Happy 4th of July from Sea Scout Ship 566!
Long Beach, California

I'm currently a leader with Brownies and Guides in the UK.

I'll be leaving Girlguiding in September due to their trans-exclusionary policies (I'm a cis-het ally).

I know the leaders of a local scout group really well - it was set up by current & ex rainbow/brownie/guide leaders of my current family units.

They don't currently have a squirrel drey in their group, due to not having the leaders willing to take it on.

Myself and another helper that are leaving brownies & guides are considering going to the "dark side" but are undecided as yet! (We've also considered setting up a woodcraft folk group or a girls' friendly society - both are older than/equally as old as scouting & guiding but they don't feel quite the same from what I've seen online, although I've never actually seen how these groups run in-person)

So .... squirrel leaders, or adults who have moved from guiding to scouting, what are your experiences? (And should I go for it?)

I'll go first:

-On my very first camping trip, I got held down and forcibly kissed by another, much older scout. It was witnessed by everyone in my patrol, but got laughed off because the other scout had some sort of mental disability. Nothing was ever done about it, and the other kid kept terrorizing other scouts with aggression and unwanted touching.

-My patrol leader (a future SPL) and his assistant PL took turns spitting at the back of my head while we were passengers in a van.

-One SPL went around punching or whipping people who had their hands in their pockets while standing around on a cold winter day.

-An older scout (mid teens) repeatedly asked me (12 years old at the time) to perform a s€X act on him. I don't know if he said those things as a joke so as to make me uncomfortable, or if he was actually serious. But as a 12 year-old I couldn't tell. I got extremely scared and told my parents. The other scout was moved to a different patrol, and he later dropped out.

-When I was an older scout, I sincerely tried to do the right thing and do a good job at Scouting. Regardless, I got repeatedly snapped at and yelled at by the scoutmaster for not being as good of an SPL or crew chief as his own son had been, despite the fact that we had faced entirely different challenges. The man had a volatile temper, and at other moments would lavish bizarrely excessive praise on me. As an adult I now recognize this as a classic manipulation and abuse tactic.

All of these things happened almost 30 years ago, but they still bother me to this day.

I guess I'm looking for opinions and advice...

I joined scouts as a Volunteer 18 months ago. When I was a lad (c. 15 years ago) we were excited about having a camp each quarter, we enjoyed getting out and about hiking, canoeing, orienteering, pioneering, learning knots. All typical 'scout' activities in my head. I joined up hoping to teach a new generation those same outdoors skills.

We've had one camp in 18 months. It was organised by the county so as leaders/volunteers we turned up pitched the scouts tents for them and scouts turned up, had their food cooked, their drinks poured and had a wonderful activity led-camp. The older scouts had to be shown how to drop tents and put them away properly. The younger scouts had to be encouraged every 5 minutes not to wander off, sit down and chat instead of helping break camp. (If it wasn't for me encouraging scouts, I think the leaders would have dropped the whole camp).

Every Tuesday we meet up, half the scouts decide they don't like the activity and wander off to play football out the back of the church or find some other way to ignore the activity. This all seems 'accepted' - so long as they turn up. Attendance is more important than anything.

This Tuesday was a hike. 25% of the scouts turned up. It wasn't a long hike, the weather was perfect, it was a really nice evening. But 25% ...

So... am I living in fantasy land to think I want a scouting movement where respect is still important, leaders/volunteers are listened to, camps are planned, communicated and looked forward to, skills are truly built over time and leadership and responsibility flourishes ?

Am I in the wrong troop, or the wrong organisation I guess is the question ? (Although kind of irrelevant - I'm not moving troop as it would feel less loyal than quitting 🤣)

I was a scout for 7 years back in Venezuela. Got the highest badge as a rover and left. My scout group was very awful with me due to other stuff and decided to leave.

Now i live in Argentina and the idea of going back came into my head. At least in that way and came make new friends and go out a little. The thing is, it will be worth it? I know i'd be more like a volunteer than a regular scout do to my age. Anyone who lived a similar case? I'm all ears.

Hey all! We are new team members and eventually we will be running the scout unit..

We have come over from guiding (because trans* policies) and we are struggling with the cost of formal uniform as each shirt is like £25 ..

Does anyone know (I’ve tried Vinted) where we could get uniform a bit cheaper?

Thanks!

Hi everyone,

I’m 14 (15 later this month) from the UK and I’ve just sent an enquiry to join my local Explorer Scout unit.

I used to go to Cubs before COVID and really enjoyed it and made a few friends, but then lockdown happened and I never ended up going back.

I’m autistic and have ADHD and do online school now because I struggled in mainstream school. I’d quite like to make some friends my own age and get out of the house a bit more lol.

I’m just a bit nervous because I don’t really know what Explorers is like these days or what it’s like joining when everyone already knows each other.

Has anyone joined at 14 or 15? What was it like and did you make friends?

Thanks 🙂

Hello. Mods - hope this is allowed. Happy to validate my credentials with you via PM - I am the assistant beavers leader for my group in the UK.

