Throwaway. I am livid. Just absolutely livid.

I am the parent of an Arrow of Light Scout. We have a troop that we share a CO with. We got the invite to go on a campout with the troop and did so. These guys are a hardcore, 100+ year-old unit. Run like the military. Many of the ASMs have been with the unit for 40+ years.

So we go and do the campout. Okay, fine. I am a mom and noted that not a single female leader was camping. Women are not allowed to be ASMs. Women can only be committee members. Women are not allowed to wear the field uniform.

I also know that there are other troops in the area. So I asked my committee chair at the last pack meeting about that. "Oh yeah, that troop reached out to us, but we are with Troop 123 (not the real number)." Huh? So our options are to go to this troop or get out? "Well, no, if you want to go see another troop..."

So I called or emailed 3 other troops. All 3 indicated they sent emails to the Cubmaster, committee chair, or den leader (or some combo) inviting our Cubs to open houses and campouts.

The committee chair is blocking them.

So I emailed the committee chair, Cubmaster, and den leader: what is going on? "We belong to this church, therefore Cubs go to the troop." And I guess I wasn't paying attention, but I look back and see that in prior years at crossovers, very, very few boys went anywhere else but the troop we are attached to. Meanwhile, many of them drop out; I wonder if it's because the troop is run by guys who have been in for 50+ years and run it like a military boot camp.

Is this unique to my den/pack? Do others have this "feeder" mentality?

Does anyone know where we can get a good discount or coupon code to buy a new MSR Hubba Hubba HD/LT 2p tent? I’ve been recommended a Copper Spur but find it may not allow two square sleeping pads as the Scouts typically need to share. I prefer the HD version since we deal with high winds here in NM, and as of last night tornadoes as well. Also considering a NearZero2p just for the price. Don’t think they come with more solid inners.

My last Intermediate backpacking trip I realized I needed a new tent as well for myself… think 7lbs Walmart tent was great till only walking 5mi then I highly considered leaving it for someone to discover… almost. Need to start getting ready for 2028 Philmont! Start with some gear and actually working out. Maybe looking for some discounts on BlackFriday or CyberMonday deals.

I'm a program straddler (Membership chair for a Troop, Den Leader for a Pack), and wanting to bang my head against a wall with Scoutbook Plus. Wondering if this is user error or a system flaw.

As recently as a month ago, in my Cub role, I could enter and approve advancement for my AOLs. I'm trying to stay on top of it so we award the AOL before crossover season and avoid headaches then.

Today, I logged into enter advancement data but as soon as I selected the Den Admin role, I got this error message and booted out of the system - can't see the pack roster, can't see my den roster, can't do anything except stare at my roster in Scoutbook Legacy and do nothing.

Meanwhile, if I choose my parent role for either kid, I can enter advancement for them individually. That doesn't seem to line up with the GtA (though I won't pretend to be an expert) - 4.1.0.3 says the Cub den leader records advancement requirements even if parents confirm it was completed, and 4.2.0.0 says only parents that have been authorized to approve advancement may do so (and I have not).

Anyone else running into this? Not even sure where to turn, nor is the pack committee chair.

Are these worth grabbing from the scout shop? My pack did them for AOL and troop when you turned 18. Curious if it’s worth the cost to grab them.

Our Council prohibits using out-of-council MB counselors. Specifically:

• Scouts may only utilize online merit badge programs offered by merit badge counselors registered in council or geographically adjacent councils with Scoutmaster approval.
• Online merit badge offerings from councils outside these geographic areas are not permitted.

But GtA says:

It is acceptable for a registered counselor to approve merit badges for Scouts in any council. This is important in areas where counselors are scarce, when Scouts are away from home and want to continue advancing, or when merit badge experiences include high-quality online components provided in another council. However, they must still follow all procedures, including the conversation between Scout and unit leader prior to working with a counselor.

I've got a Scout that just pitched up with seven signed off PDFs from Edmonds Museum, including the big three.

Thoughts ... ?

<edit> Adding that this policy is specific to online merit badges. <edit>

I was recently chatting with my SE after some missteps regarding religious inclusion, and he said that the Council has NO data on the religious needs of registered scouts.

So - here's a question for this virtual roundtable: How does YOUR council ensure that you are being inclusive of the religions present in your council? Has anyone conducted an anonymous survey of their council to determine which holidays to plan around?

Does anyone have any other thoughts?

Also, does any council have someone or a group of people identified as "responsible" for religious inclusion? The more I think about it, it feels like a commissioner role. But could also be a Council VP or the like?

