Scouts return to paramilitary roots....

[armb]

Scouts, at least UK ones, are no longer expected to learn pike rifle staff drill and carry knives.

Meanwhile, in the USA: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/14/us/14explorers.html

Comments

[keristor.livejournal.com]

I had my own axe by the time I was 14, and was trained how to use it safely (I chopped down a tree with it a year or so later). We used personal knives at school to sharpen pencils (not pens, though; we had dip-in pens but they used metal nibs). I don't think our Scout uniform required a sheath knife but it was certainly allowed at camp or on hikes.