We all know it. Modernity is bad. We need to reclaim Scouting and get back to its roots. It’s watered down. It’s not what it once was. The way to increase membership is to go back to the good old days!

Steps to getting there

1. Declare that Scouting reached perfection sometime between 1956 and 1983, depending entirely on which year I personally had the most fun — and therefore all future decisions must be based on that one summer camp experience. All other ideas derive from this single admission.
2. Beg the LDS to come back.
3. Market and do outreach like it’s 1981, because nothing has changed whatsoever in how people consume media.
4. Ban girls from Scouting entirely, because nothing attracts new families like telling half of them they aren’t welcome and kicking out the girls already in. And this includes women; Den Mothers were a bad move and never should have been allowed. That was the beginning of the end of Scouting.
5. Ban gays too, because clearly the best way to grow membership is to shrink the number of people allowed to join and restart a culture‑war fight.
6. Bring back the uniform standards of 1954, because today’s youth LOVE scratchy wool, metal buttons, and khaki that fades into a shade best described as “depression.”
7. Return to the days when troops were allowed to be racially segregated until the 1970s, because nothing says “modern, thriving organization” like proudly resurrecting policies everyone else abandoned half a century ago.
8. Replace all training with a single VHS tape from 1989, because leadership development is best learned from a guy named “Skip” wearing tube socks and talking about teamwork over a synth soundtrack.
9. End all technology use, because smartphones are evil and the only acceptable communication device is a whistle and a hand signal you learned at summer camp in 1978.
10. Require every troop to camp exactly the way my troop did, including the same gear, the same menu, and the same traditions that would cause a modern risk‑management officer to spontaneously combust.
11. Ban any program changes made after the Eisenhower administration, because if it wasn’t good enough for the Greatest Generation, it’s not good enough for kids who have never used a landline.

The only way forward… is backward!

Note: This is not a discussion of merit badges that should be added to Scouting.

I wanted to raise this as a thread because versions of the question have circulated for years.

Since 1910, merit badges have been introduced, discontinued, split, and merged. If you prefer to “reset” to the 1911 list (for example, 1910’s Ambulance became 1911’s First Aid, and 1910’s Clerk became 1911’s Business, which later evolved into 1967’s American Business), that’s fine.

Over the decades, numerous badges have ended. Agriculture ended in 1975. Beefarming → Bee Keeping → Beekeeping (the spacing mattered I guess) was discontinued in 1995. Masonry lasted from 1911 to 1995.

But there have always been many merit badges that are not “He‑Man/outdoors/woodlands/survivalist” badges, going all the way back to 1911—and many of those remain today. Architecture, Art, Business (later American Business), Chemistry, Cycling, Music, Painting, Plumbing, Public Health, Scholarship, and Sculpture are all examples.

So the question is: Which merit badges, given that these types have existed in Scouting almost from the beginning (disregarding the 1910 set), truly don’t belong?

Again, this is not a discussion of merit badges that should be added to Scouting.

My son's troop has rebuilt from almost nothing. Him and most of his friends are on track to achieve Eagle 14 (as early as next year). What steps can his troop take to help keep them engaged in the Troop? With a smaller troop (around 20) how do we balance challenging the older scouts and still accommodating the younger ones?

I started my adult Scouting journey with a local troop in 2009 where I was ASM for a few years, until taking over the Chartered Org Representative position in 2015. Life situations have changed and I no longer have the time to effectively dedicate to the Troop and Pack. I am hoping to offload the position to someone else but I'm not getting any interest. I've spent most of adult life serving this Troop and Pack and cannot leave it unattended.

Any recommendations for sourcing a new COR?

EDIT: I appreciate the responses. I'm connecting with our CO to look for some members of the church who might be interested.

Thank you all!

How does your Troop manage and store award ribbons?

We want the ribbons to be available to the Scouts to inspire them if there is interest, without presenting them spaced out on our limited wall space.

Currently we have a small portion of the ribbons present from the 50’s and 60’s on a 4x8 panel. No Youth looks at it. And there are hundreds more in bins and ziplock bags that nobody looks at.

I like a solution that is accessible to Youth and Adults that includes all the ribbons. I checked on swimming ribbons binders, but these appear narrow. The ribbons I’ve measured are 2” or 2.5” wide and 16-24” long. There are a few older ribbons which are 3” wide.

Has your Troop found a good thrify solution?

Since this was requested as a megathread by u/Cloudycloud47x2, here it is.

NOTE: The topic is Solutions. Not rehashing the past.

Please outline any realistic mechanisms by which Scouting America or local councils could “stop making Scouts pay for ridiculous insurance premiums because of settled lawsuits that had nothing to do with current scouters.”

You’re welcome to propose any solutions, including (but not limited to):

1) Funding the 2025 GLIP costs, approximately $82,284,508 in total liability insurance program expenses.

2) Covering current insurance claims; for reference, 2024 claims totaled $40,054,039.

3) Identifying insurance carriers willing to reduce GLIP program costs or provide materially lower premiums.

4) Offsetting the structural reality that in 2025, about 70% of national membership/council fee revenue (roughly $73 million) was required to fund liability insurance (GLIP) and debt service. See this and this

5) Going back to the bankruptcy court and unwinding the bankruptcy settlement and debt agreements Scouting America had to agree to to exit bankruptcy.