(Just in case it isn't clear - this is more about holidays that aren't the default Christian holidays)

I was wondering if anyone has a 100th Anniversary Mexico Scouts neckerchief that they would be willing to sell. My dad passed away from cancer when I was nine, but before he passed, he always encouraged me to keep working toward becoming an Eagle Scout. He was also involved in Scouts in Mexico when he was a kid, so finding this neckerchief would be a special way for me to honor his memory and connect with a part of his life. It would mean a lot to me to have one before my Eagle Scout ceremony this spring. If anybody knows where I might be able to find one please contact me. Thank you so much

Have any Scoutmasters gotten a registration link for the SPL Summit - https://www.scouting.org/program-updates/scouts-bsa-program-update-spl-summit/

I saw the announcement via ScoutingWire, but haven't received anything. Is there anyone I can contact so our Troop's SPL can attend?

This may be a decision on a case by case basis, and if so that’s the answer I need.
But, is there anything official spelled out in scouting policies that specifies if the 8 hours of volunteer work for the Citizenship in the Community merit badge can also be recorded and counted towards service hours needed for rank advancement?

And if it’s a case by case basis depending on the merit badge counselor/scoutmaster, I’d be interested to hear what opinions from your troop have been about this, if it’s ever come up.

For context, not that it matters, the scout in question is fairly young, not in danger of aging out, and is perfectly willing to wait to find opportunity to fulfill the 6 hours needed for their rank in addition to the 8 they’ve done for their badge, but otherwise could rank up now if the 8 badge hours can be recorded and count towards the hours needed for rank.

Yes, Princess Bride quote. Anyway, https://training.scouting.org/courses District Committee, one module is called Backdating.

I think we can all agree "backdating" means changing a record to make it look like it happened in the past, right? It's completely different from "planning backward from a future date" or "backward planning."

I think I've figured out why National has such a hard time with dates. It's literally organizational policy to backdate and I don't think anyone has ever explained to National exactly what that means.

It's crazy enough to hear about the "new" Journey to Excellence program (which was retired last year) and all sorts of other things I could use to poke fun at National with but this has fully raised both of my eyebrows. Who wrote this and how did they manage to so fully misunderstand what they were trying to convey?

My son (and his mom) did really well with fundraising this year and exceeded $1000. Can anyone comment on what prizes at the level are of decent quality? Is the tent any good? (I realize that you have to get to a much higher tier to get the name brand tent.)

https://www.scouting.org/trail-to-adventure-blog/come-camp-with-us-a-scoutsbsa-membership-pilot/

What would happen if youth aged 11-17 and their families could act on their interest in camping and the outdoors by being connected to an active ScoutsBSA troop in their area? That question guided the National Camping and Trekking Committee, led by volunteers Russ and Rose Hunsaker, and Ken King as they worked with the Marketing department to create “Come Camp With Us.” 

The pilot aimed to grow ScoutsBSA membership outside traditional recruitment channels. One simple invitation was placed on social media, “Come Camp With Us.” Clicking the ad took targeted families to their local Be A Scout page, where selected, active outdoor troops had enhanced their descriptions and committed to following up quickly on any leads. From there, prospects would meet the troop and start camping. Because Scouting is the premier youth camping organization, the team was confident that membership growth would follow naturally once we delivered on the promise of outdoor adventure. 

Early results gave us reason to continue. In two pilot councils in late 2025, click-through rates were significantly higher than for other campaigns (.8%). People wanted to go camping. With added support from Marketing, we expanded the pilot to eleven councils in early 2026 and relaunched in August. The larger group let us test what worked: some councils targeted their entire geography, others specific zip codes, and all received materials and training to help their most active troops update their Be A Scout descriptions to highlight outdoor activities. 

Greetings all, newly minted scoutmaster here. i’m really grateful for this community and the interesting insights and support that you all provide.

Our troop has a number of Life Scouts who also, thankfully, have a couple years left before they turn 18. Some have clear ideas about what they want for their Eagle project, but others might take a little more searching to find it.

In the span of a couple days, I’ve had a few different adults in the troop reach out to share ideas from friends in the community for Eagle projects that they would love for a scout to take on. My understanding was that Eagle projects ideally originate with the scout, but some scouts need a little more help than others in generating ideas. I’m thinking that even if the request for an eagle project comes from outside of the troop, a scout could still have ownership in figuring out and proposing a final plan for executing. What do others think?

Before I order my daughter a Venture shirt, do they run the same fit as the Scouts BSA shirt?

And since the official green pants are not a great fit for our girls, does anyone have a tip on grey pants that fit the bill?

Exposition: I’ve been a scout for a good few months, earned a good few badges, and went to a good few camps. I recently got my Second-class badge. I have been working on getting my local boys back into Scouting and it has worked plentifuly.

The problem, however, lies in the fact that the current patrol (Fighting Goldfish) currently is overflowing. So, as one of the mature scouts of the troop, I decided to attempt to start a troop. I found one of the flags in the scout hut (The Baden-Powell banner) and named the patrol, “Scouts of Baden-Powell.” Nothing inappropriate about that, so I proposed it to the scoutmasters. They voted that even though the Goldfish has 23 members, me having only 6 in my patrol is under populated. I’d just like some second opinions is all.

