Issue 625 – January 21, 2020

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Dear Andy,

Last night was my board of review for Eagle. It went okay and they told me that I’m an Eagle Scout, but the date they said it’s going to be is last week and not yesterday. That’s because the man who was the chair of my board of review said that, because there was a delay in someone from the advancement committee picking a date when he could show up, my review turned out to be a week past three months since my 18th birthday, and that if the review date wasn’t changed somebody would have to write a long letter to the council office explaining why there was a delay, and he didn’t want to have to do that.

To be an Eagle Scout but with a lie about the date this happened just feels wrong to me. The date should be the real date and not a made-up date just because the man who caused the delay doesn’t want to have to explain why. But I don’t know what to do. I talked to my Scoutmaster about how I’m feeling, and he said I should just let it go and move on. But this doesn’t seem right, either.

I talked this over with my father, who is an Eagle Scout, and he agreed with me and said I should write to you, so that’s what I am doing and I hope you can help me. (Confused sort-of Eagle Scout)

I agree with your father that you’re absolutely right to feel wrong about this situation. If this stands uncorrected, it’s going to nag at you for the rest of your life, just because the person who apparently caused the problem doesn’t want to be “inconvenienced.” So, what to do…? Here’s my suggestion: Write a letter of your own, and do it today. First, call your council’s service center and ask for the name of the Scout Executive and the name of the Council Advancement Chair, and their email addresses. Then write a letter to both of them and send it to your council service center as an email attachment (this will be faster than the Post Office). Tell them exactly what you’ve just told me and ask that page 2 of your Eagle application be corrected to show the actual board of review date.

(Note to Readers: This Scout did write his letter and the correction was made before the application was sent to the BSA national office. Shortly after this, the Scouter who caused the original problem was given a “soft landing” elsewhere.)
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Hi Andy,

When is it appropriate for Scouts (or Scouters) to wear their OA sashes? And one more question… Do you answer emails directly? Thanks. (Paul, ASM, Ohio)

Members (Scouts or Scouters) of the Order of the Arrow Scouting fraternity wear their sash when (a) attending OA-specific functions or events and (b) when representing the OA at a non-OA function or event. At times other than those two, the sash stays in the drawer at home (and, just to be perfectly clear, the sash is never, ever worn draped over your belt!). Also, OA members can and should wear their lodge’s flap patch (for the right pocket flap) or the ribbon-and-arrow button-pendant (item no. 604942) also for the right pocket. These—one or the other but never both—can be worn at all times.

And yup, I always answer readers’ emails directly, and usually within 24 hours.
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Hey Andy,

A friend of mine mentioned to me that he’d found an old troop charter. He’s interested in getting it appraised, and that’s where I’m stumped. Is there some special procedure to follow for this? It’s something I’ve never encountered before and have no idea what to do. (Wendell Moats, District Committee Member, Crossroads of America Council, IN)

Possibly a local pawn shop might have some idea about that charter, and there may well be a local Scouting memorabilia collector/trader in your area. But you also might consider suggesting to your friend that he donate it to a local Scouting museum or the council service center, for display. Or, better yet, see if the troop cited is still around, and present it to the Scouts!
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Hi Andy,

I need some confirmation about camping (for rank advancement and the Camping merit badge). A Scouting friend recently told me that family campouts Scouts have with their parents, where the family members pitch tents and so forth, can count towards their Scout camping requirements. Can you help? (Bill Macpherson)

Here’s a great place to start when a Scouting friend like yours makes a claim about stuff like this that just doesn’t seem like it makes any sense: Ask him to show you written backup for his claim, in BSA literature.

In the meantime, let me assure you that while family camping is a wonderful adjunct to Scouting and a delightful family activity, it’s never a substitute for camping as a Scout, with other Scouts, at a Scouting event. Your friend’s notion that “family camping” can substitute for Scout camping is just that—a notion that has no basis in fact. Ranks require that the Scout camps with his patrol or troop. Camping merit badge specifies “Scout camping.” You probably need to point this out to your friend, before he leads others astray.
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Hi O Wise One,

My question is about a Scout who has completed all requirements for Star rank except holding a position of responsibility. That requirement states that the unit leader can assign the Scout a leadership project to help the troop. Can you give a few examples of what these might be? Thanks for being here for all who have questions. (Cookie)

We’re discussing Star rank requirement 5, which has two parts. The first is to hold a position of responsibility for four months. For this part, it’s puzzling that this Scout has not simply been assigned a position of responsibility (that doesn’t require an election) by his Senior Patrol Leader. Especially when there are 14 of these available for Star rank: Assistant Senior Patrol Leader, Bugler, Chaplain Aide, Den Chief, Historian, Instructor, Junior Assistant Scoutmaster, Librarian, Quartermaster, OA Troop Representative, Outdoor Ethics Guide, Scribe, Troop Guide, and Webmaster. Moreover, three of these can be assigned to more than just one Scout; they are: Den Chief, Instructor, and Troop Guide. So it seems to me that it would be a pretty odd troop that’s unable to help this Scout select and be appointed to one of these positions for four.

As for the second part, the language for it is quite different from what you stated: It’s not “the unit leader can assign…a leadership project,” to help the troop, it’s “carry out a Scoutmaster-approved leadership project” to help the troop. This suggests that the idea for a project that would help his troop starts with the Scout himself, rather than with his Scoutmaster. Here, you’ve asked me for examples, and I’m going to need to disappoint you. I don’t know the Scout, his interests, his capabilities, or his ambitions for himself. I don’t know the troop, its size, its structure, or its overall vitality. Consequently, there’s simply no way I could offer any suggestions that would make any sense, except this one… This Scout would be wise to have a conversation with the troop’s Senior Patrol Leader (remember that the SPL is the troop’s highest-ranking youth leader!) and talk about what sort of special project would help him run the troop!
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Hi Andy,

I’d like to “endow” all future Eagle Scout neckerchiefs in our troop as part of my “thanks” to the troop for the way they helped my son become an Eagle Scout. I want to get custom Eagle neckerchiefs that have our troop number, city, and state, but I’m having a hard time finding what I’m looking for. “Scoutstuff.org” has some custom neckerchiefs, but the Eagle graphics on these don’t look as nice as the official Eagle neckerchiefs, but the official ones can’t be customized with troop-city-state. Any ideas? (Greg Fox, Florida)

The BSA’s version – http://www.scoutstuff.org/bsa/uniforms-insignia/bandanas-neckerchiefs/eagle-scoutr-embroidered-neckerchief-new-size.html — for $14.99 is pretty nice. Celestial Creations makes one, too. You can check them out at http://ourcelestialcreations.com/eagleneck.html — but I’m personally not crazy about the Eagle on it. You might consider designing your own and have these folks run them off for you — http://www.ladyeagledesigns.com/ — if you don’t mind the rounded bottoms.

Good luck with a really thoughtful idea!

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.)

Although these columns are copyrighted, any reader has my permission to quote or reproduce any columns or column parts so long as you attribute authorship: “Ask Andy” by Andy McCommish.

[No. 625 – 1/21/2020 – Copyright © Andy McCommish 2020]