Free Republic

Ask Candidates about the Boy Scouts Dear Member of the Media: The city of Philadelphia is a war zone. Philadelphia has the highest murder rate of all major U.S. cities and one of the highest overall crime rates. One in thirteen young black males in the city was shot or killed in the past 5 years. Over 1,000 youth under age 24 were shot in 2006 alone. Philadelphia has one of the highest high school dropout rates of all major cities and is among the highest in gang membership, gang violence and drug use. One answer to this crisis facing...

BAGHDAD — Students at Safwan school, located near Umm Qasr, recently received a gift of supplies and athletic equipment from Coalition forces. Airmen from the 887th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron, Moody Air Force Base, Georgia, delivered dozens of supplies to the students. The supplies included paper, coloring books, pencils, crayons and hand-sewn book bags, as well as a dozen soccer balls. Many of the materials were donated by Girl Scout Troop 76 from Cornwall, N.Y. The 887th ESFS is charged with the external security of Forward Operating Base Bucca, under the command of the 300th Military Police Brigade. “Taking a...

A QUICK-thinking boy scout has thwarted an assassination bid against the president of the Maldives. Officials said Mohamed Murshid, 20, tried to plunge a knife into President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom's stomach, but Asia's longest serving president was unhurt thanks to Mahamed Jaisham, 15, who wrestled with the attacker before he was detained.

Attention all Scout Leaders New Boy Scout Rank Requirements Effective January 1, 2008 The National Youth Protection Committee recommended additions to Boy Scout rank requirements that were approved and become effective January 1, 2008. These changes will help us advance the importance of Youth Protection training beyond the initial Boy Scout joining requirements, and keep youth informed and actively engaged in understanding the key elements of personal safety and protection. TENDERFOOT RANK Revised requirement 9: Explain the importance of the buddy system as it relates to your personal safety on outings and in your neighborhood. Describe what a bully is...

BAGHDAD, Dec. 4, 2007 – When Sgt. Jason Stisser, of Troop O, 4th Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment, found out he was coming back to Iraq, he quickly brushed up on his Arabic. That preparation has been benefiting his platoon in its current duties. Nashville, Tenn., native Army Sgt. Jason Stisser, Troop O, 4th Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment, provides security along with Iraqi army troops during a clearing operation in Baghdad’s Karkh district. Photo by Sgt. 1st Class Kap Kim, USA  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Based out of Forward Operating Base Prosperity in central Baghdad, the...

FORWARD OPERATING BASE HAMMER — Iraqi national policemen (NP) from 1st Battalion, 3rd Brigade, 1st National Police Division, Baghdad, recently spent seven days working with Scouts from Troop B, 3rd Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment. On their final day together, the two groups conducted a search at a large brick factory, east of Nahrwan, Nov. 6. “The national police did all of the searches,” said Capt. Jared Albright, from Lancaster, Pa., the commander of Troop B, currently attached to 1st Battalion, 10th Field Artillery Regiment. “We were just here to provide support.” Command Sgt. Major James Pearson, from Philadelphia, the command...

The subject of a book titled "The Radioactive Boy Scout" waived his preliminary larceny hearing Monday after he was charged with stealing 16 smoke detectors from Green Valley Apartments in Clinton Township. The larceny case against him will automatically go to circuit court and that hearing is set for September 27. Investigators said David Hahn, 31, was arrested in connection with stealing a smoke detector from his apartment complex. Others were found in his apartment. Hahn had tried to build a nuclear reactor in a shed as a teenager. A Harper's Magazine article reported he was trying to produce energy...

The dawn of a new day signals the start of a new century for Scouting.At 8am on August 1st 1907 Robert Baden-Powell, the founder of the Scouting movement opened the world's first ever scout camp, on Brownsea Island, by sounding his Kudu horn three times. One hundred years later, and the UK Chief Scout, Peter Duncan, was there to blow his Kudu horn three times to mark the beginning of the Worldwide Scouting Sunrise.Throughout the different time zones, Scouts from around the world renewed their Scout Promise at exactly 8am to mark the centenary of the opening camp.Meanwhile, at the...

On the morning of the Battle of the Little Bighorn, Stabbed, one of Lt. Col. George Custer's senior scouts, maneuvered his pony through 24 other Arikaras attached to the 7th Cavalry. "Young men, keep up your courage, don't feel that you are children," he exhorted. "Today will be a hard battle." Then he took some clay he had brought with him from the Arikara homeland in North Dakota and rubbed it in his hands. One by one, Stabbed called the scouts to him. "He spat on the clay and then rubbed it on their chests," surviving scouts told historian O.G....

SIERRA VISTA — Andrew Cook’s tree-planting project came to life Saturday, as volunteers worked at an area veterans cemetery. Cook, 16, organized the project as part of his efforts to gain one of the highest honors in Boy Scouting, the rank of Eagle Scout. “I’ve been a Life Scout for three years, and this is something I needed to get done,” said Cook, who came up with a project to beautify the Southern Arizona Veterans Memorial Cemetery. “My mom always said I should go plant trees at the cemetery. But this project way exceeded my expectations.” The Buena High School...

