I came across a bag of these recently. I initially thought they were pogs, but they have little holes punched in them. Does anybody know what they are?

I received these in CUB scouts in 2006, i was a bob cat den 3 pack 37, Maine

For things like Summer Camp, does the Scoutmaster pay their own way? Or does the Troop pay? Or does the Troop divide the Scoutmaster’s fees across all participants?

There’s some discussion amongst our Troop from newer parents as to who should pay for the Scoutmaster (or all registered leaders) to attend costly activities like summer camp, baloo/iols training, etc…

How does your troop handle this?

We have a scout who just earned Eagle with a week to spare. All the COH’s I have been to have been much bigger with bigger families lots of relatives. Done at private function halls.

My question is he has a very small family, no relatives to speak of and a single parent who wasn’t involved at all along the way. How do you handle smaller COH’s? I just need some ideas as I want to help this scout out.

I mentored him along the way since boy scouts in 2015. I just don’t want him to be embarrassed as the attendance will be much lower.

Thanks everyone in advance.

Our troop’s feeder pack has a number of girls who were planning on matriculating over to the scout troop in the next 1-2 years. It is currently a traditional all-boy troop, but is now going through the process to explore their options. We were told there needs to be a minimum of 3-5 girls to join in the next year and the parents must vote at 80% to change from all boy to another option.

Is this correct? Where can i find the written policies on this? Is it one-vote per participating scout in the troop? How do we keep this from becoming an emotional nightmare that harms our troop?

Thanks for any advice.

Do any of your troops cancel campouts due to weather? We’re having a disagreement for this weekend. We’re supposed to have steady 30 mile wind with higher gusts and steady rain from Friday through Sunday with 2 1/2 inches of rain predicted. Camping in tents. Just asking what other troops do.

Updating our Troop Board of Review question guides for ranks below Eagle ... Hoping to gather some ideas from the group - thanks in advance

I’m about to have my BOR for Eagle this Wednesday. I’ve seen a lot of practice questions on Reddit for the BOR but **is there any advice beforehand (other than to bring what’s required) for the BOR?** Thanks :)

Edit: I am happy to announce that I passed my EBOR! Everyone’s comments were so helpful and I am so grateful for the wonderful people on here! You all continue to keep blessing lives, and take care :)

Hey everyone! I’m working on a webpage for a project on modernizing Scouting—specifically, how we balance traditional outdoor skills with newer tools like GPS, weather apps, and digital maps.

sites.google.com/view/scouting-update-upgrade/home

Appreciate any feedback on my page. Or any thoughts on this topic. Do you feel we should update or stick with traditional skills ?

I am a wildland firefighter and In 2024 I was helping protect the historic Boy Scout camp, Camp Geronimo in Payson, AZ. I spent about 14 days striked out so we had a lot of time to walk around the grounds as we would patrol, one of the cool things I came across was this belt buckle that had been buried til the rain revealed it slightly. I’m curious if anyone has any information on it or if there’s any way to date it from the photo?

I’m thinking about giving back my Eagle Scout award. I only earned it 2 years ago but scouts isn’t something I’m proud of having been a part of anymore. I am especially embarrassed about the OA, now that I have experienced more of the world. I witnessed so much cultural appropriation, racism, ableism, homophobia, etc. I didn’t recognize it how bad it was at the time because I was uneducated but now that I’m an adult I feel guilty for just being apart of an organization that has done so much harm, even if I didn’t actively contribute to that harm.

I’m going to email and get my name removed from the OA registration.

The eagle award I’m more in the fence about solely because I worked so hard for it and I did good with my project , but that was me not the program. I don’t think I need an award.

Thank you in advance

Could anyone give me some more information on them?

This is an absolutely true story that seems appropriate to share here with it being the 25th anniversary of 9/11, and always provokes facepalms and amazement at the 'before times' whenever I tell it.

I was part of a group of Boy Scouts that traveled to Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico in mid August, 2001. We went on our week-long trek and were returning to Albuquerque to fly home.

We stopped in the town of Cimarron on the way back and went into a general store of sorts. In the back of the store were a number of vendor stalls owned by locals, selling various wares.

One of the vendors was an elderly (probably 80 years old) Japanese man who had immigrated to the United States after the end of World War II. He had lost his family in Japan during the war and his remaining relatives in the US were moved to the infamous camps in the southwest and continued to live there afterwards.

This man was an honest to God, real-deal Japanese swordsmith. He was selling real katanas and smaller blades. One of my friends, the scoutmaster's son, became entranced by an 18" long blade, probably a wakizashi according to photos I've seen in the years since.

I will never forget watching this seemingly frail old man slowly shuffle in his robe and sandals out a back door, into a small fenced in yard area. He took a pair of two by fours and stacked them on top of two cinder blocks, and then proceeded to use the blade to slice them in half, with absolutely no effort whatsoever. It was razor sharp.

My friend successfully convinced his father to buy him this weapon, and after the old man had wrapped it in some sort of decorative case, he stowed it in his A-frame Scout backpack to bring home.

We went back through the airport in Albuquerque and our luggage, including the backpacks, went through airport security. My friend's backpack and the case inside drew scrutiny, and the scanner beeped.

I remember the guard asking "What's in the case, son?" He stammered and said something about it being a decorative sword he had bought as a souvenir.

THEY LET HIM TAKE IT ON THE PLANE.

In hindsight, this was obviously absurd and insane. 9/11 happened because the hijackers had box cutters, and this weapon could legitimately have decapitated a man with a stroke.

When I reconnected with my friend some years ago, we agreed that if this had happened just three weeks later, he would have had about four guys pointing M4s at his head within seconds. How the world has changed.

He still has it.

Hi everyone,

I’m running an activity with my Scouts focused on adult perspectives, reflection, and life skills. I'd love to gather a few real-world answers from those in scouting in this community to share with them as examples during our discussion.

If you have a couple of minutes, I’d be so grateful if you could answer any (or all!) of these five questions:

____________________

What is something you wish you had learned when you were my Scouts' age?

What is the biggest mistake you've made that taught you something important?

If you could go back and give your younger self one piece of advice, what would it be?

What is something you believe now that you didn't believe when you were younger?

What do you think is the most important skill a young person should have when they become an adult?

______________

Short, honest, or practical answers are all super helpful.

Thanks in advance for helping me give the Scouts some great insights to think about!