Policies

Basic Merit Badge Policy

In addition to all Merit Badge requirements as set forth by the Boy Scouts of America, Troop 18 employs some additional conditions as safeguards in the advancement process:

1. The rank of Eagle Scout can only be attained by earning ALL of the eleven (11) required Eagle Badges plus an additional ten (10) badges for a total of twenty-one Merit Badges. There will be no exceptions.
2. Requirements must be signed off by a Registered Merit Badge Counselor FOR THAT BADGE ONLY. You CANNOT go to another Counselor to sign off on a badge for which he or she is not certified. Please refer to the xxx for a complete list of all badges for which we have Merit Badge Counselors. In an emergency, the Scoutmaster or an Assistant Scoutmaster, in consultation with the Merit Badge Counselor, may sign off on a requirement.
3. A Merit Badge Counselor may counsel his/her own son ONLY if another Merit Badge Counselor is involved in the requirements work and can independently verify that the work has been completed. IN NO CASE shall a Merit Badge Counselor sign off on a requirement for his/her own son without the knowledge and approval of the Scoutmaster.
4. All Merit Badge Cards (Blue Cards) are distributed and collected by the Advancement Chairman. Cards must be filled out in the presence of the Advancement Chairman with the correct Merit Badge title entered appropriately. The Advancement Chairman will then sign the card.
5. The Scoutmaster is the sole and final authority on the validity of a completed requirement.
6. Partial requirements are good for a period of one year from the start of the Merit Badge work. After that, you have to do the work over again.

Scoutmaster's Personal Message To All Scouts That Want to Work on Merit Badges

If you plan to earn a merit badge, you must PERSONALLY contact the Merit Badge Counselor associated with that badge. Your parent is NOT to make this call for you since this is your responsibility as a Scout. The Counselor will direct you as to what you have to do for the merit badge as well as the timing of the work. This is all part of learning the badge and developing leadership. Also, just because you have 50 merit badges, it does not mean you will advance in rank. To do so, you must have proven yourself to the adults and junior leader staff that you have provided LEADERSHIP to the Troop and your fellow Scouts. This leadership requirement is part of the national scouting prerequisites for rank advancement. You will need 4 to 6 months of leadership activity for Star Scout and an additional 6 to 8 months for Life Scout, depending on your consistency and Scout Spirit as well as completing the requirements for the rank.

Special Note Regarding trying to get a Counselor to hurry through a merit badge or award so that it can be received at an up coming awards presentation

If the Counselor is able to accommodate you within their time frame, then that’s fine. However, if the Counselor indicates that he or she is unable to help you on short notice, the Scout should accept the decision and not pursue the matter further. Our Counselors volunteer a lot time out of their busy lives and schedules and we should respect their commitment. A Scout should plan to give himself sufficient time to complete the badge, rank or award and have all the appropriate paperwork signed off accordingly. This is part of leadership. If you want to receive a merit badge by a specific date, you must turn in a signed and verified Blue Merit Badge Card TWO weeks prior to the desired date or we cannot guarantee you will receive it on time. All completed cards must be turned into the Advancement Chairman.

Under NO circumstances should a parent contact a Merit Badge Counselor on behalf of the Scout. If a Scout is having a problem with a Merit Badge Counselor with regard to earning a badge or award, the SCOUT should contact the Merit Badge Chairman (who can be reached by email at XXX) to discuss the issue. DO NOT CALL ANOTHER MERIT BADGE COUNSELOR!!! Again, this is a demonstration of leadership. In the rare case of a major problem, the matter will be referred to the Scoutmaster who is the sole and final judge as to the awarding of an award, merit badge or rank advancement.

Regarding Scoutmaster Conferences and Boards of Review

All Scouts MUST be prepared to do the following before seeking a Scoutmaster Conference or Board of Review:

1. The advancing Scout must demonstrate Scout Spirit as well as the rank requirements.
2. He must have participated in 3 overnights or Troop activities defined by the Troop. One event MUST be a Camporee, the second MUST be Basic Training while the third campout or activity may be of the Scout's choice. This must be completed during the Scouting Year September thru July. Summer Camp does not count. A Scout seeking advancement early in the year must have shown that in the prior year he has attended the three campout minimum otherwise his advancement will be delayed until he shows a trend to do so in the new year.

Definitions:

Full Uniform: Shirt with correct patches, pants, belt, sash, neckerchief or bola, and Scout Handbook

Scout Skills Knowledge: Scout must demonstrate that he has a grasp of basic Scout skills including, but not limited to, knots, first aid, camping, etc. Tenderfoot, 2nd Class and 1st Class Scouts must document three (3) skills they have learned and tell why it helped them.

Scout Spirit: Prior to the Board of Review, the Scout must have completed three (3) campouts in the current Scouting Year or has shown a consistent camping record in prior years, not counting Summer Camp, and has attended a proportional amount (60%) of the Troop meetings.

Leadership: Where rank-appropriate, the Scout must submit three (3) verifiable examples of accomplishments in leadership that he has successfully completed in his current rank. These accomplishments must be different from the prior rank advancement, in other words, the Scout must demonstrate what he did different from his last Board of Review to advance his leadership goals. He must also explain in detail how this helped him and the Troop.