________________________________________ Hi Andy, About your recent viewpoints on learning and applying The Patrol Method, I could swear that one of the purposes of IOLS (Introduction to Outdoor Living Skills) is to do exactly this! In fact, that’s what the introduction to this training component—required for all Scoutmasters and assistants—says, and here’s the quote: “Specifically, this […]

  ________________________________________ Seven years and 266 issues ago I wrote a piece called “EAGLE—IT’S A NO-BRAINER!” A lot has happened since then, and a bunch of readers have asked me for an update. So here it is… This is for all Scouts BSA troop members but especially for the girls who joined beginning February 1st […]

________________________________________ Hi Andy, One of the requirements for the rank of Scout states that one must “Explain the patrol method” (req. 3a). Yet Scouts BSA can’t seem to say what The Patrol Method is in any accurate or coherent way (I checked the Scout Handbook before writing to you). Topping this, explaining The Patrol Method […]

________________________________________ Hi Andy, I’m a military veteran and former Scout. As Chair of the State of Michigan American Legion’s Scouting Committee, I regularly write articles for our Legion newspaper. I work hard at encouraging our Legion posts across the state to charter and sponsor Scouting units, but sometimes I feel I need a quote from […]

________________________________________ Hi Andy, Our brand new Scouts BSA troop for girls is growing faster than we imagined. We were just four potential Scouts before January and, as the real kickoff has happened, we’ll quickly be at 14! Where it liked like we might be a single patrol we’re going to start off with two! As […]

________________________________________ Dear Andy, I’m a former Boy Scout (Life rank) who got back into Scouting with my oldest son seven years ago. When he graduated from his Cub Scout pack three years ago, I allowed him to pick the troop of his choice, even though I knew it was poorly run—and still is—but that was […]

________________________________________ Hi Andy, In our pack, we have a Cub Scout who’s currently in the 6th grade (middle school), and he’s 9 years old. He started in our pack as a 3rd-grader, at age 6 (his school “skipped” him through kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd grades, based on their evaluations of his intellectual capacity), so, when […]

________________________________________ What’s the difference between this issue and 584 (without the “a”)? Check the SPECIAL NOTE includes in my answer to the last question here…the one about “camping nights.” ======================================== Hi Andy, On that question about how to “tent” an odd number of Scouts, my troop has used double-door “Timberline II’s” for that situation. The […]

________________________________________ Hi Andy, On that question about how to “tent” an odd number of Scouts, my troop has used double-door “Timberline II’s” for that situation. The Scouts pitch two of these tents door-to-door, with a slight offset for entering and exiting. (Thomas Linton) Great idea! Thanks!!! ========== Hi Andy, In that case of an adult […]

________________________________________ Hi Andy, I attended an Eagle Scout court of honor today. The new Eagle gave out five (FIVE!) Eagle Scout Mentor pins and apologized that he couldn’t distribute more. Two of the recipients were his boss in his part-time job and a teacher who arranged and led three foreign trips that he went on. […]