T164Scoutmaster Posted March 14, 2008 Share Posted March 14, 2008 does anyone else have in their council a policy that a leader can not pick up rank badges unless the request is accompanied by an advancement report? This is the most absurd and ridiculous policy I have seen in a long time. Daniel Webster Council in NH, has such a policy. This is totally against everything we teach in the training sessions with immediate recognition. We always had a few extras of each patch on hand so I never ran into this in the past. It has been our practice that as soon as the Scout has completed his board of review and passed, he was awarded the cloth patch and immediately recognized. The Card, Hat Pin and Mothers pin were given out at the Court of Honor where he receieved recognaition again for his accomplishemnts. I am no longer able to continue this process. What a shame. The Sad fact is the "Scout" rank is no longer considered a rank at all it is a joining badge! I remember when it was a rank and you had to earn it, but now it is not even considered rank advancement on your re-charter! Why would this be restricted? If your council does not have such a policy and you are near me in NH let me know I need to get 12 Scout ranks for my crossover on the 19th of April. I used to be an owl, I'll always be an Eagle, i'm destined to be a servant to the system(This message has been edited by t164scoutmaster) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FScouter Posted March 14, 2008 Share Posted March 14, 2008 Troops that can buy rank insignia in bulk sometimes don't bother turning in advancement reports. That creates a problem when it comes time for the boy to earn a truly restricted award like the Eagle rank. Compared to troops that withhold the rank badge until the next quarterly court of honor, a wait until the next troop meeting is considered immediate. The Scout badge has 8 or 9 requirements the boy must complete before he earns the badge. A boy should not be handed the badge simply because he crossed over. Whatever a boy did in Cub Scouts is fine and dandy, but until he gets his Boy Scout Handbook, works through all the Boy Scout requirements, and has a SM conference, he hasn't earned the Scout badge. Completing those requirements takes place after he crosses over. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gold Winger Posted March 14, 2008 Share Posted March 14, 2008 "The Sad fact is the "Scout" rank is no longer considered a rank at all it is a joining badge!" I believe that it has always been the "Joining Badge" to show that you met the requirements to join. I've heard of other councils not selling patches without an advancement form, as an option you could present your rank card and buy a patch. The idea is to prevent parents from buying the patches and just sewing them on the uniform. Wouldn't happen? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
infoscouter Posted March 14, 2008 Share Posted March 14, 2008 This is the case in our council as well. The purchase of rank awards must be accompanied by an advancement report listing the youth which have earned those particular awards. The reasons are as the others have stated - the council needs accurate records, and this is the only way to ensure that advancement reports are filed. And unfortunately, some parents *would* just run out and buy a badge because they think their son has earned it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T164Scoutmaster Posted March 14, 2008 Author Share Posted March 14, 2008 I never stated that the boy would just be handed the badge. They are all actually already attending the troop meetings since they have already had their blue and gold and receieved their Arrow of Light. The applications will be in hand at the next meeting and the requirements below will be met when i finish the scoutmaster conferences. Hopefully they will be ready in time and I will have completed all the requirements before the crossover ceremony in APril. Everyone missed the question and I guess it was my way of asking it! Is this a National policy or a local policy? As I said in my first post i am a servant to the system! no mention of BOard of review! "Meet age requirements: Be a boy who has completed the fifth grade and be at least 10 years old, or be 11 years old, or have earned the Arrow of Light Award and be at least 10 years old, and be under 18 years old. Complete a Boy Scout application and health history signed by your parent or guardian. Find a Scout troop near your home. (To find a troop, contact your local Boy Scout Council. The Council name, address and phone number can be found on BSA's Council Locator Page.) Repeat the Pledge of Allegiance. Demonstrate the Scout sign, salute, and handshake. Demonstrate tying the square knot (a joining knot). Understand and agree to live by the Scout Oath or Promise, Law, motto, and slogan, and the Outdoor Code. Describe the Scout badge. Complete the Pamphlet Exercises. With your parent or guardian, complete the exercises in the pamphlet "How to Protect Your Children from Child Abuse: A Parent's Guide". Participate in a Scoutmaster conference. Turn in your Boy Scout application and health history form signed by your parent or guardian, then participate in a Scoutmaster conference. " Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SctDad Posted March 14, 2008 Share Posted March 14, 2008 I think what T164Scoutmaster is trying to say, is he has some Webelos coming up and provided they have earned the arrow of light, then they have completed all the requirements for the rank of BoyScout. That is the way I understand it. If I am wrong please let me know. He has 12 boys who are getting the scout rank. But his dilemma is, how can he get the rank for these boys if he does not have an advancement report. They have already met the requirements. I would say that if you are still having problems order them from scoutstuff.org T164Scoutmaster Did all 12 of your crossovers earn the AOL??