1. Will the troop & audience please rise, hats off.

2. Color guard, attention!

3. Color guard, advance! (wait for color guard to reach the front)

4. Color guard, prepare to post the colors! (wait for flag carriers to reach the flag stands and are ready to insert the poles)

5. Post the colors! (wait for flag carriers to set the flags in the stands and step back)

6. Please join me in the Pledge of Allegiance - Ready - Begin (“I Pledge Allegiance to the Flag …")

7. The Scout Oath - Ready - Begin (“On My Honor I will do my best …”)

8. The Scout Law - Ready - Begin (“A Scout is trustworthy, …")

9. Two!

10. Color guard, return to ranks.

11. Color guard, retreat.

12. Color guard, dismissed – Troop and audience, you may be seated. Standard

Second Script

Have the color guard in the back of the room, ready holding the flags. The US Flag is on the right, then State flag, then Troop flag on the left as the color guard is facing towards the front of the room - or, US Flag in front, followed by State, then Troop flag.

Leader: "Color Guard, Attention!"

Leader: "Audience, Please Rise!"

Leader: "Scout Salute! Those not in uniform, please place your right hand over your heart."

Leader: "Color Guard, Forward March!"

Wait for color guard to reach the front.

Leader: "Color Guard, Halt!"

Leader: "Color Guard, Cross the Colors!"

State and Troop flags stop. US Flag crosses in front of other flags to left-most flag stand (as viewed from the audience), then State flag advances, then Troop flag. Wait for flag bearers to move to the flag pole stands.

Leader: "Please recite the Pledge of Allegiance!"

Leader: "TWO!"

Everyone drops salute.

Leader: "Scout Sign!"

Everyone raises right hand making the Scout sign.

Leader: "Please join us in reciting the [Scout Law, Scout Oath, Outdoor Code, ...]!"

This is where the ceremony can be customized by the scout in charge. Choose what to recite. Could sing a song such as 'America the Beautiful'...

Leader: "TWO!"

Everyone drops Scout sign.

Leader: "Color Guard, Post the Flag of the United States of America! "

Leader: "Color Guard, Post the Flag of the Great State of [your state name]! "

Leader: "Color Guard, Post the Flag of [Pack/Troop] 123! "

Leader: "Color Guard, Honor your Colors!"

Flag bearers salute the US flag.

Leader: "Color Guard, return to ranks!"

Wait for flag bearers return to formation.

Leader: "Audience, Please be seated!"

1. Will the troop & audience please rise, hats off.

2. Color guard, attention!

3. Color guard, advance! (wait for color guard to reach the front)

4. Color guard, prepare to retire the colors! (wait for flag carriers to reach the flag stands and are ready to extract the poles)

5. Troop salute the American flag. (salute for about 3 seconds) Two!

6. Color guard, retire the colors.

7. Color guard, return to ranks. (wait for flag carriers to rejoin to the rest of the color guard at front of the room)

8. Color guard, retreat. (wait until the flags reach the back of the room)

9. Color guard, dismissed.

10. Troop dismissed - Thank you for coming.

Second Script

(leader assembles color guard in back of room or offstage so they are ready. You may only have flag bearers, 2 or 3 scouts following, 2 in front and 2 behind, or any crisp formation depending on number of scouts in color guard.)

Leader: "Color Guard, Attention! "

Leader: "Audience, Please Rise! "

Leader: "Color Guard, Forward March! "

(wait for color guard to reach the front)

Leader: "Color Guard, Halt! "

Leader: "Scout Salute! Please put your right hand over your heart if you are not in uniform."

Leader: "Color Guard, Retrieve the Colors! "

(wait for flag bearers to pick up their flags)

Leader: "Color Guard, Return to Ranks! "

(Scouts not carrying flags turn around so they are facing the audience. Wait for flag bearers to return to formation)

(US Flag is on the far right facing the audience, then state flag, then troop flag on far left.)

Leader: "Color Guard, Forward March! "

(wait until color guard reaches back of room)

Leader: "Color Guard, Halt! "

Leader: "TWO! "

(everyone drops salute.)

Leader: "Audience, Thank you for joining us. "

Leader: "Color Guard, Dismissed! "

(flag bearers should immediately put the flags away before starting to play with the other scouts. )

Script One

Required: Leader, 4 scouts, hot fire

Lower the colors or unfold the flag. Have 1 scout at each corner of the flag.

You can do this for multiple flags simultaneously, each flag needing 4 more scouts.

Leader: This flag has served well and long. It is no longer a fitting emblem to display, so we are respectfully retiring it today.

(The lead scout is at the lower-right corner of the flag, and cuts off the bottom stripe while 2 scouts continue to hold the top 2 corners of the flag and the 4th scout collects the bottom stripe as it is cut away.)

