{"id":2557,"date":"2020-01-21T10:54:40","date_gmt":"2020-01-21T15:54:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/?p=2557"},"modified":"2020-01-21T10:54:42","modified_gmt":"2020-01-21T15:54:42","slug":"issue-625-january-21-2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/2020\/01\/issue-625-january-21-2020\/","title":{"rendered":"Issue 625 \u2013 January 21, 2020"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

Last night was my board of review for Eagle. It went okay and they told me that I\u2019m an Eagle Scout, but the date they said it\u2019s going to be is last week and not yesterday. That\u2019s because the man who was the chair of my board of review said that, because there was a delay in someone from the advancement committee picking a date when he could show up, my review turned out to be a week past three months since my 18th birthday, and that if the review date wasn\u2019t changed somebody would have to write a long letter to the council office explaining why there was a delay, and he didn\u2019t want to have to do that.<\/strong><\/p>\n

To be an Eagle Scout but with a lie about the date this happened just feels wrong to me. The date should be the real date and not a made-up date just because the man who caused the delay doesn\u2019t want to have to explain why. But I don\u2019t know what to do. I talked to my Scoutmaster about how I\u2019m feeling, and he said I should just let it go and move on. But this doesn\u2019t seem right, either.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I talked this over with my father, who is an Eagle Scout, and he agreed with me and said I should write to you, so that\u2019s what I am doing and I hope you can help me. (Confused sort-of Eagle Scout)<\/strong><\/p>\n

I agree with your father that you\u2019re absolutely right to feel wrong about this situation. If this stands uncorrected, it\u2019s going to nag at you for the rest of your life, just because the person who apparently caused the problem doesn\u2019t want to be \u201cinconvenienced.\u201d So, what to do\u2026? Here\u2019s my suggestion: Write a letter of your own, and do it today. First, call your council\u2019s service center and ask for the name of the Scout Executive and the name of the Council Advancement Chair, and their email addresses. Then write a letter to both of them and send it to your council service center as an email attachment (this will be faster than the Post Office). Tell them exactly what you\u2019ve just told me and ask that page 2 of your Eagle application be corrected to show the actual board of review date.<\/p>\n

(Note to Readers: This Scout did write his letter and the correction was made before the application was sent to the BSA national office. Shortly after this, the Scouter who caused the original problem was given a \u201csoft landing\u201d elsewhere.)
\n==========
\nHi Andy,<\/strong><\/p>\n

When is it appropriate for Scouts (or Scouters) to wear their OA sashes? And one more question\u2026 Do you answer emails directly? Thanks. (Paul, ASM, Ohio)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Members (Scouts or Scouters) of the Order of the Arrow Scouting fraternity wear their sash when (a) attending OA-specific functions or events and (b) when representing the OA at a non-OA function or event. At times other than those two, the sash stays in the drawer at home (and, just to be perfectly clear, the sash is never, ever worn draped over your belt!). Also, OA members can and should wear their lodge’s flap patch (for the right pocket flap) or the ribbon-and-arrow button-pendant (item no. 604942) also for the right pocket. These\u2014one or the other but never both\u2014can be worn at all times.<\/p>\n

And yup, I always answer readers\u2019 emails directly, and usually within 24 hours.
\n==========
\nHey Andy,<\/strong><\/p>\n

A friend of mine mentioned to me that he\u2019d found an old troop charter. He\u2019s interested in getting it appraised, and that\u2019s where I\u2019m stumped. Is there some special procedure to follow for this? It\u2019s something I’ve never encountered before and have no idea what to do. (Wendell Moats, District Committee Member, Crossroads of America Council, IN)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Possibly a local pawn shop might have some idea about that charter, and there may well be a local Scouting memorabilia collector\/trader in your area. But you also might consider suggesting to your friend that he donate it to a local Scouting museum or the council service center, for display. Or, better yet, see if the troop cited is still around, and present it to the Scouts!
\n==========
\nHi Andy,<\/strong><\/p>\n

I need some confirmation about camping (for rank advancement and the Camping merit badge). A Scouting friend recently told me that family campouts Scouts have with their parents, where the family members pitch tents and so forth, can count towards their Scout camping requirements. Can you help? (Bill Macpherson)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a great place to start when a Scouting friend like yours makes a claim about stuff like this that just doesn\u2019t seem like it makes any sense: Ask him to show you written backup for his claim, in BSA literature.<\/p>\n

