Dear Andy, I was the Scoutmaster for our troop for three years and left for an overseas assignment two years ago. I’m back now, and have discovered that while I was gone the man who replaced me as Scoutmaster did very little to sustain the troop as a Scout-run operation. Since I’ve returned and am […]

I was happily munching a deliciously moist slab of carrot cake with a cream cheese icing of glacial thickness at a pack’s Blue & Gold a few days ago, thanking my lucky stars for this once-a-year “Commissioner perk” when the parent of a graduating Arrow-of-Light Scout asked me, “So let’s see here…since there are six […]

Hi Andy, My Scout son made a very bad decision by bringing an “adult” magazine on a camp-out. Are there any BSA rules that could be used to have him removed from the troop? He’s a good kid but made a very poor choice. The other boy, who asked him to bring the magazine, is […]

Dear Andy, We have a Star Scout who’s our troop Scribe right now and has had two previous, successful terms as Quartermaster. He’s 14. He’s outstanding in service to others, camping, and overall participation. He’s been a Troop Guide at Webelos Woods and District Camporees, and last summer successfully completed NYLT (National Youth Leadership Training) […]

Happy Valentine’s Day  Every now and again, my email portal brings a letter saying thanks for helping with this or that, and they’re always a pleasure to read and to share with my wife—they’re the best paycheck a volunteer in Scouting or any service-driven endeavor can ever get. But this one is a doozie. It’s […]

Hi Andy, Our council just hired a couple new professionals. One of them was introduced to our district committee the other night. This guy has been “in the profession,” as they say, for 17 years and for some reason we don’t understand, he’s proud of the fact that he’s been in five different councils! Five? […]

Hi Andy, The Scoutmaster of our troop wants to replace the Senior Patrol Leader with a Scout of his own choice, even though this SPL was elected only seven weeks ago, because, according to the Scoutmaster, “The Scout can’t cut it.” We’re now in the midst of a discussion between the troop’s adult leaders and […]

Hi Andy, At a recent Roundtable, our district’s Advancement Committee Chair stated that he has a problem with 13 year-old Eagle Scout candidates, because they’re not mature and have usually been by their parents to make Eagle fast, because the parents want high-performing kids. He went on to say that what he usually does is […]

Major Richard Winters, whose quiet leadership in WWII was chronicled in the acclaimed “Band of Brothers,” died on January 2nd. He was 92. “Easy” E Company of the 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division of the U.S. Army entered the ETO on D-Day 1944. In September that year the Company, led by […]

Dear Andy, Scouting units are supposed to do annual service projects for their sponsors. A Rotary Club sponsors our troop. They don’t have a building or any physical property (we have permission to meet weekly in a local school, even though the school isn’t our sponsor). So how do we do service projects for our […]