Issue 644 – June 16, 2020

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Hi Andy,

Given the restrictions now in place as a result of our country’s Covid-19 circumstances, do you think there’s any room for exceptions to the “camping nights” requirements for rank advancement and Camping merit badge? For instance, do you think the BSA would say it’s okay for a Scout to count camping nights from family camping trips instead of with his patrol or troop? (John E. Walker, SM)

Good question. Here’s my educated guess—Not a chance! The only time the BSA ever considers “bending” the language of a requirement is for a Scout who is dealing with a certified permanent mental or physical disability and, even then, while alternate merit badges may be allowed the requirements of same must be fulfilled as written.

So be sure follow all requirements exactly as written. This way, nobody gets disappointed and everybody knows they absolutely did everything with 100% integrity, and that’s a darned good feeling to have!
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Hi Andy,

Thanks to your suggestions and the plan you laid out for them, my grandsons—did I mention one of them is in the autism spectrum?—did stop going to meetings at that hide-bound, emotionally crippling troop they’d been in through Life Scout rank, and then they did started checking out other troops in our neighborhood. But they keep telling their parents and me that they haven’t found a troop they’re “comfortable with. It looks like, at this point, they’re just going to quit Scouts altogether.

It really saddens all of us, me especially, because they’re third-generation Scouts. Both my sons—including the one who’s their dad—are Eagle Scouts and both my daughters earned the Gold Award; my husband was an Eagle Scout and so was his own father!

My second daughter, who is at USC, has chosen to volunteer as a leader for a troop that meets on-campus. She credits her Girl Scout experience for so many things! Both of my sons are community volunteers because “helping those in need” was such a strong part of their own Scouting experience.

I don’t think there’s a lot I or their parents can do to convince these two otherwise fine and intelligent boys that the nonsense they endured for five years doesn’t exist in other troops and they owe it to themselves to stay Scouts and complete their goals of earning Eagle. Do you have any ideas at all that might help? (Frustrated Grandmother)

Here’s a little secret you need to tell your grandsons about…

Any Scouting professional will tell you that the volunteers they seek out for always working the hardest are those who ended up their boyhood Scouting “career” at Life rank—just like they are, now. Here’s why Life Scouts make the best adult volunteers: They’re spending a lifetime of regret and they’ll take on any and all Scouting “jobs” in the hope that this will make up for their not making it to Eagle.

Here’s more—Every single man I’ve ever met who ended his Scout career short of Eagle always and without fail adds word “only” when I ask him what rank he was… “Oh, only Life..” “…only Star” “…only Second Class.” And they don’t look me in the eye when they say this.

Then look your grandsons in the eye and ask them, “Is this really how you want to spend the rest of your lives? …Only Life?”

(Be sure to read this next question—and show it to your grandsons)
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Hi Andy,

Is there any such thing as an over-the-hill Life Scout (68 years old) being able to finish up the remaining merit badges to become an Eagle Scout? Thanks! (Steve Douglass)

I wish there were a way to do this, but the BSA established the last day of being 17 as the deadline back in the mid-1960’s. So unless there were extraordinarily exceptional circumstances completely beyond this Life Scout’s control back around 1970—circumstances for which he can file an appeal with the BSA National Office—it’s over, sadly.
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Good morning Andy,

For the BSA’s Troop Journey to Excellence (“JTE”) scorecard, if a boy or girl who’s already a Scout joins a troop, and they have a rank (Scout, Tenderfoot, etc.) does that count toward the new troop’s advancement points? (John Burnham, SM)

Best to check with your local commissioner or district executive. In the meantime, here’s my guess—A transferring Scout will give your troop credit for adding a new youth, and then you’d get credit for a rank advancement as soon as he or she earns that new rank as a member of your troop.
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Hi Andy,

I could use a little advice here. This is a sorta long back-story, so settle in…

I’m the Scoutmaster for our troop, a year-and-a-quarter into this position. The Scoutmaster before me (I’m going to call him “Bob”) started a Venturing crew—for which he became the Crew Advisor, a position akin to Scoutmaster. This crew was chartered through the same sponsor and actually uses the same unit numbers as our now Scouts BSA troop and our Cub Scout pack.

Up till recently, as our youth have moved through these programs and their ranks, there have always been a few sisters hanging around, most of them in a Girl Scout (GSUSA) program until they were age/grade eligible to become Venturers.

We pretty much figured out that, since Bob had a daughter of his own, he’d actually set up the Venturing crew for his daughter and her Girl Scout friends. Several of these girls have known some of the boys who are Scouts in our troop all the way back to first grade. While these two units—the troop and the crew—are kept distinct and separate, in a lot of folks’ minds they’re intertwined. In fact, this Venturing crew—because it’s co-ed—has “poached” a lot of our troop’s Scouts. (In fairness, I should mention that this crew has picked up other members from other Scouts BSA and GSUSA troops, too.)

So here we are: I have two brothers—the older one a Life Scout and the younger just starting out, and we’ll call them “Gus” and “Max”—who have two sisters in the crew. These four have a single mom. For efficiency, she has taken to dropping off all three of the older ones—Gus and his two sisters—at the crew meetings, but only Max at troop meetings. Gus is still registered with our troop, but we haven’t seen him in six months!

So, since Gus is “active” with the crew, but not with the troop, when it comes time for his Eagle rank Scoutmaster’s conference, how do I honestly say he’s been involved with the troop to meet the rank’s “active” requirement? Or would it be better if he finishes up his Eagle requirements with the crew, and, if so, should he register with the crew instead? (Thanks, Lee Murray, SM, Nevada Area Council)

Occam’s Razor tells us this is primarily about a Life Scout on his way to Eagle, who’s having more fun in the crew than he did in the troop, otherwise, he’d be insisting on getting dropped off with his brother, Max. (Make no mistake, co-ed is a HUGE draw! And that’s just fine!)

Since it’s perfectly okay to complete one’s advancement to Eagle as a Venturing crew member, the simplest way to go here is for Gus to either double-register with the crew (yup, it’s “legal”) or just transfer his membership from the troop to the crew. Either way works. The key is to be sure he, as a Life Scout, has six months’ tenure in a position of responsibility with either the troop or the crew.

For the Scoutmaster conference, there’s no need to wait! Have a chat with Gus right now, and find out what he’d like to do; this way, you can help him make it happen (remember that your “job” Mister Scoutmaster, is to OPEN gates for your Scouts—it’s not to be “the gatekeeper,” with lock and key in your hands.)

By the way, there’s no rule that says you can conference with a Scout only when all requirements are completed, or even only once! You can conference anytime you or any Scout wants to! It can last two minutes (“How’s Enviro-Sci merit badge coming along, Gus?” “Hey, you’re almost done with your Second Class requirements, Max… How can I help?”) or last ten minutes (but not more than 15), as needed.

Two other points that can help you…

In Scouting, when a youth transfers from one unit (or unit-type) to another, this isn’t “poaching”—This assures that the youth we’re all here to serve is STAYING WITH THE SCOUTING PROGRAM. This is what matters most; how it happens is tertiary at best.

With the new Scouts BSA for GIRLS program, your sponsor can have even one more youth-serving program—a Scouts BSA troop for girls! We already know that girls are flocking to Cub Scouts and having a blast! Now they have a place to go, all under the same “umbrella”! Have a chat with your sponsor and see what you can get started!

Please stay safe, stay healthy, and stay positive!
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.)

Although these columns are copyrighted, any reader has my permission to quote or reproduce any columns or column parts so long as you attribute authorship: “Ask Andy” by Andy McCommish.

[No. 644 – 6/16/2020 – Copyright © 2020 Andy McCommish]