________________________________________<\/p>\n
So here I am, with some time to spare between Scouting events, my family\u2019s goings-on, and business priorities. I\u2019m happily reading another issue of a Scouting blog\u2014an official one, in fact. I\u2019ve been reading its issues for some time now. Pretty good stuff, by-and-large. But this one\u2019s different. Near the bottom of a short piece on uniforming, here\u2019s what I come across\u2026<\/p>\n
\u201cThe BSA has never said and likely will never say that you must wear the field uniform at all times. If your unit is conducting a service project or taking a weekend backpacking trip, leave the field uniform shirt on the hanger at home.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n Well, yes\u2026 I\u2019m painfully aware that the Twelfth Edition (2009) of THE BOY SCOUT HANDBOOK has informed me that there\u2019s been a significant dilution of what I\u2019d considered a standard for the 99 years before its publication. Right there, on page 33, I read, \u201c\u2026wear your uniform to troop meetings, ceremonies like courts of honor, and most other indoor troop functions. When you\u2019re headed outdoors, you can pull on a T-shirt with Scout pants or shorts, or wear other clothing that is right for the events of the day.\u201d<\/p>\n But \u201cnever\u201d? Really?<\/p>\n I well remember the days when the handbook contained statements like \u201cThe uniform is designed for the outdoorsman\u201d and \u201cThe color and design of the Scout uniform make it the ideal clothing for outdoor adventures.\u201d Or do I? Maybe I\u2019d better check. After all, I\u2019ve rather ingloriously reached that wonderful age where memory \u201chiccups\u201d are more and more commonplace. So here I go\u2026<\/p>\n I still have my own HANDBOOK FOR BOYS\u2014the book that guided me for some seven years, and beyond. It was the Fifth Edition, first published in 1948 and not replaced until 1959. Mine was the sixth printing, in 1953\u2014the same year I became a Boy Scout.<\/p>\n So let\u2019s start with its cover\u2026 and there they are: Two Scouts and one Explorer sitting around a campfire. Hey, look! They\u2019re all in uniform! Turning to the chapter titled \u201cSigns of a Scout,\u201d I flip to pages 50 and 51. There it is: \u201cThe Scout Uniform\u2014What it Stands For\u2026 The Scout uniform stands for the out-of-doors<\/em> (italics in the handbook). It is made of rugged, tough material, that is suited for outdoor use\u2026 Wear it when you go Scouting\u2026 (and) in all Scouting activities such as Patrol, Troop, and Tribe meetings, hikes, camps, demonstrations, etc.\u201d I flip through other pages in my handbook, looking for Scouts in the outdoors who\u2019ve left their uniforms home, on hangers in the closet. Care to guess how many illustrations I found like this? Yup, you guessed right: None.<\/p>\n Hey, but that was back in ancient times! Maybe not the Jurassic Period, but pretty close to the Stone Age. Let\u2019s do some more searching. After all, \u201cnever\u201d can cover a lot of turf.<\/p>\n Now I\u2019m looking at the Sixth Edition (1959-1965). There\u2019s the cover again, with a Scout in full uniform. Hey, wait a minute\u2014what\u2019s this? He\u2019s wearing a\u2026it can\u2019t be\u2026a backpack! Maybe he\u2019s wearing it to a troop meeting? Nope, I don\u2019t think so, because, in the background there are other scenes of Scouts camping and hiking and such\u2026and they\u2019re in their uniforms too. I turn to page 20: \u201cYour uniform is a part of the thrill of being a Scout. The moment you put it on you feel ready for hike or camp or other vigorous activity\u2026 The (uniform) color blends with the hues of forest and field.\u201d What, you mean the color wasn\u2019t designed to blend with the motley array of stuff in my closet, or with the inside of a troop meeting room? Well how about that!<\/p>\n But hey, we\u2019re still in the dark ages. Six more editions of the handbook have been published since these two. I\u2019d better do some more checking, even though that little remark about \u201cThe BSA has never said you should wear your uniform at all times\u201d has already been proven inaccurate.<\/p>\n The Seventh Edition ran from 1965 to 1972. The cover of this one shows three Scouts on the trail, with backpacks. They\u2019re in uniform, too, but I can\u2019t see their pants. Maybe, like so many Scouts today, they\u2019re wearing jeans, khakis, or something else below the waist? Gotta check some more here\u2026<\/p>\n Turns out, all the illustrations show Scouts in the out-of-doors in uniform (I guess they haven\u2019t forgotten the Scout pants and shorts after all!). And there is it, on page 56: \u201cPut on your uniform and immediately you feel ready for hiking and camping.\u201d I read on. Page 57: \u201cThe uniform (is) the clothing of the outdoorsman.\u201d Well, that seems pretty clear to me! But we\u2019re not done yet\u2026<\/p>\n The Eighth Edition (1972-1979) represented a complete revamping of the Boy Scout program, and had two different covers (the second one arriving in about 1977). The illustrations, while newly drawn, continued to show uniformed Scouts in camping and hiking settings. But the language on uniforming (page 14) got shorter and less specific: \u201cYour uniform is neat, yet tough. It will give good service during the years you are a Scout.\u201d The version with the second cover says even less, but the cover itself now clearly tells the story: There\u2019s our Scout, in his uniform, and\u2014guess what\u2014he\u2019s carrying a backpack.