{"id":1333,"date":"2012-08-11T16:31:40","date_gmt":"2012-08-11T20:31:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/?p=1333"},"modified":"2012-08-11T16:31:40","modified_gmt":"2012-08-11T20:31:40","slug":"issue-324-august-11-2012","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/2012\/08\/issue-324-august-11-2012\/","title":{"rendered":"Issue 324 \u2013 August 11, 2012"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u2022 EAGLE \u2013 It\u2019s a No-Brainer!<\/strong>
\n ________________________________________<\/strong>
\n This is for all Scouts; especially those destined to become Boy Scouts in February 2013. Here\u2019s the big idea: EAGLE\u2019S A NO-BRAINER!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

That\u2019s right! Who says you have to earn Eagle just in time for it to be another 18th birthday present, and you never get to wear the Eagle badge on your uniform! Here\u2019s a way to do it in style, with the bonus that you get to be an Eagle rank Boy Scout for at least three years before you hit 18.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s start here: It\u2019s near the end of February and you\u2019ve just earned your Arrow of Light in Cub Scouting and turn 11 right around the same time. You join a troop and earn your Scout badge the very first night, because its requirements are virtually identical to stuff you learned to earn your Arrow of Light rank. That\u2019s also the same night you start on your first Boy Scout rant\u2014Tenderfoot\u2014by doing the personal fitness \u201cbaseline\u201d requirement no. 10a. Then you knock off the rest of the requirements and, by the end of March or, at the latest, early April, you have your first board of review and you\u2019re a Tenderfoot.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Then, use the next eleven months, including at least a week at Scout camp over the summer, to complete all of the Second Class and First Class requirements. You\u2019re now right about at your 12th birthday. So, what\u2019s next\u2026?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The minimum tenure times for the next three ranks are: Star, four months; Life, six months; and Eagle, six months. That means, if you really apply yourself and you\u2019re in a troop that encourages and supports you with a quality program, you can be an Eagle Scout just a few months after your 13th birthday.<\/strong><\/p>\n

But let\u2019s \u201ccruise\u201d a little bit. After all, Scouting is hardly the only thing you\u2019re into. There\u2019s church or synagogue or temple stuff; school, including homework and extracurricular stuff; outside sports; and of course hangin\u2019 out, Facebooking, texting, Twittering, and whatever your personal hobbies might be. So let\u2019s take a year each for the next three ranks\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

For Star, you get yourself elected Patrol Leader or Senior Patrol Leader, or you volunteer for one of the appointed leadership positions, or offer to be a Den Chief at the pack you came from. Meanwhile, you\u2019re making sure you show up for troop and patrol meetings, and troop outings. You\u2019re also showing up for troop service projects and helping other Scouts in your troop complete their Eagle service projects. Give yourself up to a year for this and you\u2019re a Star Scout by your 13th birthday.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Along the way, you\u2019ve started to earn merit badges, since you\u2019re going to need six for Star, five more for Life, and then ten more for Eagle. Merit badges are fun! You\u2019ll get to meet and work with a great bunch of different Merit Badge Counselors who specialize in each of the merit badge subjects and skills, and who love helping Scouts learn new stuff. Along the way, you\u2019re going to learn about things like first aid and emergency situations; the way your town, country, and the world works and the responsibilities of both citizens and those whom we elect to represent us; communication skills; gaining physical strength and leading a healthier life; knowing how to care for our environment; earning, saving, and managing money; camping; family dynamics and responsibilities; and a hundred more different subjects that you can choose among, from robotics to aviation, chemistry to zoology!<\/strong><\/p>\n

So what\u2019s next after Star\u2026?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Life rank. Earn five more merit badges, take on another leadership position or continue with the one you have, continue helping others, and continue showing up, and Life\u2019s in the bag by your 14th birthday.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Now, it\u2019s on to Eagle\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

