Issue 646 – June 30, 2020

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Dear Andy,

Unlike other Scouts in his troop, my son (let’s call him “David”) decided to complete his Eagle Service Project before taking care of other requirements like merit badges, tenure-in-position, and so forth. His project was a success and his merit badges came along just fine, but tenure-in-position has become a problem and we don’t know where to turn.

David really wanted to complete his tenure-in-position as Senior Patrol Leader and was willing to wait till the next semi-annual election came around, this past January. He was chosen by his fellow Scouts to be their next SPL and his term started on February 1st. Okay so far, but when he spoke with his Scoutmaster the other day (they did their conference on “Zoom”), David was told that, because of the coronavirus shut-down on March 11th, he really hasn’t performed any of his responsibilities as Senior Patrol Leader since then. Effectively, his Scoutmaster told him, David has been credited with only a little more than a month of service as SPL; David will need almost five months more and who knows when that will start, so, for him, Eagle is on hold. What I’m worried about is that, if this “hold” continues in place for significant time, David’s Eagle will have flown out the window when he hits his 18th birthday.

To me—I’m an Eagle Scout and was both a Patrol Leader and Senior Patrol Leader—this isn’t right. I remember that my own troop went “dark” over the summer months, except for a week at camp, but all Scouts who held or were elected to positions prior to that got “credit” for July and August, just like they would for any lengthy holiday or school break. I’ve already had a quiet conversation with David’s Scoutmaster, but the gentleman is intransigent on this subject. And we’re not just talking about my own son! To be “fair to all,” every other Scout in the troop who holds a position of responsibility—Quartermaster, Patrol Leaders, Troop Guides, even the Bugler—has had their “tenure in position” put on hold, effective March 11th till the troop becomes “active” in-person again. This approach to boys’ ambitions in circumstances completely beyond their control is, to me, untenable. Is there anything I can do to set this right for every Scout in the troop? I assure you, Scouting taught me to stand straight when I know a wrong must be righted. (Scout Father [with a spine])

Thanks for writing, and for providing details I can work with. Yes, you’re right. Yes, there’s something worth doing that shouldn’t lead to floundering in a quagmire of conflicting opinions and viewpoints. Here’s what to do…

Go online and grab onto the BSA’s GUIDE TO ADVANCEMENT-2019. There are two URLs you can use: https://www.scouting.org/resources/guide-to-advancement/ or https://filestore.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/33088.pdf. Once there, go to page 23. There’s a bordered “copy block” on the top-left. Here’s the key part of the statement there: “…if a unit takes time off it must count that time toward the Scout’s active participation requirement. The Scout must not be penalized because the unit has chosen not to meet or conduct other activities for a period of time.”

This language exists mostly because many troops go “dark” for the summer months, usually with the exception of summer camp. The BSA absolutely doesn’t want our adult volunteers creating their own “rules” that will do nothing but screw up the Scouts they’re supposed to be serving and supporting. This is one of those times, and this statement is the one that’s needed so that this Scoutmaster doesn’t ruin things for the Scouts in this troop.

Print out that page, use a neon marker to highlight the statements I quoted, and sit down with this guy over a cup of coffee. Show it to him, tell him what David told you he said, and ask him if he’s ever seen this. When he says no, ask him how he’s going to let the Scouts know that all of their positions will be counted, and—here’s the kicker—how you can help him set this straight.

If you don’t get an immediate, positive response, plan to make your next stop the troop’s Committee Chair (yes, the Scoutmaster reports to the CC), and repeat the conversation and your offer, with a mention that the Scoutmaster will have to be told he’s got it wrong.

If you don’t get action, you have two options. They are…

Take this directly to the Chair of your council’s Advancement Committee, describe what you’ve told me, and tell him or her that this need a fix—council-wide.