(The 4th scout deposits the stripe on the fire. While depositing the stripe, the next stripe is cut off.)

Leader: The 13 stripes stand for the original 13 colonies which are; Massachusetts, Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Delaware, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and New Jersey.

(Scout retrieves the next stripe and deposits it.)

Leader: The white stands for purity

(Continue with each of the 13 stripes...)

Leader: The red stands for courage

Leader: "Give me liberty or give me death"

Leader: "One if by land, two if by sea"

Leader: We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution of the United States of America.

Leader: We hold these truths to be self evident that all people are created equal. They are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights. Among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Leader: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.

Leader: Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech or press.

Leader: "Four score and seven years ago, our fathers brought forth to this continent a new nation."

Leader: The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex.

Leader: "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country."

Leader: "One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."

(Now, only the blue field and stars are left)

Leader: Each state is being represented by a star on a field of blue, which signifies a new constellation being formed.

As we place it in the fire, let it burn brightly and remind us how well our flag represents our country.

Leader: Scout salute!

Leader: Join me in the Pledge of Allegiance. I pledge allegiance...

(After the pledge of allegiance, have bugler play Taps)

Leader: Two! Scouts dismissed.

Script Two

Required: five scouts and sharp scissors

When the United States flag becomes worn, torn, faded or badly soiled, it is time to replace it. The old flag should be retired in the traditional manner of incineration.

Start a hot, blazing fire large enough to completely consume the flag, but not so large that scouts can not reach over the center of it.

Leader: The U.S. flag is more than just some brightly colored cloth; it is a symbol of our nation. This flag has been displayed with pride for many years and has become worn and no longer usable. A new flag has taken its place and we will now retire this flag with respect.

In order to completely destroy the flag, we will burn it. This ensures that no bit of flag exists when we finish.

Four scouts each hold a corner of the flag. The Leader uses the scissors to cut the flag in half vertically, right along the edge of the blue field of stars. Then, cut each half in half horizontally, keeping the blue field one piece. Use a scissors to cut the flag cleanly and quickly.

Scout #1 places a flag section into the center of the fire.

Scout #1: Seven red stripes and six white strips; together they represent the original 13 colonies that gained us liberty.

Scout #2 approaches fire.

Scout #2: The red stripes remind us of the lifeblood of brave men and women who were ready and willing to die for their country.

Scout #3: The white stripes remind us of purity and cleanliness of purpose, thought, word and deed.

Scout #4 has the blue field and goes last.

Scout #4: The blue is for truth and justice, like the eternal blue of the star-filled heavens. The stars represent the fifty united states of our union. We leave the blue field intact because no one should ever let the union be broken.

Leader: The aims of scouting are character, citizenship, and fitness. The American's Creed, which is the official creed of the United States, was written in 1917 and says a lot about what "citizenship" means:

I believe in the United States of America, as a government of the people, by the people, for the people; whose just powers are derived from the consent of the governed; a democracy in a republic; a sovereign Nation of many sovereign States; a perfect union, one and inseparable; established upon those principles of freedom, equality, justice, and humanity for which American patriots sacrificed their lives and fortunes.

I therefore believe it is my duty to my country to love it, to support its Constitution, to obey its laws, to respect its flag, and to defend it against all enemies.

BSA

https://blog.scoutingmagazine.org/2010/11/19/flag-retirement/

https://scoutingwire.org/everything-a-scout-should-know-about-u-s-flag-retirement/

http://usscouts.org/ceremony/flagret1.asp

Sons of the American Revolution

https://www.sar.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/SAR-U.S.-Flag-Destruction-Ceremony-Information.pdf

I am your Flag.

I was born on June 14th, 1777.

I am more than just cloth shaped into design.

I am the refuge of the World's oppressed people.

I am the silent sentinel of Freedom.

I am the emblem of the greatest sovereign nation on earth.

I am the inspiration for which American Patriots gave their lives and fortunes.

I have led your sons into battle from Valley Forge to the bloody swamps of Vietnam.

I walk in silence with each of your Honored Dead, to their final resting place beneath the silent White Crosses, row upon row.

I have flown through Peace and War, Strife and Prosperity, and amidst it all I have been respected.

My Red Stripes....symbolize the blood spilled in defense of this glorious nation.

My White Stripes....signify the burning tears shed by Americans who lost their sons.

My Blue Field....is indicative of God's heaven under which I fly.

My Stars....clustered together, unify 50 states as one, for God and Country.

"Old Glory" is my nickname, and proudly I wave on high.

Honor me, respect me, defend me with your lives and fortunes.

Never let my enemies tear down from my lofty position, lest I never return.

Keep alight the fires of patriotism, strive earnestly for the spirit of democracy.

Worship Eternal God and keep His Commandments, and I shall remain the bulwark of peace and freedom for all mankind.

I am your Flag.