@RickHillenbrand – Many thanks for your comprehensive reply, it was really helpful and I appreciate your time. For most of us in the overseas councils the mapping function isn’t the issue, it’s the ability for our units to be searchable on beascout which is the main issue. (e.g. when a military/government family is moving to Europe on assignment they will know their new zip code in advance and want to go to beascout to search for relevant scouting units much like they do in the states. So our issue is visibility (recruitment/streamlining online applications) – not necessarily being geo-locatable, our PIN description/websites can facilitate that)**
I will of course work with the council/district and get our LAT/LONGs updated as we want to be able to benefit from the upcoming functionality in My.Scouting/Beascout. Again thank you for that recommendation, I agree these are positive steps in the right direction!
I looked at the spreadsheet you provided looking for commonalities in the two units which I CAN find using APO/DPO zips. (Pack 0457/0802) but found none. But since there were other Charlemagne units in there with their zips I did a look-up on them and found that, several other overseas units CAN BE FOUND with APO/DPO zips. Examples below:
Pack 0100 – Brunnsum, BE [08540]. This may work because they share the same zip as a place in NJ? This unit erroneously shows up under the Washington Crossing Council 777. Scouting units near you - Boy Scouts of America
Pack 0457/0802 – Brussels, BE [09714]. As discussed earlier, they show up but other units sharing this zip code do not (e.g. Ship 0802, Troops 0457/0802)These units show up under TAC. Scouting units near you - Boy Scouts of America
Scouting units near you - Boy Scouts of America
Troop 0112 – Paris, FR [92200] So PACK 0112 has lat/longs but doesn’t show up, TROOP 0112 does not have lat/longs and shows on beascout. With research I’ve found their zip is a purely foreign zip code (France) So any similarities to US zips does not explain its appearance in Beasout. This unit shows under San-Deigo Imperial Council 049. Scouting units near you - Boy Scouts of America
None of the above units showing in beascout have their LAT/LONGs listed. So this is an interesting software issue. There is some other data point or functionality which allows some “non-US” zips to be searchable in Beascout and others not. Almost all the units above show their pins/applications are active and are either in unit or council view. Their address entries vary wildly so that’s not a factor either. The fact that two of the TAC units show up under different councils is a mystery as well.
My guess is that there is some selection, some “button to be pushed” on the system such as the ScoutNET “Do not post” due to re-chartering etc that’s been inconsistently applied. Perhaps this is an easy fix or a training issue? When a unit or district attempts to enter an APO/DPO zip on the beascout website we get a yellow exclamation point indicating the site doesn’t like the entry. Perhaps the council or national has the ability to “force” enter a DPO/APO zip and thus make the unit searchable?
I’m not sure we NEED to fix the mapping problem for the overseas councils, simply the “visibility” or “searchability.” I would imagine if asked we would prioritize being searchable over mapping. This simple fix alone would have dramatic effects for these very large, high turnover councils.
Again my many thanks for your time looking into this for those of us out here living the scouting dream in Europe!
YIS
Lee