Scouting America Launches Updated Aviation Merit Badge

Scouting America, formerly Boy Scouts of America (BSA), unveiled a newly revised Aviation merit badge, aimed at sparking youth interest in aviation.


This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://www.avweb.com/aviation-news/scouting-america-launches-updated-aviation-badge

Those very color and sex diverse individuals in the photo are WAY too old to be scouts!

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“Explorers” are scouts between ages of 10 and 20. It’s another step up after the traditional Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts. Typically they’re more focused on a particular discipline (cars, or computers, or aviation) and less so on camping. Explorer posts were coed starting in 1971.

Back in the day I was a member of Explorer Post 747 (cool number for an aviation post). We had our own Cessna 172.

More can be found here: About Us - Exploring.org

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When the “Scouting America” word salad stops, the “Boy Scouts of America” can return to their focus of training and educating young men in a broad spectrum of skills and knowledge!! It’s time to move on from the “neutering” of this once great organization!

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“The newly revised Aviation merit badge is aimed at sparking youth interest in the aviation industry”

I worked with several scouts on their aviation merit badge in the past and none of them had secondary sexual characteristics nor were they shaving. I also did it for helping the kids and NOT for “the industry”. The focus in the past was to learn and have fun; NOT to go after yutes to create new industry worker bees.

“Word salad” is not the problem. This “once great organization” neutered themselves by hiding pedophiles instead of kicking them out and turning them over to the police. They ended up paying $2.4 BILLION in damages as a result.

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You would make Allen Ginsberg proud!

“The focus in the past was to learn and have fun; NOT to go after yutes to create new industry worker bees.”

That’s the crux of the action. It is so obvious it goes beyond pathetic. Beyond dumb and dumber.

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Paging Dr Word Salad to the white phone.. I miss that guy..

NOBODY does ANYTHING for the industry. Try reading the rest of the article. Ever since Lord Baden Powell established the scouts in 1910 it has ALWAYS been about adventure, fun and learning, and most include “seedlings” to help the scouts decide if they’d like to do this for a career. Do you have a problem with a scout deciding he’d like to be a pilot, or a dentist, or a chemist, or a botanist, or a plumber?

Do you mean the 1950s Allen Ginsberg? The very anti-establishment beat poet? What the bloody hell does that have to do with your bullshit?

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Thank you. I wish more people would look up the meaning of “word salad” before using it.

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" The newly revised Aviation merit badge is aimed at sparking youth interest in the aviation industry."

It’s says it was revised specifically for the industry.
Aviation is an adjective, industry is the noun.
The badge was revised from aviation to industry, the aviation industry.
Words and word order have meaning.

You are absolutely right in that words and their order have meanings. Not just two words, all of them.You are acting the idiot again, AJ. IT DOES NOT SAY it was developed for the industry. This says it is “aimed at sparking youth interest in aviation.”

I’ve been teaching this for 19 years. The last 20 minutes of a seven-hour class discusses careers.
Next time research what you are talking about.

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1`) Look up word salad. You will be surprised at yourself.

  1. Nobody “neutered themselves.” After almost 30 years of proposing a merge with the Girl Scouts, which they wouldn’t have, it became Scouts BSA and in 2019 became an all-family entity. In February the name changed to Scouting America. It is still a great organization, even better for FAMILIES, as it is better for socialization and teaches the same values. With 1 million members, 200,00 are girls in the U.S. alone. Scouting is a worldwide organization with presence in every nonoppressive country. Look it up.

  2. And oh yeah, while girls could be Venturers (the career-oriented arm) and Sea Scouts since 1980, Now the kids can be Cub Scouts in first grade, scouts in fifth grade through age 18, and Venturers from ages 14-21. So no, no neutering, just much better atmosphere for learning to be part of society. And girls can be Eagle Scouts. Look it up.

Lots of burnde cookies again. Normal day in the AVweb comments section. :cookie::fire:

Wrong, Cub scouts are kindergarten through fourth grade in a pack with boy and girl dens. Scouts are fifth grade through age 18, in either boy or girl troops. Coed Explorer posts are ages 14-21 and each posts concentrates on careers (paramedics, firefighters etc.) Mine is an aerospace post, also with a cool name: Explorer Post Voyager 1903.

NOBODY does ANYTHING for the industry. Try reading the rest of the article. Ever since Lord Baden Powell established the scouts in 1910 it has ALWAYS been about adventure, fun and learning, and most include “seedlings” to help the scouts decide if they’d like to do this for a career. Do you have a problem with a scout deciding he’d like to be a pilot, or a dentist, or a chemist, or a botanist, or a plumber?

OBODY harbored and protected pedophiles. That’s bullshit!!! Ya know what attracts pedophiles? Youth organizations. Since the late 70s Scouting has used a very strict youth protection program that is the model for youth organizations, school systems, churches, camps, etc. Nowadays every parent and leader is REQUIRED to take and agree with the training, and held accountable. No training, no membership, no exceptions. Pedos ARE reported, prosecuted, arrested and kicked out. Look it up.

I have a problem with scouting CHANGING a merit badge for the sole reason of said change being to influence “career pathways within an industry”. Scouting was about what the child wanted to learn, not to be a “unique opportunity” for industries to influence children. That is sick and perverse.