{"id":2418,"date":"2019-02-26T21:49:22","date_gmt":"2019-02-27T02:49:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/?p=2418"},"modified":"2019-02-26T21:49:22","modified_gmt":"2019-02-27T02:49:22","slug":"issue-588-february-26-2019","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/2019\/02\/issue-588-february-26-2019\/","title":{"rendered":"Issue 588 \u2013 February 26, 2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

________________________________________
\nHi Andy,<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019m a military veteran and former Scout. As Chair of the State of Michigan American Legion\u2019s 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 someone they may know or respect, to get their attention and encourage them to consider this. So I\u2019m wondering if you can help me.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019m looking for re-printable quotes from famous military leaders about their Scouting experiences and how these benefited their military experiences.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The lists of famous military (active duty or veterans) with Scouting experience are long and honorable, but individual quotes are hard to come by. I\u2019m hoping that perhaps with your resources and influence, you could encourage folks to write a few words about the value of Scouting in their lives\u2014particularly their military lives and then send these to me, for publication. I know it’s a tall order, but if you could manage it, it would be a great help. Yours in Cheerful Service, Clyde Sinclair (Email: milegionscouting@usa.com<\/em>)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Thanks for writing to me! Let\u2019s start with getting something straight\u2026 I\u2019m a boots-on-the-ground sort of guy, so I\u2019m not at all certain I have much \u201cinfluence\u201d except to the extent that I try to provide accurate facts and decently thoughtful ideas for consideration to the folks who write to me. That said, let\u2019s take a look at what might be done here\u2026<\/p>\n

First, for folks reading this column \u2013 If you have a military background and Scouting too, please write directly to Clyde at the email address above, with your personal insights about what your Scouting experience gave you that served you well in the military.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s an example; it\u2019s second-hand but makes a valuable point. I once asked a former Scout I knew well, who had graduated from the U.S. Military Academy, earned his Ranger tab, served in Afghanistan (two tours), and is now a company commander, how Scouting\u2019s leadership emphasis helped him at West Point. He told me that, at West Point, \u201cMany of us had been Scouts and a lot of us were Eagle Scouts, so we all knew pretty much how to lead. But Scouting\u2019s \u2018Patrol Method\u2019 also taught us how to be great team-members, and that made a huge difference!\u201d<\/p>\n

In Michigan, there\u2019s one primary BSA council: the Michigan Crossroads Council (michiganscouting.org), headquartered in Lansing. This council has a fistful of service divisions, so that sharing with the main council what you’ve just told me can have enormous \u201creach\u201d!<\/p>\n

Consider that being “famous” doesn’t have to be a criterion… I’d think that any serviceman\u2014active duty or retired\u2014who’s also been a Scout (Eagle or not) can describe how his Scouting experiences impacted on the quality of his military service!
\n==========
\nDear Andy.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Who would I contact outside of my Cub Scout pack\u2019s committee for an inquiry into a personal situation between myself (a Den Leader) and one of our pack\u2019s committee members?<\/strong><\/p>\n

As it happened, an email exchange was misinterpreted because only some of the conversation was forwarded to a third party\u2014our pack\u2019s Committee Chair. When our CC approached me about the email conversation I\u2019d had with the committee member, he took her version of the email and totally disregarded my offer to send him the entire conversation; he\u2019d based his judgement of me on the committee member\u2019s version of the conversation, which she had forwarded to him. Further, she told the Committee Chair that she\u2019d quit the committee if I didn’t step down as Den Leader. So, for the pack, I stepped aside\u2014but not down\u2014so she wouldn’t quit. Luckily, I have an assistant willing to take over for me, so all is not lost.<\/strong><\/p>\n

But I do need to know who I can go to, to vindicate myself, since I went as high as I could within my own pack (that is, the Committee Chair) but to no avail. Is this even possible? I feel this is going to interfere with any chances of being a Den Leader in the future. Even in another pack, our community is very close and words\u2014even partial truths–travel fast. I\u2019m just trying to clear myself and I\u2019m at a loss for how to do it. Please help if you can. (Name & Council Withheld)<\/strong><\/p>\n

The only person possibly equipped to mediate a Scouting unit\u2019s internal difficulties among its adult volunteers is the local Commissioner\u2014a fellow volunteer who, though \u201cout-ranking\u201d no one, can assist unit-level volunteers in resolving their internal conflicts. Based on what you\u2019ve described, recommending that you reach out to your Unit Commissioner (or absent one, your District Commissioner) is about the only path to possible resolution I can see.<\/p>\n

