Advancement Procedures

For the Early Ranks – Tenderfoot, Second Class & First Class

For the early ranks your goal should be to reach First Class within a year of joining the troop.  You may work on Tenderfoot, Second Class and First Class simultaneously, but you have to earn the ranks in order.  The following are the advancement procedures to complete the early ranks:

 

1.      After you have requirements signed off in your Handbook as discussed in the section above, periodically bring your Handbook or a photocopy of the rank requirements page to the Advancement Chair to have the dates entered into the computer.  Don’t wait until all the requirements are completed to have them entered in the computer.  If you lose your book, there will be no record of your achievements.

2.      After all requirements have been completed, bring your Handbook to the Advancement Chair to verify that all dates are in the computer.  Now you are ready to sign up for a Scoutmaster Conference for the following week.

3.      At the Scoutmaster Conference you need to be in full Class A uniform and bring your Scout Handbook and Scout Records Binder.  The Scout Records Binder should be up to date with activities attended, camping nights and service hours worked.  The Scoutmaster will sign off on Scout Spirit at this time if he feels you have been living by the Scout Oath and Law.  See the Scoutmaster Conference section below for more information.

4.      After the Scoutmaster Conference bring your Scout Handbook to the Advancement Chair to enter the Scoutmaster Conference and Scout Spirit signed off dates into the computer.  You may now sign up for a Board of Review for the following week.

5.      For the Board of Review you need to be in full Class A uniform and bring your Scout Handbook and Scout Records Binder.  After the Board of Review, the Board of Review members will turn in a Board of Review sheet to the Advancement Chair to enter the awarded date into the computer.  See the Board of Review section below for more information. 

6.      Rank badges are awarded on the 2nd Tuesday of the month either at a troop meeting or Court of Honor.  All rank cards are given out at the Court of Honor.  The rank badge is worn in the center of the left pocket of the Scout uniform.  The rank card is kept in your Scout Records Binder in the plastic baseball card holder.

7.      Courts of Honor are held every quarter.  To receive your rank advancement at the current quarter’s Court of Honor, your Board of Review must be completed 2 weeks prior to the Court of Honor.  This allows the Advancement Chair time to purchase and organize all the awards before the ceremony.  If not, it will be awarded at the next monthly meeting.

8.      Congratulations!  You are now ready to earn a new rank.

 

 

For the Higher Ranks – Star, Life & Eagle

For the higher ranks you work on one rank at a time.  There are 4 main areas of requirements for each of these ranks – participation, merit badges, service hours and leadership.  Participation is not cumulative; you must be active for the required number of months for each rank.  You may earn merit badges throughout both the early ranks and the higher ranks.  The merit badges will be credited chronologically starting with the Star rank.  Service hours are not cumulative and must be started over with each rank.  Leadership positions run for 6-month terms so you could have 2 positions while earning one rank.  Each of these needs to be signed off in your Scout Handbook.  The following are the advancement procedures to complete the higher ranks:

 

1.      The Participation requirement for rank advancement may be signed off by an Assistant Scoutmaster or the Advancement Chair.  The Scout should ask the Advancement Chair to look at his Individual Participation Report or to print it to take to an Asst. Scoutmaster to verify the Scout’s participation.  The Scout must be actively participating in campouts, troop activities, and meetings for any 4 consecutive months from his last rank date to current date for Star or 6 consecutive months for Life and Eagle.

2.      The Merit Badge requirement can be signed off by the Advancement Chair as the computer has these completions. 

3.      For the ranks of Star and Life the Service requirement can be signed off by the Advancement Chair as the computer totals these hours.  For service hours the Scout can attend Eagle Scout projects or have Scoutmaster pre-approval for service projects which help organizations other than scouts.  For the non-Eagle projects complete the Service Hours Approval Form found on the troop’s website.  The Scoutmaster or an Asst. Scoutmaster must sign the form for pre-approval for the service hours and then a representative from the organization must sign the form when the work is complete.  The form is turned in to the Advancement Chair.  The Eagle hours are also turned in to the Advancement Chair by the Scout working on his Eagle rank.  For the Eagle rank the Scout will need to complete a service project.  Contact the Eagle Mentor for an Eagle packet.

4.      The Leadership requirement for rank advancement may be signed off by an Assistant Scoutmaster or Advancement Chair.  The Scout should ask the Advancement Chair to look at his Individual Participation Report or to print it to take to an Asst. Scoutmaster to verify the Scout’s participation.  The Scout must be active in his leadership position for 4 consecutive months for Star or 6 consecutive months for Life and Eagle, which means actively attending campouts or monthly troop activities, meetings and PLC meetings.  The Scout must also attend the Jr. Leadership Training for this requirement.

5.      Once all of the above requirements are completed and signed off, bring your book to the Advancement Chair to enter the dates into the computer.  After they are entered, you may sign up for a Scoutmaster Conference.

