Issue 645 – June 23, 2020

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Hi Andy,

Last week, while your answer to John Walker about current camping protocols was correct, it was incomplete. The BSA has guidelines that have been specifically put out on how to count “virtual camping” toward advancement, and also for Order of the Arrow camping requirements. As always, it’s great to get your columns—Thanks! (Carl Whitaker, UC, Heart of Virginia Council)

It’s always great to hear from you, and even better when I learn I didn’t mess up (too badly)! I mostly try to stick to the question asked, and spend as little time as possible blathering about larger implications, but your information is definitely important in this case, so thanks for taking the time to write!
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Dear Andy,

I’ve been teaching knot-tying (and untying!), lashings, etc. for a ton of years and that question a few weeks back about what’s the “strongest” knot is really sort of trick question. If we assume that “strongest” means the knot that would weaken the rope the least, it’s still a toughie. I’m tempted to fall back on the safety of the knot, rated by its likelihood of being tied incorrectly.

The bowline is out both because it isn’t really for joining ropes and it’s also easy to tie incorrectly. (The bowline has been known to come untied even when used by highly experienced climbers.)

So if I’m going to be more concerned about the knot holding than the rope breaking, I’m opting for a re-threaded figure eight with stoppers. Second place for me would be to skip the stoppers, and third place goes to the double fisherman’s knot.

But if I’m more concerned about the rope not breaking at the knot, then I’d go with a simple overhand, because it involves the least change in rope direction and thus likely the least wearing knot. (Kirk Wood)

That’s a lot to think about… Thanks for tasking the time to figure it through and then write!
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Hi Andy,

Here in the midst of Covid-19 shut-downs, sheltering, and distancing, the BSA has offered both Scouts and Scouters ways to manage advancement and keep it moving forward safely. Our own and other neighboring troops in our district are managing pretty well. Our Scouts continue to advance in rank and earn merit badges, but once they’re Life rank, they’re very likely to hit a stone wall.

The “stone wall” is the district advancement committee member who has the assignment of reviewing service projects for Eagle Scout rank.

This guy is a long-time Scouter and I’ll mention right now that he’s retired and he has a home computer, internet access, and an email account. Here’s why those last four items are important…

For Eagle project proposals, to begin with, this guy refuses to accept anything emailed to him and—now in this Covid situation—he refuses to meet in-person.

For proposals, he insists that Scouts mail him a paper document, which he will then review, add his commentary, and mail back to the Scout. This can take at least several weeks; meanwhile, the Scout is simply stuck cooling his heels. If a Scout were to phone him to find out when he might get around to that Scout’s proposal, he rudely admonishes the Scout for “annoying” him by calling (“I’m a busy man, and you’re interrupting me,” is a frequent chastisement, so our Scouts tell me).

On top of all this, this guy refuses to meet face-to-face with any Scout—even when the Scout asserts that he’ll be wearing a face mask. And he won’t “meet virtually” either, even though Zoom, Skype, and so on are easily available.

One of our Scouts—let’s call him “Scotty”—has followed this guy’s “rules” to the letter. After waiting well over a month, he finally received his project proposal back. It wasn’t approved (even though, of course, all other signatures—mine, our committee chair, and the beneficiary—were already in place).

There are no problems with Scotty’s concept, work-steps, anticipated end-result, or anything else…except: This guy won’t approve it until Scotty rewrites it so that it includes explanations of how “social distancing,” “maximum group size,” and all other Covid-dictated requirements will be carried out for each and every step of his project.

So not only must Scotty rewrite his proposal but he also must obtain all three preliminary signature approvals a second time, and then mail it to this guy and wait for several or more weeks till he gets around to it again.

We talked about this among ourselves—troop committee and I—and we reached out to the beneficiary, our sponsor’s pastor. We all feel strongly that this rewrite isn’t necessary because the proposal describes the work to be done and by whom, and there’s nothing that says that a Scout must include how his helpers will do it.

For instance, the proposal says that three walls will be painted by the helpers. To us, this seems sufficient. But this DAC guy wants Scotty to include how the paint will be distributed safely, the distance between all painters, facemasks including who will provide them and when they will be worn, transportation safety, and so on, for all steps and tasks.

On top of this, the DAC guy wants Scotty to mail him both the original and the revised proposals, so that he can compare and contrast them to assure that all needed revisions have been made.

Our position is that adaptations required by social distancing would make far better sense (to say nothing of efficiency) as part of the post-project report, where the Scout can describe how he modified his plan to fit changing circumstances. Moreover, we feel this up-front demand is effectively “adding to requirements”—a huge BSA prohibition.

We’ve thought of approaching this guy ourselves, but our Scouts tell us that this guy regularly gives off the vibe of being really teed off that he has to “make accommodations” for our current Covid circumstances, and makes it plain that it’s the Scouts’ job to make up for this problem, so that he’s “less annoyed.” This makes us hesitant to proceed along this path, because it might create a nasty backwash against other Scouts seeking service project approval.

If you have any thoughts on where to go with this, we’d appreciate any and all ideas. (Concerned Scoutmaster & Committee—Council Withheld)

Thanks for writing to me. Yup, definitely a mess. Here’s a way to fix it…

In the official Eagle Scout Service Project Proposal portion of the ESSP Workbook-2020 (BSA File No. 512-927), there’s a section labeled “Safety Issues.” It says, “Describe the hazards and safety concerns you and your helpers should be aware of.”

This means that Scotty absolutely does not need to re-write all of the steps he’s listed. Instead, he simply uses this section to describe the Covid-19 concerns that he and his helpers need to be aware of while carrying out the project. While this is all that’s necessary—regardless of what the DAC gentleman has requested—Scotty might want to mention that the “6 Foot Rule” and the use of facemasks and sanitizing gel will be followed by himself and all helpers.

Scotty should honor the request for mailing both copies, but I strongly recommend that you and your Committee Chair also send both, along with the note requesting changes, to the chair of your district advancement committee. And I’m urging you both to give that chair the background, so that it’s clear that a signature is needed and now is better than sometime in the unknown future.

There’s also a second step your troop can employ that will help Scouts like Scotty cut through the nonsense and knock down that road block…

There are two adult volunteers every troop should have: Eagle Mentor and Eagle Coach.

Your troop’s Eagle Mentor is appointed by your committee to be a guide, coach, and advocate for all Scouts—from the day they earn Life rank through to the eve of their Eagle court of honor. Interestingly, the Eagle Mentor needn’t be a registered BSA member or even a troop parent, although it’s sure not a bad idea to ask him or her to register as a committee member—this could come in handy. (Note: The BSA “Eagle Scout Mentor” pin isn’t restricted to only those appointed to this position.)

Your Eagle Coach is also an appointee, with a more specific responsibility. Your Eagle Coach will support and advocate for Life Scouts through—specifically—the Eagle Scout Service Project process. The Eagle Coach is a special registered BSA membership position for your troop (but this doesn’t have to be a “uniformed” position).

Both of these positions will collaborate with each other in getting to know and build some bridges with the Scouters on the district advancement committee, and concurrently keep a watchful eye on and become an advocate for every Scout in your troop going for Eagle.

I’ll stop here, but if you want more information on how each of these positions can mentor Scouts and also guard them against abusive treatment from martinets, just let me know.

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. 645 – 6/23/2020 – Copyright © Andy McCommish 2020]