________________________________________ (Yes, I’m up and running again, thanks to our fabulous USSSP “team”! Here’s a November column I couldn’t post until now. Others are right behind this one!) Here are some comments on troop-level merit badge “classes,” merit badge fairs, and such, from a few weeks ago… Hi Andy, At a recent troop committee-and-parent meeting, […]

________________________________________ Yup, I actually do take vacations, and one is coming up starting tomorrow. I’ll be back with more answers on November 12th. So, in the meantime… Happy Scouting! Andy

________________________________________ Hi Andy, I read with interest your reply a couple of weeks ago about merit badge “colleges.” Your thoughts on their value (or lack of) mirrored my own experience with them. Earlier this year I was asked to “teach” a merit badge at our council’s Merit Badge College. Knowing full well that, if I […]

________________________________________ Last week’s issue featured a letter from a fictitious “Scout Mom”—Mrs. Ima Koddler—voicing a plethora of complaints about how her twin 17 year-old Life rank, lackadaisical sons—Brawley and Crawley—were being hindered in her (not their!) quest to shove them through to Eagle rank. That letter—with true scenarios based on letters I’ve received over the […]

________________________________________ Dear Andy, I’ve hit a big road-block and don’t know where to turn. I hope you can help me. My twin sons, Brawley and Crawley, are Life Scouts and 17 years old. They have just a little bit to go, and their 18th birthday is only about three weeks away! Brawley has everything done. […]

________________________________________ Hi Andy, Every year, our council holds a “Merit Badge College” for Scouts. It’s done classroom-style and attendance is usually pretty good. Lots of Scouts show up, especially for some of the Eagle-required merit badges. But this year, there’s a new rule that we haven’t had before. The Council Advancement Chair is instituting a […]

________________________________________ Hi Andy, In last week’s column you said to Scouts: “For each merit badge you’d like to earn, go to your Scoutmaster first, and tell him of your interest. After a brief chat with you, your Scoutmaster will give you a signed Blue Card along with the name and contact information for at least […]

________________________________________ Navigating the course to EAGLE – A Few Hints My column last week apparently struck some chords. Thanks to all of you readers who let me know I was on the right track! Here are a couple of letters from you all… Hi Andy, I always look forward to Ask Andy but I loved […]

________________________________________ EAGLE – An Attainable Goal! Seven years and 290 issues ago I first wrote this piece. Since then, an entire generation of Scouts has moved on, “Scout” has been added as a seventh rank, and we now have girls in Scouts BSA troops. It’s time for an update. For any Scout interested in advancement […]

Hi Andy, We need your help. The current “SCOUTING” magazine has an article in it called “Ethics,” sub-titled “Pest Control,” on page 16. One of the things it talks about is the Patrol Leaders Council assigning two Scouts to an existing patrol that already has seven Scouts in it. We’ve talked this over in our […]