Issue 614 – September 3, 2019

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EAGLE – An Attainable Goal!

Seven years and 290 issues ago I first wrote this piece. Since then, an entire generation of Scouts has moved on, “Scout” has been added as a seventh rank, and we now have girls in Scouts BSA troops. It’s time for an update. For any Scout interested in advancement through the Scout ranks, this is for you!

Today, by the time most Scouts earn their Eagle, they’re 17 years old. Many are so close to their 18th birthdays that they never get to wear the Eagle badge on their uniforms. This doesn’t have to happen. All it takes is motivation and a plan. The motivation comes from you! Here’s a plan you can make work.

Start by reading your SCOUT HANDBOOK, and get yourself a copy of another book: SCOUTS BSA REQUIREMENTS. Read about the rank requirements and what it takes to earn merit badges. Now you’re ready to start.

When you join a troop, you’ll earn your Scout rank either the very first night (the requirements are virtually identical to stuff you learned for Arrow of Light), or the very next week (most of it is memorization) if you’re brand-new to Scouts.

You’re now ready to begin on your next three ranks. This starts with Tenderfoot and progresses through Second Class and then First Class.

Start Tenderfoot by doing the personal fitness “baseline” requirement 10a first. This full requirement takes 30 days of exercising to improve your baseline “numbers.” Use this time to complete the rest of the requirements, so you can complete req. 10b on the 30-day mark. (In those four weeks, you can give yourself a head-start by also completing some of the requirements for your next two ranks.)

Plan to be First Class rank by the end of next summer. You’ll have about eleven months—including at least a week at Scout camp next summer—to complete the rest of your Second Class and First Class requirements. And, speaking of summer camp, be sure to pick up several merit badges that you’ll use to qualify for Star rank and beyond.

Take the time to review your merit badge goals. Be aware that some merit badges will be specifically required (First Aid, Camping, and Family Life, for instance) and some will be whatever you’d like to learn about. Plus, some merit badges have three-month requirements. (I’ll talk more about these and a few other important things next week…)

Each of the final three ranks has a “tenure” requirement: You’ll need to hold a rank for a specific length of time before advancing to the next. First Class-to-Star is four months, Star-to-Life is six months, and Life-to-Eagle is also six months. This means that you can be an Eagle Scout by about age 14 if you want to and if you work your plan.

Scouting is flexible. We know that Scouting is hardly the only thing going on in your busy life. There are religious youth groups and activities. There’s school, including homework and extracurricular stuff. Plus sports like traveling soccer or something else. Maybe there are music lessons. And of course you’re going to be hanging’ out, Facebooking, texting, Tweeting, and doing whatever your personal hobbies might be. So if you take a year each for the next three ranks, you’ll be doing just fine.

For Star, you can hold an elected position in the troop, like Patrol Leader or maybe Senior Patrol Leader, or you can volunteer for one of your troop’s appointed leadership positions (Assistant Senior Patrol Leader, Scribe, Quartermaster, Historian, and so on). All of these are described in your handbook. Meanwhile, you’re showing up for meetings, campouts, and other Scout activities. You’re also helping out at troop service projects and volunteering to help other Scouts in your troop complete their Eagle service projects. You picked up a couple of merit badges at Scout camp last summer, so you’ll want to complete some more, so you have six, including at least four from the list of those that qualify for Eagle rank. Although you can easily do all this in four months, it’s okay to give yourself more time. Just make sure you’re Star rank but with eleven (not just six) merit badges, including seven Eagle-qualifiers, about two years from now.

Life rank is next. You’ll need a total of eleven merit badges. You can either take on another troop position of responsibility or continue with the one you have. You’ll continue helping others. You’ll continue showing up. Stick to your plan and you’ll be a Life Scout by about your 14th birthday. Now, it’s on to Eagle…

For Eagle, a lot is simply more of what you’ve already been doing. Complete your merit badges so you have 21 including all the required ones. Continue being active. Hold a leadership position.

There are a couple of added wrinkles here, like coming up with a list of up to six references, writing a concise “leadership bio” about what your future life plans are at the moment. But these can be done when you’re ready to fill out the Eagle rank application.

And then, of course, there’s the Eagle Scout Service Project.

Now most folks talk about the service project as if it’s a twenty-foot high pole vault bar and the pole in your hands is made of rubber. It’s not. It’s simply doing what you already know how to do: Make a plan and carry it out; lead others; collaborate with adults. You’re going to put together what you’ve learned about service to others and how to lead a group, and then focus these on something you’d like to do to benefit your community.

The BSA even provides a “template” for doing this: The Eagle Scout Service Project Workbook. This workbook may look a little intimidating, but it’s not. It actually does a lot of the “pre-thinking” for you, so that you don’t inadvertantly leave something out. Follow it, fill in the boxes, and you’ve got your concept and then plan; after that, you just follow your own “recipe.”

Oh, one more thing about the service project for Eagle: You can start putting this together the very next day after your Life rank board of review! That’s right: It’s not the “last” requirement. You can get to work on this one as soon as you’re a Life Scout!

Same with your Scoutmaster conference: It’s not the “last” requirement; it can happen anytime once you’re a Life Scout! (This is true of all such conferences: They’re absolutely not the last requirement for any rank!)

And that’s it! You’ve had your board of review, and you’re an Eagle Scout! If you stuck to your plan, this is happening right about your 15th birthday.

So why go for Eagle by 15? There are lots of good reasons. Here are a few…

> You get to wear your Eagle badge for the next three years, showing everyone you’re a top Scout who knows his stuff.

> In high school, sometimes classmates joke about others who are Scouts. But I’m guaranteeing you: Nobody pokes fun at an Eagle Scout.

> Imagine how proud of you your family’s going to be, and the example you’ll be setting if you have any younger brothers or sisters! Plus, you’ll be setting a great example for the younger Scouts in your patrol and troop.

> You can also keep finding merit badges you’re interested in, earn them, and receive Eagle “palms” for every five more you earn (plus three months of staying active in your troop). If you want to, you can actually earn as many as four Silver Palms for the 60 more merit badges you can earn in those three years!

> Think about all the free time you’re going to have in high school, to get on a Varsity team, or marching band, or orchestra, or choral group, math club, chess club, theater, and more!

> When you go to a National Jamboree or attend your council’s NYLT (National Youth Leadership Training), and then the NYLT Leadership Academy, you’ll go as an Eagle!

> Same if you decide to go to NAYLE (National Advanced Youth Leadership Experience) at Philmont or one of the NAYLE programs in the Northeast, Central, or Western BSA Regions—you’ll go as an Eagle!

> When you decide to run for election in your high school’s student service club, like Interact or Key Club, or you want to run for president of the student council, Eagle puts you way ahead of the competition!

> Think how you’ll feel going to an International Jamboree as an Eagle Scout, and the troop chooses you as Jamboree Senior Patrol Leader!

> Imagine taking a Philmont or Northern Tier trek as an Eagle Scout! Or going to Sea Base as an Eagle. These are the ones who get elected Crew Leader!

> Finally, and this one may not be important to you now, but I’ll personally guarantee it’s a “topper”… In just a few years, being an Eagle Scout is going to impress your date and absolutely delight his or her parents!

If you have a question about anything I’ve said here, write to me. You’ll get your answer directly from me in a reply email—no waiting!

Happy Scouting!

Andy

Have a question? Facing a dilemma? Wondering where to find a BSA policy or guideline? Write to askandybsa@yahoo.com. Please include your name and council. (If you’d prefer to be anonymous, if published, let me know and that’s what we’ll do.)

[No. 614 – 9/3/2019 – Copyright © Andy McCommish 2019]