Troop Meeting - 7pm (Zoom)
Link in Email
Our meeting will be a E-Prep share out & progress check (see below).
Memorial Day
Today is Memorial Day. While we often celebrate with parades, picnics, and fun activities, it is a day of somber mourning, honoring those who've died in military service to our country. We fly the flag at half-staff until noon to honor those who've died. Afternoon we raise the flag to full-staff to honor all veterans. When flying the flag mounted on our home, we attach a black streamer - called a mourning ribbon - to the spearhead. While every day is a good day to honor a veteran, remember Memorial Day is not Veteran's day, please take a moment to understand the difference and properly honor those who've served and those who've died in service to our nation.
While this year we cannot commemorate the day with the celebrations, services and activities we normally do, we can still take some time to recognize the importance of the day and maybe learn a bit more about how and why we celebrate it.
Originally known as Decoration Day, it originated in the years following the Civil War and became an official federal holiday in 1971. “Flags-in” refers to the ceremony of flag placement on Memorial Day — a tradition first observed in 1868, three years after the end of the Civil War — at Arlington National Cemetery in Washington D.C.
According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, who would be elected president that same year, presided over the first solemn event, then known as “Decoration Day.”
Congressman James Garfield, who eventually became president, gave the main address. He said of the dead: “We do not know one promise these men made, one pledge they gave, one word they spoke; but we do know they summed up and perfected, by one supreme act, the highest virtues of men and citizens. For love of country they accepted death.”
Taps Across America
For any brass players out there, at 3pm put on your uniform, and go outside and play taps. Video record yourself, send it to me, and send it in to try and make the news. If you're interested and are struggling with the music, it's important to know some stuff about the Bugle. A trumpet is basically 7 interactive bugles.
All bugle calls are written in C, but you don't have to play it there. You can see the music here.
On a valved instrument, like trumpet, cornet, or baritone/euphonium, try playing the entire thing with valves 1 & 3 depressed (essentially making it a bugle). On Trombone, stay in 4th position. If you have a question reach out.
On a valved instrument, like trumpet, cornet, or baritone/euphonium, try playing the entire thing with valves 1 & 3 depressed (essentially making it a bugle). On Trombone, stay in 4th position. If you have a question reach out.
Emergency Preparedness MB
• email from 5/19 - We'll be checking in on these things tonight.
There are 3 important links below:
2- Merit Badge Workbook - This will help you track your progress.
3- Merit Badge Pamphlet (*note - the pamphlet I shared before is the old one. This is the new one BSA redid the requirements in 2019). Also this is screenshots from my Kindle edition so it's really long but there isn't a lot on each page so don't be afraid.)
As with every merit badge, I encourage you to read the entire pamphlet - it'll help you understand the content and it will help you retain the knowledge. Additionally, it will help you make connections to yourself - which is the entire reason we're doing this! This pamphlet might take you an hour total.
Homework for this week: Requirements 2 a,b & c & 7b
2. Do the following: (PDF pg 35)
a. Discuss with your counselor the aspects of emergency preparedness:
(1) Prepare for emergency situations.(2) Respond to emergency situations.(3) Recover from emergency situations.(4) Prevent emergency situations.
(5) Mitigate losses in emergency situations.
Include in your discussion the kinds of questions that are important to ask yourself as you consider each of these.
b. Make a chart that demonstrates your understanding of each of the aspects of emergency preparedness in requirement 2a (prepare, respond, recover, prevent, and mitigate) with regard to 10 of the situations listed below. You must use situations 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 below in boldface, but you may choose any other five listed here for a total of 10 situations. Discuss this chart with your counselor.
(1) Home kitchen fire
(2) Home basement/storage room/garage fire(2) Home basement/storage room/garage fire(3) An explosion in the home(4) Automobile crash(5) Food-borne disease (food poisoning)(6) Fire or explosion in a public place(7) Vehicle stalled in the desert(8) Vehicle trapped in a blizzard(9) Flash flooding in town or in the country(10) Mountain/backcountry accident(11) Boating or water accident(12) Gas leak in a home or a building(13) Tornado or hurricane(14) Major flood(15) Toxic chemical spills and releases(16) Nuclear power plant emergency(17) Avalanche (snowslide or rockslide)
(18) Violence in a public place
c. Meet with and teach your family how to get or build a kit, make a plan, and be informed for the situations on the chart you created for requirement 2b. Complete a family plan. Then meet with your counselor and report on your family meeting, discuss their responses, and share your family plan.
7b. Prepare a written plan for mobilizing your troop when needed to do emergency service. If there is already a plan, explain it. Tell your part in making it work. (Pdf pg 248)