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T164Scoutmaster Posted March 14, 2008 Author Share Posted March 14, 2008 9 earned the AOL, one joined cub scouts as a Webelos, and 2 are friends of two of the AOL recipients. They all will crossover to the troop and be received as new Scouts. Then they will get a troop neckerchief and slide and dedicate themselves to the troop and to scouting. There is also talk of a couple more new kids coming that are friends of some of the crossovers. Provide a good program, be involved with the pack and have fun the boys will come. All kids want to have fun and aren't afraid of doing a little work to be able ot have some fun! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FScouter Posted March 14, 2008 Share Posted March 14, 2008 The Arrow of Light is a Cub Scout award. Meeting AOL requirements does not also mean an automatic check-off for the Boy Scout badge. The boys do AOL requirements to the satisfaction of their den leader. After they cross over into a troop they must complete the requirements for the Scout badge, to the satisfaction of the Scoutmaster. It may well be that the boy already knows how to tie a square knot or recite the pledge of allegience because he learned it in Cub Scouts. It should be very easy then to demostrate that again in the troop. It doesn't mean he gets to skip that part. These requirements are simple. It shows the boy right from the start that he can advance in the troop and earn a badge by completing a few basic tasks and participating in a Scoutmaster conference. Once he sees how easy it was for him to earn the Scout badge, he's off and running toward the Tenderfoot rank. The tasks are different but the process is the same and he is now familiar with it. Automatic check-off because he did it in Cub Scouts sends the wrong message. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Secret DE Posted March 15, 2008 Share Posted March 15, 2008 This is a fairly standard policy and for quite a logical reason. The paperwork trail that each boy maintains on his trail to Eagle must be verified by the Council when it comes time for his Eagle Board of Review. The mandatory advancement report requirement makes sure that the each youth's record accurately reflect a Scouts records. It also allows the council to measure the success of our youth's advancing through the program to make sure that the program is being delivered properly. This policy in no way, has an impact on instant recognition. Might I suggest some alternate ways to recognize Scouts for their accomplishments until you can get a report to council and present the official badge of rank. Present the youth with a rank pin to borrow until the you can present the badge. Collect old ranks from Scouts who have moved up in rank and loan them to the newly advanced Scouts until they get theirs. Immediate recognition does not always have to man immediate badge presentation. The DWC Council has a great staff who support some amazing volunteers. This policy is there to help the youth. As an example, if a boy's parent's house catches on fire and his records are lost, he has a lot of recreating to do. If that same information is logged in at the Council, it is a matter of obtaining a printout of his record. Without the mandatory advancement report, this would not be possible. Great Scouting! SDE BTW, we also do this to prevent anyone from just walking in off the street and buying a rank. This is really important when it comes to Eagle Badges.(This message has been edited by Secret DE) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gold Winger Posted March 15, 2008 Share Posted March 15, 2008 In my council the rank patches are readily available, it is the rank cards which are kept behind the counter. They give you one for each advancement that you submit (unless you're a good customer and then you can get a few as backups in case you mess up a card. Wink, wink.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eamonn Posted March 15, 2008 Share Posted March 15, 2008 "This is really important when it comes to Eagle Badges." ?? I'll bet if you look on e-bay you can buy whatever patch you want, including Eagle Badges!! If we are trying to safeguard these badges?? Are we in fact feeding the"Black Market"? Registered Scouters in our Council can buy all the patches they need. Some Scouts have several uniforms -OJ had six when he was a Boy Scout -He still has six but he is no longer a Boy Scout.) Ea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob White Posted March 15, 2008 Share Posted March 15, 2008 It is a council policy in councils where that is done. The reason is they are trying to solve a problem of units not filing advancement reports. The Scout Badge was never a rank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ASM416 Posted March 15, 2008 Share Posted March 15, 2008 "This is really important when it comes to Eagle Badges." I have never been questioned when I bought Eagle insignia in either of the two councils I have shopped in. OA insignia on the other hand, don't try to buy any without your membership card in hand! Funny, I would prefer they be picky abut the Eagle Stuff! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gold Winger Posted March 15, 2008 Share Posted March 15, 2008 Funny thing about OA insignia. A father in my son's troop told me that he wasn't allowed to buy a new OA flap for his son at the Scout Shop since he didn't have an OA card. Even before I was in OA, I had bought dozens of OA flaps for my collection without question. LOL! Maybe it is just a matter of being known vs. not-known. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T164Scoutmaster Posted March 15, 2008 Author Share Posted March 15, 2008 Thank you all that replied! As I suspected it is a local policy, One in which i disagree. Train the leaders better instead of creating restrictive policy. As I state in a PM to secretde I have the utmost repect for the volunteers and the paid staff in DWC. there are just some things that do not make sense. I also reflected the plethora of available ranks on EBAY. Just today I saw a complete set scout to eagle. Again, not meant to be derrogatory to those that are in the trenches. Yours in Scouting, A servant to the system! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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