In the meantime, let me assure you that while family camping is a wonderful adjunct to Scouting and a delightful family activity, it\u2019s never a substitute for camping as a Scout, with other Scouts, at a Scouting event. Your friend\u2019s notion that “family camping\u201d can substitute for Scout camping is just that\u2014a notion that has no basis in fact. Ranks require that the Scout camps with his patrol or troop. Camping merit badge specifies “Scout camping.\u201d You probably need to point this out to your friend, before he leads others astray.
\n==========
\nHi O Wise One,<\/strong><\/p>\n

My question is about a Scout who has completed all requirements for Star rank except holding a position of responsibility. That requirement states that the unit leader can assign the Scout a leadership project to help the troop. Can you give a few examples of what these might be? Thanks for being here for all who have questions. (Cookie)<\/strong><\/p>\n

We\u2019re discussing Star rank requirement 5, which has two parts. The first is to hold a position of responsibility for four months. For this part, it\u2019s puzzling that this Scout has not simply been assigned a position of responsibility (that doesn\u2019t require an election) by his Senior Patrol Leader. Especially when there are 14 of these available for Star rank: Assistant Senior Patrol Leader, Bugler, Chaplain Aide, Den Chief, Historian, Instructor, Junior Assistant Scoutmaster, Librarian, Quartermaster, OA Troop Representative, Outdoor Ethics Guide, Scribe, Troop Guide, and Webmaster. Moreover, three of these can be assigned to more than just one Scout; they are: Den Chief, Instructor, and Troop Guide. So it seems to me that it would be a pretty odd troop that\u2019s unable to help this Scout select and be appointed to one of these positions for four.<\/p>\n

As for the second part, the language for it is quite different from what you stated: It\u2019s not \u201cthe unit leader can assign\u2026a leadership project,\u201d to help the troop, it\u2019s \u201ccarry out a Scoutmaster-approved leadership project\u201d to help the troop. This suggests that the idea for a project that would help his troop starts with the Scout himself, rather than with his Scoutmaster. Here, you\u2019ve asked me for examples, and I\u2019m going to need to disappoint you. I don\u2019t know the Scout, his interests, his capabilities, or his ambitions for himself. I don\u2019t know the troop, its size, its structure, or its overall vitality. Consequently, there\u2019s simply no way I could offer any suggestions that would make any sense, except this one\u2026 This Scout would be wise to have a conversation with the troop\u2019s Senior Patrol Leader (remember that the SPL is the troop\u2019s highest-ranking youth leader!) and talk about what sort of special project would help him run the troop!
\n==========
\nHi Andy,<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019d like to “endow” all future Eagle Scout neckerchiefs in our troop as part of my “thanks” to the troop for the way they helped my son become an Eagle Scout. I want to get custom Eagle neckerchiefs that have our troop number, city, and state, but I’m having a hard time finding what I\u2019m looking for. \u201cScoutstuff.org\u201d has some custom neckerchiefs, but the Eagle graphics on these don\u2019t look as nice as the official Eagle neckerchiefs, but the official ones can\u2019t be customized with troop-city-state. Any ideas? (Greg Fox, Florida)<\/strong><\/p>\n

The BSA’s version \u2013 http:\/\/www.scoutstuff.org\/bsa\/uniforms-insignia\/bandanas-neckerchiefs\/eagle-scoutr-embroidered-neckerchief-new-size.html — for $14.99 is pretty nice. Celestial Creations makes one, too. You can check them out at http:\/\/ourcelestialcreations.com\/eagleneck.html — but I’m personally not crazy about the Eagle on it. You might consider designing your own and have these folks run them off for you — http:\/\/www.ladyeagledesigns.com\/ — if you don’t mind the rounded bottoms.<\/p>\n

Good luck with a really thoughtful idea!<\/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><\/em><\/p>\n

Although these columns are copyrighted, any reader has my permission to quote or reproduce any columns or column parts so long as you attribute authorship: \u201cAsk Andy\u201d by Andy McCommish.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

[No. 625 \u2013 1\/21\/2020 \u2013 Copyright \u00a9 Andy McCommish 2020]<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

________________________________________ Dear Andy, Last night was my board of review for Eagle. It went okay and they told me that I\u2019m an Eagle Scout, but the date they said it\u2019s going to be is last week and not yesterday. That\u2019s because the man who was the chair of my board of review said that, because […]<\/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-2557","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2557","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=2557"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2557\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2561,"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2557\/revisions\/2561"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2557"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2557"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2557"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}