Dear Andy, In that question about patrol food-shopping, you recommended that a designated Scout or two does the shopping, then brings the bill back to the patrolfor an equal-share reimbursement. Another way is to estimate the total bill in advance, build in a “safety amount,” and divide this among the patrol members, and then the […]

Hi Andy, In your May 10thcolumn, one of the correspondents mentioned that his son going for Eagle intended to use “Quartermaster ‘Mentor’—aScoutmaster-assigned leadership project” for his leadership requirement. A “Scoutmaster-assigned leadership project” can’t be used for Eagle; only for Star or Life ranks. For Eagle, a Scout must serve for a minimum of six months […]

Good morning Andy, Can you explain national’s position on hours needed for an Eagle project? The guidelines are vague and subject to interpretation, and the concern in our troop is that, if the guidelines are subject to interpretation by boards of review, then requirements for hours spent on identical projects can vary between Scouts, districts, […]

1914 marked the year the Boy Scouts of America first published its own version of the HANDBOOK FOR SCOUT MASTERS. While certainly a “how-to” guide for hands-on Scoutmastership, much as today’s editions, this book, uniquely, discusses at length the fundamental philosophy underpinning the Scouting movement. Importantly, this philosophy has changed little in the past 96 […]

Hi Andy, When the Cubs are bringing the flags to the front of the room on which side does the American flag go?Should the American flag lead and the pack flag follow?When carried, should the flag be at an angle to the bearer? (Art Aigner, CM, Greater Niagara Frontier Council, NY) If the Cubs are […]

When’s the last time your boss said to you, or you said to an employee or staff member, “Hey, show up on Saturday morning and there’ll be a ‘kicker’ in it for you,” or “If you take on this special assignment, you can plan on a nice bonus,” or “Do this and there’ll be a […]

Dear Andy, I’m a District Advancement Chair and have a problem with the four “historical” merit badges that the BSA has just reissued: Carpentry, Pathfinding, Signaling, and Tracking. Just where are we supposed to find Merit Badge Counselors for these? I’ve put out emails to our troop leaders and Commissioners, asking them to talk with […]

Dear Andy, I’m a Sea Scout leader, and it was with great excitement that I heard that National Youth Leadership Training (NYLT) will now be open to females. For years, there have been all these great opportunities in Scouting, but because they only accepted boys, I didn’t feel that I could send any of my […]

Dear Andy, I was going through my old Scout equipment the other day with my grandson. Even though I’ll be 58 this year I still have everything I used when Scouting was a big part of my life. My grandson, who’s just 6, was full of questions about everything. While we were taking my mess […]

Andy, As an Assistant Council Commissioner I visited a local troop and discovered that there are instances of boys having merit badges where the requirements were not met. In particular, parents that are registered Merit Badge Counselors had signed off their own son’s badges. Additionally, there were instances of merit badges earned at summer camp […]