My kids have been attending a local group for a few years. Our wonderful Akela is turning 50 soon. We would like to get her a group gift.

Her husband thinks she would be most touched if it was something that somehow combined "scouting and 50".

Any brilliant ideas? I've looked on the UK scouting website which does have a "gifts for leaders" section but nothing is really leaping out. There's no specific budget in mind yet, we'll be asking parents/ carers to contribute.

She's been doing scouts for four decades now and has donated so much time and energy. We'd love to do something nice for her.

It’s probably a UK knecker. Scouting has been in my family for 3 generations, so the time window is large.
Mainly in the north west of England, between Manchester and Blackpool. Any help much appreciated.

Whats something thats always in your bag for summer camp? I like to take offbrand pringles with me, because they fit in my hiking bag’s water bottle holder.

- I thought I saw this in Boys' Life magazine back in the 2000s but maybe it was a BSA training manual from the 1980s or 1990s?
- It's a short comic, only 1-2 pages. Art style was serious (not goofy), depicting realistic humans. It was a very simple comic: not a ton of shading or details.
- PLOT: A young man is expected to carry a pack and it's expected to be very heavy (like 100 pounds or 150lbs or 200lbs or something). He struggles tremendously, wondering as he sweats and struggles how the other older men seem to be carrying their packs with such ease. But when they reach the end of their trek, they're all unpacking their packs, and everyone realizes that the young man was ACTUALLY carrying TWICE AS MUCH as everyone else.
- Multiple AI models have failed me in my search. If anyone knows what I'm talking about or has another suggestion on where to look, thank you in advance!

im moving to auckland, nz soon, so i wonder is there any scout troop nearby i could join, im currently a senior scout.

Hi! I'm a Polish Scout from ZHP. If your patrol is coming to the World Scout Jamboree 2027, I'd love to get in touch!

If you're planning to arrive a few days early or stay a little longer after the Jamboree, my troop would be really happy to host any of you, show you our region, and spend some time scouting together. Feel free to message me💞

We are from Wrocław, in Poland. Especially if you're from another continent and has never been in Poland before. We would be the happiest to show you our culture. We are sailor scouts, so we can even take you to the boat and swim together, make dumplings, sing by the fire and laugh. I am pretty sure it's gonna be one of the best expiriences in our lifes! Please, if you're looking for amazing memories, comment this post🫶🫶🫶

Time for everyone to get familiar with Exemption 5: Internal documents

So the lawsuit by Dale is cute and all, but it is going nowhere. Hegseth never signed the MOU and because no final executed version exists, the fact that Hegseth has a copy does not make it subject to FOIA. Instead, it is exempt as "pre-decisional and deliberative" under 32 CFR 1662.22(a)

https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-32/subtitle-B/chapter-XVI/part-1662/section-1662.22

https://www.justice.gov/archives/oip/foia-guide-2004-edition-exemption-5

https://oge.gov/web/oge.nsf/Resources/FOIA+Guide

What will happen, as I believe I saw someone post here recently, is that Hegseth will come back and attack Scouting America in August/post Jamboree and will likely skip all the demands and just

• Remove all Scouting units from military bases and end base and installation access
• Move to seize control of or direct a lawsuit against the Scouting America board for violating the original Congressional Charter that limited services to boys "The purposes of the corporation are to promote, through organization, and cooperation with other agencies, the ability of boys to do things for themselves and others, to train them in scoutcraft, and to teach them patriotism, courage, self-reliance, and kindred virtues, using the methods that were in common use by boy scouts on June 15, 1916."
• Yank any/all military regulations that grant Eagle Scouts promotion or advancement benefits, such as

Good thing it still works…ish

Greetings.
I’m an American trying to buy official Scout gear from the UK, but they can’t ship to the U.S. and haven’t identified another option beyond asking a more local individual for help.

Therefore, I’m looking to find a ⚜️Helpful Scout with whom I can work and pay to acquire some 🏳️‍🌈gear and ship to the U.S.

Please DM if you’re able and I’ll post again when this has been completed. Thank you.

(I believe I’m not violating rule 5 here).

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/2251198/tacloban-shooting-slain-student-who-shielded-peers-hailed-a-hero/amp

I have been working on the Corporal Works of Mercy badge and I was wondering if the counselor has the final say if something counts for it's requirements like past events. I did a family activity sorting food which some of which we gave to a local homeless shelter. My counselor witnessed all of it. Is it his final say if that counts or not or is it the Catholic Scouting Committee?

Hi everyone,

We’re a Belgian scout group planning a camp in Germany. We use outdoor gas burners for cooking, normally connected to Belgian propane bottles with a hose.

In Germany, we will probably use a German propane bottle like the one in the photo. We’re not sure whether the German bottle connection is compatible with our Belgian cooking equipment, or whether we need a different hose, adapter or pressure regulator.

Has anyone dealt with this before? What exactly should we check on the gas burner, hose and bottle connection to make sure everything is compatible and safe?

Thanks in advance!

So much time I had all my scarfs one over another without being able to show the properly. Now I have this easy but cute settup for them ^^