About District Director and the Cub Scout “OA” (Outdoor Activities) Flap (19 Oct 10)

(This was originally sent to me during the summer of 2008)

Good morning, Roger!!

Glad you’re enjoying the current version of the Badge and Uniform Site…I am in the process of updating it and placing a fresher coat of paint on the site…

Yeah…I was hired as a District Scout Executive with one of Birmingham, Alabama’s urban districts under the old Professional Preview Program back in the early 80s.  I had to resign the job because the Army had other plans for me — which included active duty in Germany.  Maybe after I retire from the Army (I’ve got three more years), some Council will hire me to answer their phones and direct people to the Scout Shop! *hehehehehee*

You wrote in part and asked me (I’m taking these from the bottom up — it’s easier for me to answer them that way):

“When I was a senior district executive, I could never figure out why that is a gold border.  Why is that a gold border, and a district executive is a silver border?  If a DE is a primary leader, isn’t a SDE?  A SDE is just a more experienced DE, who does the same job, just perhaps a larger district or other larger responsibilities.  Could never figure out why a DE and SE have silver, but not a SDE.  Any thoughts?”

The answer is the same way that the Patrol Leader and Senior Patrol Leader insignia had silver borders and the rest gold:  Leadership — Patrol, Troop, District, Council — is denoted by silver borders.

All of the “support folk” had gold borders.   Now we both know that the Senior District Executive and for that matter the District Director are both “senior” and “supervisory” positions and that in many cases that SDE or DD is also the District Executive for a particular District.   The BSA views those roles however, as “Council support” roles, which is why they have the gold (yellow) border and lettering.

If *I* was the Advisor to the Uniform and Insignia Subcommittee, I would have directed that those emblem have the same border color as the District Executive — silver — but the lettering and design would remain gold.  SDEs and DDs are key leaders but they are also support leaders too.

“Hey, thanks for the guidance on the (ridiculously large) Outdoor Activity Award pocket flap and Summertime Award pin conflict.  It has been driving my son and me nuts all year!  (We pinned it right to the flap over the picture of the sun!)”

No problem…I don’t know why someone felt that Cub Scouts needed an “OA” (Outdoor Activity) flap. A smaller emblem — similar to the Totin’ Chip emblem — would have worked better and still provided space for the National Summertime Pack Award pins in my opinion.

“Mark my words, someday I will be in charge of this stuff, and I will make the right changes.  First order of business… I would make every patch 50% its current size.  Badges of office, council strips, knots, shoulder loops… At the world jamboree other countries call us Ego Scouts… and when you put an American uniform next to others, yup, we sure do look silly.  In my future world, adults will wear their Eagle badge (and it will be ornate)… knots will be smaller and four across, not three… Scoutmasters will have silver mylar embroidery again, merit badge sashes will be worn on belts if a boy wants to wear his OA sash… and where the nameplate goes for non-OA men will be clear!  Someday… someday.”

*heheheheheheeheee*  Good luck there!!  I too get the same comments whenever I go to international Scouting events — “man, are you wearing EVERYTHING you’ve earned?” is the most frequent question.  I just shake my head and say “nope….it’s just that the BSA wants us to wear what’s current to us…and believe it or not, this is current.”

I have no space on the shirt for ALL of the square knot insignia things I’m entitled to….I leave a lot of stuff off and instead I have them on another shirt.  I do wished that the Eagle Scout cloth badge would be back to the size of the ones in the 50s and early 60s….it was smaller, yes, but you could wear the Palms on the cloth badge and it would work better….

“I have seen the next uniform… some good changes, a lot of silly decisions I think.  It will look (again) less like a Christmas tree, something I heard when the badges went from colors to tan… but it certainly does not look professional and sharp to me.”

Most of our professional cadre won’t wear it unless its forced upon them, Roger.  I’m disappointed with the design as it was rolled out and I’m hoping that this will become the “outdoor” uniform, keeping the current one as the “indoor” uniform.   The sleeve pocket for most Scouts won’t be useful; the smaller unit numbers may work but it really reminds me of Girl Scouting insignia…are we getting our stuff from the same place, maybe?  Don’t know about that….

“The uniforms, if I remember right, changed in 1980 with Oscar de la Renta redesigning them.  I remember older boys and the Scoutmaster of my troop still with those collarless green jobs.  And the unit badges of office went from green to tan when I was senior patrol leader, so about 1989… probably when the 10^th edition of the handbook came out (I think that was the number).  (You are citing 70’s as when the uniform came out.)”

I purchased a new uniform in 1979.  The official rollout for the new uniform was a year before that.  I’ll have to go back and check out the 1978 and 79 catalogs and verify that.  This is one reason why I’m updating all of the pages — so that I can spend the time and verify the information.

“On the insignia stuff.  Boy, you are talking my language, as I must have been one of the few Boy Scouts to have his own cherished Insignia Control Guide.  I remember always wanting to be the International Commissioner because the patch seemed really cool.”

You and me both!!!  I always wondered — and later found out — if the International Commissioner’s badge of office was so cool looking — how come we didn’t have a National Commissioner badge of office which looked like the Chief Scout Executive’s (we do NOW, but back then we didn’t have a National Commissioner…or Regional Commissioners…)

Thanks for asking me…do stay in touch, Roger!!

Mike Walton