Like most on this thread I have a mixture of BSA/Military/LEO. As a suburban child I started my training in the Boy Scouts, eventually attaining the rank of Eagle Scout. Then came college, with the costs of tuition. As a result I enlisted in the Army National Guard which paid for college. I was automatically promoted to a higher rank for being an Eagle Scout. I could go on and talk about the great training I received through my six years in the military as well as civilian law enforcement training. But, after working with professionals who have been through SERE, Ranger, SF and SWAT training , the one thing everyone says is that the best training they received was when they were kids in the BSA. This is not to say Boy Scout training is anywhere near the level of real hands on, real world experience, but the best thing for any child is to gain experience, team building, leadership, and self esteem. These are the same things the military spends so much time trying to teach. I would recommend that anyone with children start teaching them these skills early in life, because they will never regret having these skills no matter what path they choose.