6.      At the Scoutmaster Conference you need to be in full Class A uniform including your merit badge sash and bring your Scout Handbook and Scout Records Binder.  The Scout Records Binder should be up to date with activities attended, camping nights and service hours worked.  The Scoutmaster will sign off on Scout Spirit at this time if he feels you have been living by the Scout Oath and Law.  See the Scoutmaster Conference section below for more information.

7.      After the Scoutmaster Conference bring your Scout Handbook to the Advancement Chair to enter the Scoutmaster Conference and Scout Spirit signed off dates into the computer.  You may now sign up for a Board of Review for the following week for the ranks of Star and Life.  An Eagle Board of Review is scheduled through one of the Western Star District representatives.

8.      For the Board of Review you need to be in full Class A uniform including your merit badge sash and bring your Scout Handbook and Scout Records Binder.  After the Board of Review, the Board of Review members will turn in a Board of Review sheet to the Advancement Chair to enter the awarded date into the computer.  See the Board of Review section below for more information.

9.      Rank badges are awarded on the 2nd Tuesday of the month either at a troop meeting or Court of Honor.  All rank cards are given out at the Court of Honor.  The rank badge is worn in the center of the left pocket of the Scout uniform.  The rank card is kept in your Scout Records Binder in the plastic baseball card holder.

10.  Courts of Honor are held every quarter.  To receive your rank advancement at the current quarter’s Court of Honor, your Board of Review must be completed 2 weeks prior to the Court of Honor.  This allows the Advancement Chair time to purchase and organize all the awards before the ceremony.  If not, it will be awarded at the next monthly meeting.

11.  Congratulations!  You are now ready to earn a new rank.

 

 

 Scoutmaster Conference

 

After finishing the requirements for a Scout rank (Scout through Eagle), you meet with the Scoutmaster and have a Scoutmaster Conference.  The Scoutmaster will talk with you, see how things are going, check for Scout Spirit, if the Scout knows the knots in the Troop knot program, make suggestions, request suggestions, etc.  Generally this is not a formal conference and the goal is to make sure the Scout is progressing, having fun, and learning the Scout way.  You sign up for a Scoutmaster Conference with the Advancement Chair at least a week before at a Troop meeting.  The conference requires the full class “A” uniform including merit badge sash for Star, Life and Eagle ranks.  The Scoutmaster will sign off the Scout Spirit requirement during the Scoutmaster Conference.  

 

 

Board of Review

 

After completing your Scoutmaster Conference, the next step is to have a Board of Review.  The Board of Review for Tenderfoot through Life ranks will be with three or more Troop Committee Members or adult leaders.  The BOR is more formal and structured than the Scoutmaster Conference.  The Eagle Board of Review is with 2 Western Star District representatives and an adult member from our troop chosen by the Scout.  This is scheduled through one of the district representatives.

 

Purpose of a Board of Review:

  • To make sure the Scout has completed the requirements for the rank.
  • To see how good an experience the Scout is having in the unit.
  • To encourage the Scout to progress further.

 

Additionally, the Board of Review provides "quality control" on advancement within the unit; it provides an opportunity for the Scout to:

 

  • Develop and practice those skills needed in an interview situation.
  • Review his accomplishments.

 

The Board of Review is NOT a retest; the Scout has already been tested on the skills and activities required for the rank. However, the Board should ensure that all the requirements have been "signed off" in the Scout's handbook. Additionally, the Board should ensure that leadership and merit badge records are consistent with the requirements for the rank.

 

The Board of Review is an opportunity to review the Scout's attitudes, accomplishments and his acceptance of Scouting's ideals, and get increasingly difficult as a Scout progresses through the ranks.

 

The time for a Board of Review should be from 15 to 30 minutes, with the shorter time for the lower ranks. When all members have had an opportunity to ask their questions, the Scout is excused from the room. The board members then consider whether the Scout is ready for the next rank; the board's decision must be unanimous.  Once the decision is made, the Scout is invited back into the room, and the Chairperson informs the Scout of the board's decision. If the Scout is approved for the next rank, there are general congratulations and handshakes all around, and the Scout is encouraged to continue advancing.  If there are issues that prevent the Scout from advancing to the next rank, the board must detail the precise nature of the deficiencies. The Scout must be told specifically what must be done in order to be successful at the next Board of Review. Typically, an agreement is reached as to when the Scout may return for his subsequent Board of Review. The Chairperson must send a written follow up, to both the Scout and the Scoutmaster, regarding the deficiencies and the course of action needed to correct them.

 

For a Board of Review:

  • Sign up for a BOR at a Troop meeting at least 1 week before requested date with the Advancement Chair.
  • All rank requirements must be signed off in the handbook including Scout Spirit and the Scoutmaster Conference and entered in the computer.
  • Be in full class “A” uniform with all correct patches and merit badge sash for Star, Life and Eagle ranks.  If not in full uniform, the Scout will have to reschedule the board.
  • Bring his Scout Handbook and Scout Records Binder.