After reading many of the posts about wearing Eagle Cloth rank, I feel inclined to throw my two cents into the pot. I reached the rank of Eagle back in 1990, just before my 18th birthday. Like many eagle scouts who achieved the rank of Eagle, most achieve it closer to 18. The average is 17. So many Eagles don't get to wear their patch rank at all or not very long. It is a RANK!I feel that if one is still in scouting and wearing the uniform, they ought to be able to display their highest rank achieved.
I find it silly that people were suggesting and comparing this desire to breaking a speed law! That is a poor analogy because the person breaking a speeding law is committing an actual crime and wanting to wear a rank that one actually achieved is completely different! Could you imagine a retired general being told that he cannot wear his 4 stars because he no longer is in active service or because he is an adult? Following rules is fine when they are actually sound rules.
Questioning silly rules is not a crime because that is how you get silly rules changed! Keep in mind there are rules STILL ON THE BOOKS in towns of America that say things like: "Citizens are forbidden to wear hats on Thursdays from 8am to 7pm!" So you mean to tell me that I am some criminal if I choose to question that law or dare i say, disobey it! It was a valid point of the gentleman who stated that he finds it funny that one is allowed to wear all sorts of approved do-dads on the uniform but one is not allowed to wear his RANK just because they turned 18! And no offense but many of these rules were added later! It use to be that adults could earn Eagle and through the years the BSA changes and adds things. However, think of some 50, 60, 70, 80, 90 year old Eagle Scouts that are still alive and active and being told they can't wear cloth ranks when they were allowed to when they were younger! They never agreed to these changes and why should they have to change for some rule put into place after! In addition, who is to say that the BSA will not decide 10 years from now that Adult Eagle Scouts are forbidden to wear their medals! Would the uniform police be okay with that rule? I for one would NOT be okay with that! And where do you draw the line! The BSA has now allowed gay scout masters and gay scouts and transgenders and I am completely AGAINST all that! Remember the MORALLY STRAIGHT! So before the uniform police want to act like the rest of us should just comply with all their rule changes, doesn't mean we should be so willing to do so!