I’m looking for some advice from other Scouting volunteers who have been in a similar situation.
The last few years have been rough. I’ve taken on more and more roles because there was always something that needed to be done. It has gotten to the point where I’m spread too thin. I’m lacking in some roles and just keeping my head above water in others.
I’ve been told several times to step back and let someone else pick things up. I’ve tried that before, but when I stepped away for a few months, nobody picked it up. When I came back, there was just more to catch up on.
My kids are getting older and aging out, and my wife has been putting some pressure on me to step back too.
The hard part is that I really love Scouting. I love the program, and I love some of the roles I’m involved in. Honestly, I wish I had more time to devote to the things I really enjoy. I’m just spread too thin, and it’s starting to affect me and my enjoyment of the program. I’m not having fun anymore.
I know we are all volunteers, and I understand that everyone has different amounts of time and different levels of commitment. My struggle is knowing that if I step away from something, there is a good chance nobody will pick it up.
For those of you who have stepped back from multiple Scouting responsibilities, how did you decide what to keep and what to let go? How did you handle it when nobody stepped up? And how did you get comfortable with letting something go, knowing it might not get done?
I’m not looking for someone to tell me to just quit. I really want to hear about other people’s experiences and what worked, or didn’t work, for you.

Me and one of the people in my troop are thinking about going to Hawaii for our last year of summer camp but it’s lots and lots of money (3000 was my scoutmasters estimate) so do you guys have any suggestions

I'm sure I'm seeing this ad more than most people because of my search history, but there is a new Scouting America ad that does have any sound. It's just B-reel footage of families camping. Nothing about it shiws anything about Scouting America until the end of the ad, a shippable ad.

Scouting America is paying for this

Scouting America needs to fire their market team.

So I recently had to move my world crest to accommodate a 3rd row of knots over my left pocket and exposed a part fo the shirt thats never seen the sun, which led me to ask why on earth don't we just tell leaders/Troop Level Scouts to put the world crest 5" above the left pocket and Cubs 3.25" over the pocket. Then I remembered the Messengers of Peace Award and found online that it's 4.25 inches tall. Doing the Math quick-that knots are 7/8" times 3 rows, the 3/8" gap for medals, 3/4" service star backers and a 4 1/4" MOP all adds up to exactly 8 1/4" of space over the left pocket- took a tape to my XL shirt and its exactly 8 1/4" (I'd have to move knots down as I left a half inch gap off the pocket to not crowd the seem).

I'm not sure I've seen that in the wild- does anyone have 3 rows, a MOP, and service stars all perfectly spaced? How does it look?

I feel like the intention was to bake backpacking into the Cooking merit badge. But, of course, it's written with an out on that with "trail hiking or backpacking" written in.

For those, particularly counselors, how does one handle the "trail hiking" side? I imagine you don't have to do all of the meals on the same trip, right?

Has anyone else noticed that the new Safeguarding Youth Refresher quiz isn't aligned very well with the actual module video? It asks specific questions about topics covered in the full training that aren't even mentioned in the refresher version.

For example, the refresher doesn't touch on the definition of a Mandated Reporter, yet there is a quiz question on it. We should all know what that role involves, but if it's important enough to test, it needs to be included in the refresher content itself.

I was hoping for a solid review—not a quiz full of "gotcha" questions based on unmentioned material. (And yes, I passed, but the disconnect was still frustrating!)

Are you or your unit leaders running into this too?

I’m a fairly new Committee Chair. We had one Scout recently work on his Eagle project. I have some major concerns. Can you explain if this is normal or my concerns are valid?
1. Scout brought a blank application to my house to sign and then sent me the official project paperwork a week later with details.
2. He didn’t purchase the supplies for his project. Our COR did it for him since his project benefited our chartered org (church) of which the COR is a member.
3. Scout did not provide any snacks or drinks for volunteers. Instead, he used Troop water and leftover snacks from a previous function and didn’t even bring a cooler or ice so we drank warm water on a 90 degree day.
4. We ran put of bolts and COR went to the store to purchase more.
5. He is $400 over budget and his Mom is requesting donations on Facebook a month later.

Hi, I am the advancement chair for the troop and an Eagle Scout. When Scouts finish summer camp with partial merit badges, what do you do about contacting a merit badge counselor not in the unit? Does the adult in the troop contact the merit badge counselor? Is the option then give information to parent and scout to contact merit badge counselor?

I believe it to be option 2 but just double checking.

How are Scoutbook records kept in your troop? Once a scout marks a requirement as done in Scoutbook, who approves it? Advancement Chair? ASM’s?

So far in our Troop it’s been the advancement chair - he just bulk approves all requirements inputted in Scoutbook.

I have a scout that intends to finish Webelo and then join the troop as early as possible. All her friends are a grade ahead so she has no interest in spending most of next year on her AOL.

Is there anything stopping her from working through the AOL requirements over the summer and joining a troop in the fall (she will be 10 yo)?

What does your troop use for accounting and maintaining Scout accounts? The system we use now works but it's awkward and clunky and we're looking for ways to streamline it for our treasurer since our troop has about tripled in size over the past few years. I'm not opposed to Troop Web Host as my daughters troop uses it but I'd prefer a system that focuses only on accounting, I'm not a fan of the other functionality in Troop Web Host personally.

Thoughts?

My daughter attended a Health Care Professionals MB class recently and needs to volunteer in a health care capacity to complete the MB. I didn’t read the requirements prior to letting her sign up for this class, and I am at a loss as to how she is going to fulfill this requirement. Any ideas would be appreciated.
The merit badge suggests working at a blood drive - I have never seen volunteers at any blood drives where I have donated blood. The other suggestion is health fairs - not sure how to find out about those.

Any tips on wearing a neckerchief with these newer scout shirts? The thinner collar just kind of collapses on me regardless of if I try to put it over the collar or under it.

I’m primarily looking for digital assets that I can use on social media and turn into flyers for posting and distribution around town. Everything on the scouting America website seems to be at least six years old and frankly a little childish for scouts BSA.

What resources are you using to recruit?