However, I\u2019m also going to point out that resolution has very possibly already occurred, the moment you stepped back from your Den Leader responsibilities and leaving the den of Cub Scouts you had been leading, guiding, teaching, and building into strong youth on their way to Scouts to now have essentially a brand-new leader (yes, I know this person has been an assistant, but that\u2019s a far cry from being the key role-model for these Cubs) half-way through the Scouting year.<\/p>\n

Looking at the larger picture, the greatest loss here may be to the Cubs themselves because, although it\u2019s good that your assistant stepped up, a significant continuity hiccup has certainly occurred.<\/p>\n

Fact is, committee members are in administrative, non-youth-contact positions, and the absolutely most important and valuable people in Scouting are those on the front line who actually deliver the program itself, and\u2014in a Cub Scout pack\u2014that\u2019s exactly what Den Leaders are!<\/p>\n

As for clearing yourself, I don\u2019t think I have good news for you\u2026 People may come and go but emails last forever, and can turn up in surprising places. There\u2019s no way to un-state whatever it was that you said and it\u2019s literally impossible to explain yourself to every single person exposed to that email exchange\u2014abridged or not\u2014or was told about it or will learn of it somewhere in the future. (Emails are often like grenades\u2026 \u201cOnce the pin is pulled, Mister Grenade is no longer your friend,\u201d as a Marine once said.)<\/p>\n

At this point in time, your better course of action might be to find a different organization\u2014one that you\u2019ll enjoy and where you can make a meaningful positive difference\u2014and then roll up your sleeves.
\n==========
\nHi Andy,<\/strong><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a cautionary tale that maybe you might pass along\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

As Scoutmaster, I got wind of a mother accusing one of our Scouts of \u201cbullying\u201d her son. So I contacted her to learn the details and hear her side of the story. She told me that this alleged bullying had been going on for over a year, her son had told her.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I immediately mentioned that this was the first time I, or anyone associated with our troop, had heard about this and asked if her son had ever mentioned this before, with anyone, or had any conversations with the purported bully prior to now.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Her answer was No, so I then asked if she thought it might be helpful for her son and the other Scout to talk this out. She didn\u2019t think this would be a good idea, so I offered that I, or one of our other adult volunteers might mediate between these two boys, so that we\u2014the adults in the troop\u2014could get the whole story and achieve some sort of resolution. Again, her response was No, and that we should \u201cjust move on and get through the year.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

This response more than surprised me, because, as Scoutmaster, I know both Scouts to be decent boys. Yes, the Scout being accused is generally more assertive (not \u201caggressive\u201d) than the claimed \u201cvictim\u201d here, who tends to be the more passive of the two, but, based on my own and my assistants\u2019 observations at meetings and outings, there have never been any signs suggesting \u201cbullying.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

In this phone conversation, I asked to speak with the boy himself, but his mother told me he wasn\u2019t at home. So, after the call ended, and taking this seriously, I spoke with one of my Assistant Scoutmasters about this Scout, since he knows the boy even better than I do. But, it should be added that we both know his mother; she has a long history of complaints about how her son is generally getting the short end of the lollipop from the troop.<\/strong><\/p>\n

So, with no further accusations from this mother, my ASMs and I decided to move on, but to also keep a silent eye on both Scouts, just to see if anything arises in the future. So far (several months have now passed), they seem to get along just fine between themselves and with the other Scouts in their patrol as well.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what I\u2019ve learned\u2026 One, never let things fester, as seems to have happened here. Two, take immediate actions toward investigation and resolution. Three, listen carefully but don\u2019t take sides or accept accusations without substantiation. Four, if inappropriate behavior is supported by facts, investigate at the source without hesitation. Fifth and finally, if you\u2019re hearing complaints from an overprotective (the kindest word I can think of) parent, allow them to vent completely (this eliminates \u201cresidue\u201d), but check it out. (Name & Council Withheld)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Happy Scouting!<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Andy<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

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. 588 \u2013 2\/26\/2019 \u2013 Copyright \u00a9 Andy McCommish 2019]<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

________________________________________ Hi Andy, I\u2019m a military veteran and former Scout. As Chair of the State of Michigan American Legion\u2019s 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 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2418","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2418","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=2418"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2418\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2421,"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2418\/revisions\/2421"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2418"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2418"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2418"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}