A fleet of exploding probes could prepare the way for warding off hazardous asteroids. Several of the small spherical robots would land on a single asteroid, some exploding while others listen for vibrations that could reveal the object's inner structure. NASA has a list of more than 800 asteroids considered to be potentially hazardous because their orbits carry them close to Earth's. If one of them is found to be on a collision course, knowing its physical properties will be crucial in devising a mission to divert it.

Scout Snipers Break in New Rifles Ft. A.P. Hill, VA. - Scout Snipers from the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit's Battalion Landing Team, 2nd Bn., 2nd Marine Regiment, fired their new rifles for the first time on a range here today. The BLT Marines will use the new MK-11 semi-automatic sniper rifle simultaneously alongside the bolt-action M40A3, a descendent of the Vietnam-era M40. The rifle resembles an M-16 on first glance, and Sgt. Gerald V. Gavin, Scout Sniper Platoon commander, said the resemblance can benefit operations on today's urban battlefields. Gavin said the distinct look of the M40A3 makes identifying a...

Family welcomes 12th Eagle Scouthttp://www.tmnews.com/articles/2006/07/16/sections/news/news74.txt http://tinyurl.com/rwvkn Sunday, July 16, 2006 Last modified: Sunday, July 16, 2006 6:46 AM CDT By Jason Mullis, Hoosier Times BEDFORD - There are 12 virtues the American Boy Scouts espouse to the youth in their charge. Similarly, when Travis Scherschel earned the highest rank of Eagle Scout Saturday, he became the 12th Scherschel to do so. "Becoming an Eagle Scout is an outstanding achievement, which requires hard work and dedication," Mark Scherschel, Travis' father, read from a letter from President George W. Bush. "Your accomplishment serves as an example of excellence and a source of...

WASHINGTON, May 26, 2006 – Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld received scouting's highest honor from the Boy Scouts of America here today. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld (right) receives the Silver Buffalo Award from the Boy Scouts of America in Washington, May 26. Photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Chad J. McNeeley, USN   (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. "I'm very honored to accept scouting's Silver Buffalo Award," Rumsfeld said during a breakfast sponsored by the National Eagle Scout Association. "Since its earliest days, the Boy Scouts have cultivated leadership and good citizenship, a service that has been...

MARINE CORPS RECRUIT DEPOT SAN DIEGO (May 19, 2006) -- Marine Band San Diego sent a delegate of five Marines to the locally harbored USS Midway on Saturday where they provided patriotic music for the Girl Scout Operation Thin Mint 2006 Sendoff Celebration. Girl Scouts by the hundreds, troop leaders and parents gathered on the large carrier’s deck and surrounded the center stage waving miniature American flags while the brass quintet played patriotic music. The girls met on the ship as a formal way to send massive quantities of cookies sold throughout the year to the troops deployed overseas. Bill...

Before they became co-workers, Jeff Propp and Marlene West sometimes bored others within earshot on the gondola at Whistler Mountain with their tech talk during ski trips. In the course of one of those gab sessions, Ms. West learned that Mr. Propp, a family friend, was interested in changing jobs. She convinced him to apply to Vancouver-based software firm Business Objects, where she worked, using her name as a reference. Mr. Propp, although employed, was weighing three other opportunities at the time. It was Ms. West's wholehearted endorsement of Business Objects as a great employer that tipped the balance, says...

After watching the deterioration of the dog park he frequently visits with his pet, an East Side boy decided he wanted to fix it up a little. Raymond Snyder, a 14-year-old who is committed to becoming an Eagle Scout, will begin work on the off-leash dog area at Palo Verde Park, 300 S. Mann Ave., today. He plans to complete the work on April 22. He chose to take on the task after noticing cracks in tables, water containers for dogs that created a muddy mess, and holes in the ground that left dogs with minor injuries. Even his own...

U.S. Air Force Chief Master Sgt. David Tarnowski (right), 746th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron, was once the Boy Scout leader of Airman 1st Class Ian Zerby, 379th Civil Engineering Squadron. The two recently reunited after deploying to Southwest Asia. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Veronica Aceveda U.S. Air Force Airman 1st Class Ian Zerby, Chief Master Sgt. David Tarnowski Boy Scout Connection Found in War Zone By Tech. Sgt. Veronica Aceveda 379th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs SOUTHWEST ASIA, March 30, 2006 — For 96 years, the Boy Scouts of America has provided a common ground for thousands...

FORT COLLINS, Colo. (March 13, 2006) -- A Twenty-nine Palms Marine participated in a United States naturalization ceremony, along with 33 other people from 20 different countries, more than 60 students here in Fort Collins and political representatives from the national, state and local levels. Corporal Artyom N. Dutchak was born in the Ukraine and moved to Sterling, Colo. in 1999 when he was 14 years old along with his sister Alyoha and his mother Nataliya Nickels. Shortly after graduating from Sterling High School, Dutchak took the oath to become a United States Marine. “I have always had the desire...

This story is a personal follow-up on the story about Captain John Smathers who died last week, at home, from a heart failure related to heart valve damage. I have, with permission, posted the text of a speech Capt. Smathers gave last Veterans' Day. I encourage you to read both CBS story and the text of his speech. Capt. Smathers served alongside a dear friend of mine. We'll call my friend "T". T was with John when he (John) earned his 4 (four) bronze stars. T says he earned them all. (John was gravely wounded in Iraq recently, but recovered...