Training, advising and assisting

Afghan veterans celebrateFor the past eleven-plus years, the United States military has been engaged in warfare in the mountainous Asian nation of Afghanistan, assisting the Afghan forces in defending against the Taliban. Politics aside, many observers have been looking forward to an end to US involvement. Chiefly among them are families of our fighting men and women, many of whom were Scouts as youth.

Within the last few days, President Obama announced his intention to pursue an accelerated withdrawal of fighting forces from Afghanistan. No longer would American troops be fighting the battles; rather, most will come home, and for those who remain, their role will be one of training, advising and assisting Afghan forces as they engage in combat against their country’s insurgents. Continue reading “Training, advising and assisting”

“My job is just to ask questions”

Restaurant ImpossibleEvery week, the Food Network runs a show called Restaurant Impossible. In the show, chef Robert Irvine makes a whirlwind two-day visit to a failing restaurant to try to determine why it’s failing and to take corrective action. His designers fix the decor while he fixes not only the kitchen and the menu, but more importantly, the staff and owners as well.

A recent episode had Chef Robert and his crew at a steakhouse which has been losing money for several years. In going over the books, he notices financial discrepancies that could be the result of mismanagement or, worse, theft. Continue reading ““My job is just to ask questions””

The changing journey

JTE2012-GoldBy now, hopefully you’ve had a chance to complete your troop’s annual Journey to Excellence scorecard and turn it in to your district professional. Generally, these are due by December 31st, in order to qualify for the award and help your district and council qualify for theirs. (The district and council JTE awards depend in part on units turning in their scorecards.)

When Journey to Excellence was developed by a team of experienced Scouters and national council staff, it was intended to be a flexible system, in order to reflect current BSA initiatives and to be a better predictor of the quality of a unit’s performance and program. Continue reading “The changing journey”

Going, going, gone

A young man, well-liked in his school, just months away from graduation, elected as homecoming king by his classmates, takes his own life.

Another young man, also popular in high school, another homecoming king – valedictorian, accepted at a prestigious university – ends his own life as well.

Another young man fails to awaken one morning. His parents find him groggy and unresponsive. After three days on a ventilator in intensive care, he starts to come out of it. He eventually recovers, but his family is scarred by the incident.

These may be isolated incidents, but they happened in my community – and within the last few months. Continue reading “Going, going, gone”