<\/p>\n Next, I move to a more contemporary era. The Ninth Edition (1979-1990) was entirely rewritten by none other than William \u201cGreen Bar Bill\u201d Hillcourt. Let\u2019s take a look at the cover. It\u2019s by Norman Rockwell, depicting Scouts on a camp-out, and guess what they\u2019re wearing\u2014Scout uniforms! On page 52 Bill returned to earlier language: \u201cWearing the Scout Uniform\u2014Wear it at all patrol and troop meetings, hikes, camps, and rallies.\u201d<\/p>\n In the Tenth Edition (1990-1998), \u201cwearing your Scout uniform\u201d moved to the back of the book (pages 566-567) but the language held fast: \u2018Wear your complete uniform proudly and correctly at all Scouting events\u2026At patrol and troop meetings, hikes, camps, and rallies.\u201d<\/p>\n The Eleventh Edition (1998-2009) changed the language but not the intent (pages 12-13): \u201cThe uniform\u2026might be brand new, or it might be an experienced uniform already worn by another Scout to many meetings and campouts\u2026wear your uniform proudly whenever you are taking part in Scout activities\u2026\u201d But this edition for the first time offers an alternative: \u201cFor outdoor activities, Scouts may wear troop or camp T-shirts with the Scout pants or shorts.\u201d<\/p>\n So I guess our blogger was right\u2026and wrong. Yes, today pretty much anything goes; it\u2019s no longer important to look like a Scout when you\u2019re out and about, even though the current uniform pants, with their zip-off legs (converting them to shorts) suggest that these have been made for rugged outdoor use more than for the \u201cceremonial\u201d stuff that happens indoors. But that little remark about \u201cnever\u201d is completely mistaken. For nearly one hundred years, the idea and ideal of wearing the uniform of out movement remained steadfast.<\/p>\n Today, the BSA continues to state: \u201cSince 1910, the Boy Scout uniform has been a recognizable part of the American scene. Wearing the uniform helps boys develop a sense of belonging to their patrol and troop. It reinforces the fact that all members of the BSA are equal to one another.\u201d The uniform, in fact is one of the eight stated methods of Scouting, employed to achieve the movement\u2019s aims of character development, citizenship training, and mental and physical fitness.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n With this in mind, let\u2019s do some quick arithmetic. The average Scout in a normal troop will spend approximately 600 to 700 hours a year involved in Scouting activities, including indoor meetings (troop and patrol meetings, courts of honor, etc.) and outdoor activities (hikes, camp-outs, summer camp, etc.). Of this total time, about 10% will be indoor; 90% will be in the out-of-doors. Based on the recent de-emphasis, the uniform, as a Method of Scouting, can be put to work only about 10% of the total time a boy is involved in Scouting activities. For the remaining 90% of the time, this method is completely absent.<\/p>\n Suppose we applied this \u201c10%\u201d guideline to some of the other Methods of Scouting. What would that mean? What would happen? What would Scouting look like? The answers are\u2026well, you can make up your own mind. Here are a few. How effective and fun would Scouting be if\u2026 Sound silly? You bet! But even worse, it sounds like the most dull and boring program you could possibly design. So much for character development, citizenship training, and the rest.<\/p>\n B-P put it this way: \u201cYes, a boy can be a Scout, without a uniform. But what boy, with Scouting in his heart, wouldn\u2019t want to wear his Scout uniform?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n Happy Scouting!<\/strong> Andy<\/strong><\/em> 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\u2019d prefer to be anonymous, if published, let me know and that\u2019s what we\u2019ll do.)<\/strong><\/p>\n [No. 366 \u2013 10\/13\/2013 \u2013 Copyright \u00a9 Andy McCommish 2013]<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" ________________________________________ So here I am, with some time to spare between Scouting events, my family\u2019s goings-on, and business priorities. I\u2019m happily reading another issue of a Scouting blog\u2014an official one, in fact. I\u2019ve been reading its issues for some time now. Pretty good stuff, by-and-large. But this one\u2019s different. Near the bottom of a short […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1544","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-21"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1544","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1544"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1544\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1547,"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1544\/revisions\/1547"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1544"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1544"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1544"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n\uf0d8 Every 10-hour day hike takes the equivalent of 2-1\/2 work-weeks of indoor meetings to prepare for.
\n\uf0d8 Each year, one in ten Scouts earns a rank or merit badge.
\n\uf0d8 Of some 40 troop meetings in the average \u201cScout year,\u201d the Scoutmaster shows up for four.
\n\uf0d8 In the entire seven years a boy is in a troop, he gets to be a leader for eight months.
\n\uf0d8 For every week of summer camp, it takes the equivalent of nine solid indoor-only work-weeks to prepare.<\/p>\n
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