can find nothing about the 1990’s-era forest green shirt for Scouts! In fact, I think you once wrote an article saying that the BSA has never had an official forest green shirt. (Someone mentioned a “Leadership Corps” shirt to me, that was used in the 70’s, but mine was bought around 1990.)

Here’s what we were told back then… At that time, you couldn’t buy a tan Scout shirt in our local Scout shop or at a clothing retailer, but they had a whole bunch of forest green shirts for Scouts! It seems that, at that time—the Gulf War era—there was a shortage of the tan material as a result of major US Military demands for that fabric, so, for that period of time, forest green shirts were manufactured and distributed to meet the needs of new Scouts. These shirts had, directly over the right pocket, the strip titled “Boy Scouts of America.”

If this isn’t an official BSA uniform shirt, I’d sure like to know! Many of us who loved our adult leaders’ vintage uniforms snapped them up and I’m not the only 90’s-era Scout who still has (or wears) them! Thanks! (Drew Scott, Cherokee Area Council, Chattanooga, TN)

Wow! That’s a great story, and congratulations for still fitting in a shirt that’s well over 25 years old! (I’m jealous!) I can tell you—not to contradict, but to add to this apparent mystery—that my youngest son was a Scout in the 90’s and wore tan like the rest of his troop at the time. But this was in California, not Tennessee.)

One thing’s for sure—If there’s a “BSA” strip over the right pocket then it’s a 100% “legal” Scout shirt and you can be proud to wear it. No official BSA uniform part is ever considered “obsolete” or “not to be worn,” so stand tall and enjoy the Ooh’s and Aah’s!

Thanks so much for finding me, and for writing. I hope you’ll join the ranks of the many thousands of Scouters and Scouts who read my columns week in and week out.
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Dear Andy,

I’m a Scoutmaster with a real dilemma, and it’s imminent! I’m hoping you can help, even though I’ve never read about anything like this in any of your other columns.

In out troop, the Scouts sign up for summer Scout camp by patrol. This has worked well for several years, but not this year.

We have four patrols—the Zombies, the Wolverines and the Spartans (we’re in Michigan), and the Super Dudes—and they’re not all the same size, which is pretty normal for our troop.

Three of our patrols are pretty good! All six Zombies, five of the six Wolverines, and seven of the eight Spartans are signed up to go, but the Dudes have only two signed up. (Of course we have our SPL and his ASPL going, and they’ll be sharing one tent for themselves only.)

We’re okay for the Buddy System. Even-numbered patrols are a no-brainer and our odd-numbered patrols just create one “trip”—short for “triple”—three Scouts in their “buddy group”—because our troop has both two-man and three-man camping tents. But our overall numbers create a problem for summer camp because all tents are two-man only. Plus, the Super Dudes, with only two going, have too few going to be an effective patrol! This is where I don’t know what to do.

Do I split up the Dudes and assign one Scout to each of the odd-numbered patrols? Do I “borrow” a Scout from each of the odd-numbers to patch into the Dudes to make four, which is a viable size? Do I move the Dudes into the Zombies so that their have eight, which is manageable (they have a great Patrol Leader!)? No matter how I slice this, it just bugs me that it somehow just doesn’t seem right! If you have any suggestions on what I should do, I’d be really appreciative. Thanks! (John E. Moppe, SM, Michigan Crossroads Council)

Here’s the good news – You don’t have to make any decisions here, other than to talk this over with your Senior Patrol Leader. This way, at his very next PLC meeting, he can bring this up to the Patrol Leaders and get their input on how to handle this. Meanwhile, contact the camp director right away and ask whether he or she would allow you to move the tents in your troop’s campsite. If you get a Yes, patrols with “trips” can put two tents end-to-end; this way no Scout tents alone and two tents end-to-end together can hold three Scouts. There may be other resolutions, too. These might include some stronger “recruiting” for the Super Dudes patrol to pick up at least two more Scouts. But—and this is a “biggie”—the most important thing is that this is the Scouts’ decision—by themselves, for themselves. This is democracy in action!

Happy Scouting!

Andy

Have a question? Facing a dilemma? Wondering where to find a BSA policy or guideline? Write to 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. 602 – 6/4/2019 – Copyright © Andy McCommish 2019]