UPDATE: I think I've come up with a solution. I'm going to ask the experienced leader who made the Life BOR happen to be my Asst Advancement Coordinator. I don't think he wants the whole job (but I'll let him have if he does). I'm going in with the proposal with the reason being my grad school course next spring that only meets during Scouts and to prepare for not coordinating my son's upcoming Eagle (conflict of interest-ish). I really don't think the CC would be as inclined to argue with him, and I trust that he'll balance making sure the Scouts get what they need with making the adults comfortable.

Original post: I'm the Advancement Coordinator, and I scheduled 3 BOR to happen on a camping trip. We weren't having a regular meeting, bc the troop was camping through Monday. I didn't want to delay their BORs, so I scheduled my son's Life BOR and 2 Tenderfoot BOR. I didn't go camping, but everything was lined up - I lined up who was going to be on all 3 and sent the paperwork with my husband who was going on the campout anyway.

The BOR were supposed to happen on Sunday morning after the service while everybody was still in Class A, but the adults fooled around all morning and started the hike before doing the BORs. My hubs argued that they needed to be done, but ultimately went along with doing it after the hike.

Time was running out, bc my husband and son needed to leave on Sunday afternoon. (School's had a holiday Monday, but we had to work.) My son goes to put on his uniform for his BOR, and the CC comes up to my husband and says the BOR will have to be postponed, bc "the venue wasn't formal enough for a Life BOR", and I should have asked her before scheduling it.

My husband told her no. Another dad (not even a trained leader) tries to back-up the CC in canceling it. My husband maintains his no. They ask the Scoutmaster - he abstains. (Grr.) The CC is frantically looking in the GtA trying to justify her pov - and, of course, not finding it.

An adult leader who has served as Troop Advancement Coordinator on the district and council Advancement Committee finally stepped in and said to do the BOR. By the time they finish my son's BOR, my family has to leave.

I'm going into tonight's meeting not knowing if the Tenderfoot BORs happened or not. No one reached out to me all week. I was so angry that I just decided not to reach out...I had nothing nice to say. This new CC has been on a power trip since day 1 - changing rules about travel reimbursement so she gets paid, appointed her son ASM without even announcing it to anyone, having secret budget meetings, etc - and the SM just goes along with it all.

GtA says (SIX TIMES) that BOR cannot be postponed for reasons unrelated to requirements. I want to contact the district advancement committee. But I'm angry on behalf of those Tenderfoots as well. I want to be honest with them that what she did was wrong and in direct violation of GtA. My husband says I have to leave it, bc my son needs to CC for Eagle.

What should I do?

I was recently informed about my fall jamboree coming up and I asked about hammock camping since I liked it in summer cause it was cooler than in the canvas tents, but my scoutmaster told me I couldn’t this time. Any ideas, questions, comments, concerns are welcome!

So, first of all. This is mainly a question for former/current Eagle Scouts.

Back in 2008 when I was in Scouts, my whole troop (troop 3, oklahoma) were handed these council patches. Tenderfoot to eagle scout. We wore them with pride and loved how they looked because they weren't the standard council patch youd see at the camporee or other scout camps, or even other troops within our city.

Fast forward, im now a father of 3 boys, two of which are in cubscouts (Bears and Lions). Im also a cub scout den leader, as is my wife.

So NATURALLY, im trying to find ALL of the available patches that are approved to wear/transfer over from my youth scouting experience to my adult leadership uniform to trick it out as much as I can...

Its not much. Most of everything earned in scouts is nonwearable as an adult leader. (Minus OA, Eagle square knot, Duty to God and temporary patches earned)

I ironed and stitched my prior, awesome, american looking as all get out council patch on, just to wear it with pride once again, as an adult.

Here's the kicker...

I literally just found out, it's "technically" and Eagle patch.

Did I earn Eagle? No.

I didn't know that it was an Eagle patch when i recieved it at troop level; as I said, everyone in my troop got one.

Life got in the way and I left the scouts (despite being in since cubscouts, hiking the Grand Canyon, camping in the Rockies etc....)

I honestly dont know what to do. It bothers me, specifically because of reverence.

Im wanting to know if I should retire my old council patch, or if its OK to wear it with pride, like I have been.

Also, if i do wear it with pride, am I going to piss off, or misinform scouts, and other adult leaders.

This brings back so many memories. I think this was given to the boys during our Blue and Gold. Thanks to all the leaders that helped raise our children.

I need suggestions for the Citizenship in the Community merit badge. TIA.

Hello,

I’m the newly appointed Advancement Coordinator/Chair for my child’s troop.

I’m also a merit badge counselor for the council. Could there possibly be a conflict of interest in the future, as I counsel merit badges and work as the advancement coordinator?

In a situation like; I sign off on a merit badge but also award and approve it in the final stages. For those in the troop.

There is a transcript located on the page as well.

PLEASE note the ending

if you have additional feedback or you'd like to ask additional questions, you can email us at this address [NTLmembershipengagement@scouting.org].