If this still doesn’t work, you and David need to find a new troop. Let me know, and we’ll work out how best to do that. Go for it, Brother Eagle!
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Hi Andy,

“No troop meeting tonight” was the message a Scoutmaster friend of mine just sent out (it’s about 4 o’clock on a Thursday afternoon). He followed his headline with his reason for this abrupt notice: He has a late-afternoon business meeting today that will run into dinner and beyond, so he doesn’t have time to set up the”Zoom” meeting or be there for it.

Although we’re both Scouters, I called him more as a neighbor and friend, to find out a little more.

Yes, the troop has a Webmaster; in fact, it’s this Scout who showed my friend how to set up and run Zoom meetings. The troop also has a pretty sharp 16-year-old Senior Patrol Leader and a 17-year-old Junior Assistant Scoutmaster, both of whom know how to run troop meetings (the JASM was SPL before the current Scout). I know all three of these Scouts through our church, the troop’s sponsor, and they’re all intelligent, responsible, and quick-thinking young men, so I was shocked when my friend told me he called off the meeting because—yup, he actually said this—he doesn’t trust the Scouts to run a decent meeting. “Besides,” he told me, “I’m the only one who has the agenda, and I don’t have time to go over it with any of the other troop leaders” (by “troop leaders,” he meant adults; not Scouts).

I’m aghast. But I’m not their Unit Commissioner and I’m not on the District Training Team. I really have no authority to set my friend straight and tell him flat-out that he’s got to start delegating.

I’m not sure where to turn, and the clock’s ticking… What, if anything, can I do? (Crusty Old Scouter Who Still Remembers the Basics, Mountain Aire Council, MT)

Well, COSWSRtB, today you can’t do anything. This misguided Scoutmaster has mucked things up enough for today.

Tomorrow or so, sit down over a cup of coffee (with facemasks, of course) and have a chat with your friend (out of uniform—you don’t need “authority” to help a friend and besides, Scouting isn’t about authority anyway!). If he’s new in the Scoutmaster slot—which I’m betting—it’s pretty likely he hasn’t been trained for the job. If the troop has a decent Unit Commissioner, that’s probably the best person to get on-the-job training from, so see if your friend knows about the UC function in a district and then help connect these two. If not the UC, there’s probably someone on the district training team just itching to help someone get their training! Find this person and help your friend make that connection. Or, of course, you could probably do part of this yourself, if you wanted to.

He also needs to get himself the three-volume set of TROOP LEADER GUIDEs. You, using your set (you have one, right?) can focus on specifically selected sections of the TLG to “coach” your friend to success!

The key thing he’s way off on is that he doesn’t yet get it that THE SCOUTS ALWAYS COME FIRST. Scouts should ALWAYS be running their own troop meetings and patrol meetings—how else do they put what their Scoutmaster teaches them to good use, for goodness sakes! So if he can’t be there, no big deal! Just get another adult volunteer (an ASM is, of course, the perfect candidate for this!) to deliver the “Scoutmaster’s Minute” at the end of the meeting and he’s all set!

Which leads to this next point: Does he know that, as Scoutmaster, his one and only speaking moment in the entire meeting is the Scoutmaster’s Minute? (And it better last 60 seconds!)

That’s right—He needs to get it firmly in his head and heart that the leader of all troop meetings is the highest-ranking youth leader in the troop: The SENIOR PATROL LEADER. (In other words, if he took on the Scoutmaster’s role with the vision that he’ll be in charge and “master” of a bunch o’ kids in tan shirts, he’s got it all wrong and he’ll have a miserable experience—to say nothing of the Scouts!)

Some aids and think-pieces that may help you coach him include the Troop Meeting Plan (an online search will take you to it), the BSA TROOP LEADER GUIDEs I recommended, and several of my prior columns, starting here: Why Young Americans Need Scouting @ http://netcommissioner.com/askandy/2016/02/issue-475-february-23-2016/

Troops ultimately die when the adult volunteers put their own convenience before the Scouts. But the Scoutmaster is key – When he or she gets it right, everything works for the Scouts, and that’s the way it’s supposed to work!

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. 646 – 6/30/2020 – Copyright © Andy McCommish 2020]