For Eagle, it\u2019s mostly continuing what you already know how to do: Complete your merit badges so you have 21 including all the required ones, continue being active, hold a leadership position, and so forth. There are a couple of added wrinkles here, like coming up with a list of up to six references, writing a concise \u201cleadership bio,\u201d and writing about what your future life plans are at the moment. And then, of course, there\u2019s the Eagle Scout Service Project.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Now most folks talk about the service project as if it\u2019s a twenty-foot high pole vault bar and the pole\u2019s made of rubber, but it\u2019s not. It\u2019s simply putting together what you\u2019ve learned about service to others and how to lead a group and focusing it on something you\u2019d like to do that would benefit your community. The BSA even provides a \u201ctemplate\u201d for doing this, called the Eagle Scout Service Project Workbook. The workbook may look a little intimidating, but it\u2019s not. It simply does a lot of the \u201cpre-thinking\u201d for you, so that you don\u2019t accidentally leave something out that throws a monkey-wrench into what you\u2019ve decided to do. Follow it, fill in the boxes, and you\u2019ve got your concept and then plan; after that, you just follow your own \u201crecipe.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

So now you\u2019ve got your Eagle requirements done, and your 15th birthday\u2019s still a ways off. You\u2019ll conference with your Scoutmaster, just like you did for all five ranks before this, and then you\u2019ll have your board of review, where you\u2019ll really shine!<\/strong><\/p>\n

And that\u2019s it! You\u2019re an Eagle Scout right about your 15th birthday, and you still got to do all the other stuff that makes your life fun and exciting!<\/strong><\/p>\n

So what\u2019s the big deal? Why go for Eagle by 15? Hey, lots of good reasons, and here are a few\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

You get to wear your Eagle badge for the next three years, showing everyone you\u2019re a top Scout who knows his stuff.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In high school, sometimes classmates joke about guys who are Boy Scouts\u2026 I guarantee you: Nobody<\/em> pokes fun at an Eagle<\/em> Scout.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Imagine how proud of you your family\u2019s going to be, and the example you\u2019ll be setting if you have any younger brothers!\u00a0 Plus, you\u2019ll be setting a great example for the younger Scouts in your patrol and troop.<\/strong><\/p>\n

You can also keep finding merit badge subjects you\u2019re interested in, earn them, and receive Eagle \u201cpalms\u201d 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!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Think about all the free time you\u2019re 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.<\/strong><\/p>\n

How about when you want to be a key leader of your church or synagogue youth group!<\/strong>\u00a0 If you don’t think Eagle will make a difference in your abilities to lead… think again!<\/strong><\/p>\n

When you go to a National Jamboree or attend your council\u2019s NYLT (National Youth Leadership Training), and then the NYLT Leadership Academy, you\u2019ll go as an Eagle!<\/strong><\/p>\n

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.<\/strong><\/p>\n

When you decide you\u2019d like to run for election in your high school\u2019s student service club, like Interact or Key Club, or you what to run for president of the student council, Eagle puts you way ahead of the competition!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Think how you\u2019ll feel going to an International Jamboree as an Eagle Scout, and the troop chooses you as Jamboree Senior Patrol Leader!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Imagine taking a Philmont or Northern Tier trek as an Eagle Scout! Or going to Sea Base as an Eagle. These are the guys who get elected Crew Leader!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Finally, and this one may not be important to you now, but I\u2019ll personally guarantee it\u2019s a \u201ctopper\u201d\u2026 In just a few years, being an Eagle Scout is going to absolutely delight the parents of your date!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Happy Scouting!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Andy<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

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\u2019d prefer to be anonymous, if published, let me know and that\u2019s what we\u2019ll do.)<\/strong><\/p>\n

[No. 324 \u2013 8\/11\/2012 \u2013 Copyright \u00a9 Andy McCommish 2012]<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u2022 EAGLE \u2013 It\u2019s a No-Brainer! ________________________________________ This is for all Scouts; especially those destined to become Boy Scouts in February 2013. Here\u2019s the big idea: EAGLE\u2019S A NO-BRAINER! That\u2019s right! Who says you have to earn Eagle just in time for it to be another 18th birthday present, and you never get to wear […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1333","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-18"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1333","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1333"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1333\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1337,"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1333\/revisions\/1337"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1333"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1333"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1333"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}