JTE Patch question

[The Latin Scot]

Hey guys, will one of our resident experts help me out with a question one of my boys brought up? We just received our 2016 Journey to Excellence patches (Gold Level, woot!), but one of my Webelos scouts is turning 11 and moving on to the Troop at the end up next month, and he wants to know if he can still wear the patch once he crosses over. He is a fine young man, and since he deserves to wear the thing, I feel inclined to tell him he can, since it would only be for the year anyway, AND both the pack and the troop share the same unit number as we are chartered through the same congregation. However, since it is technically a different unit he is graduating to (troop 608 as opposed to pack 608), I wanted to make sure we did the right thing, regardless of personal preference. He agrees that it is better to do what is right than to do what we want, but there isn't a lot of information in the official literature about the JTE patch in particular, so I figured this would be the best place to find out what official BSA policy is regarding this particular situation. Can a boy wear his JTE emblem for the whole year if he moves up from a pack to a troop?

 

Also, I was told at the Scout Store that the JTE program is ending this year - has anybody else heard about this? I assume they will just replace it with something similar, but it was the first I heard about it. Sad, because we won't even get a 2016 ribbon to put on our den flag. 

Edited December 19, 2016 by The Latin Scot

[qwazse]

My knee-jerk would be to ask if the Troop met their JTE goals, and if they did, keep sporting it.

If they did not, put it in the patch-collection jar as a memento of how cool his pack was.

 

If your scuttlebutt is valid, the patch might be a trade-able item years down the line.

[The Latin Scot]

Well, I am pretty sure that the Troop did not meet their goals, and even if they did, I would be shocked if they reached the gold level like our Pack did. But I agree, if they did not, it might not be fitting for him to continue wearing it. One of the precious few downsides of graduating from Cub Scouts to Boy Scouts I guess, lol. But at least he can keep it and it will hopefully motivate him to help the Troop reach the same level of quality our Pack has been enjoying these past few months. 

 

Still, I hope I can find out the official policy on this. Does anybody know where I can find out for sure? His birthday isn't until the last week of January, so at least he can wear it until we hopefully find out the answer. Otherwise we'll have to trust our instincts I suppose. 

[Stosh]

I do believe the JTE is a unit award and is to be worn by the members of that unit.  Just my opinion......

 

I strive for good uniforming, but if a boy is wearing the patch incorrectly, it's not the end of the world, it's something he can be proud of for his work during Cubs, same for the AOL patch if he earned that.  But remember, that's an individual's award, not a unit award.

[qwazse]

I'm pretty sure you're not gonna find anything official, but you can ask Bryan to try to get one: http://blog.scoutingmagazine.org/contact/

 

However, my rule #1 is to never ask for a rule. You'll probably live to regret it.

[Cleveland Rocks]

Also, I was told at the Scout Store that the JTE program is ending this year - has anybody else heard about this? I assume they will just replace it with something similar, but it was the first I heard about it. Sad, because we won't even get a 2016 ribbon to put on our den flag. 

 

That seems unlikely.  There are already 2017 scorecards available, and Bryan had a blog post back in May discussing the 2017 program.

 

http://blog.scoutingmagazine.org/2016/05/09/help-2017-journey-excellence-scorecards-will-even-better/

http://www.scouting.org/scoutsource/Awards/JourneyToExcellence.aspx

[The Latin Scot]

I figured the program wouldn't end so abruptly, but they did tell me at the Scout Store that they have no ribbons this year, which is sad because my boys were looking forward to adding it to our den flag. The lady at the SS told me that the discontinuance of the ribbons was likely due to the fact that so few patrols and dens use the flags, which I though was even sadder. Alas.

 

I will try asking Bryan about it though. I would rather know the rule and follow it than hope that I am following it and end up getting into trouble later on, lol.

[Cleveland Rocks]

I figured the program wouldn't end so abruptly, but they did tell me at the Scout Store that they have no ribbons this year, which is sad because my boys were looking forward to adding it to our den flag. The lady at the SS told me that the discontinuance of the ribbons was likely due to the fact that so few patrols and dens use the flags, which I though was even sadder. Alas.

 

They told you that 2016 ribbons aren't available or 2017 ribbons won't be available?  2016 ribbons are available, and there's an order form you can submit to your council to order your patches, ribbons, etc.

 

http://www.scouting.org/filestore/mission/pdf/513-192(16).pdf

 

2017 ribbons, patches, etc., wouldn't be available until at least the middle of 2017, since the awards are always for the previous year.

 

But JTE ribbons are a unit award, not a den or patrol award, so wouldn't the ribbon go on the unit flag?  Or are we talking about the National Den Award, which is a ribbon that would go on the Den flag or whatever totem a den uses.

[The Latin Scot]

I was told that 2016 ribbons ARE NOT available, and that they won't be making them. Hence my confusion, since after all, they were on the order form. The order form on the link you post is the one we used, but we were told they don't have 2016 ribbons. On ScoutStuff.org, they have 2016 patches, but no ribbons - the last ones they have are for 2015. Has anybody here received them for 2016? And if so, do you have a Gold-Level ribbon to spare?

 

As for the unit/patrol/den issue: yes, the ribbon should go on the unit flag. But we don't have one, and the committee isn't interested in getting one, nor are the other den leaders interested in either a flag or the ribbon. So, since mine is the only den that really cares about it, we get whatever ribbons our unit earns, such as the National Summertime Pack Award. We already got the National Den Award, which is according to our records the first time a den in our Pack has done so in at least a decade.

 

I am trying to improve things in my unit and we have made a lot of progress! But then there are other areas where we are still just as backwards as when I started, lol. 

[Ankylus]

Can a boy wear his JTE emblem for the whole year if he moves up from a pack to a troop?

 

Also, I was told at the Scout Store that the JTE program is ending this year - has anybody else heard about this? I assume they will just replace it with something similar, but it was the first I heard about it. Sad, because we won't even get a 2016 ribbon to put on our den flag. 

 

I have heard that JTE will be phased out (abruptly) for another program just as JTE replaced the "Quality Unit" program.

 

I agree that there probably isn't an official rule on the original question. My guess is the general rule that  the only Cub Scout awards wearable on the Boy Scout uniform are the AOL and the religious award would trump your desire here. That being said, the scout should wear it if he cares that much unless his new troop give him too much grief about it. I wouldn't blink in my troop even if I noticed, and I probably wouldn't notice.

 

I've alway wanted to wear them all at one time, kind of like having an arm band of the things, because why not? Not supposed to do it, though, and it seems to me a bit braggadocios. 

[chrisking0997]

I've alway wanted to wear them all at one time, kind of like having an arm band of the things, because why not? Not supposed to do it, though, and it seems to me a bit braggadocios. 

 

I ran across a scouter a few years ago at summer camp that did just that.  Guy had at least 8 of them going up his sleeve.  I really should have taken a picture but I was too stunned

[The Latin Scot]

Ugh. Not only is that improper uniforming, but it just smacks of attention-seeking and showing off. Those guys with 3 Jamboree patches, a fourth row of square knots (or more), and now multiple JTE patches ... they end up looking like third-world generalissimos looking their next Troop to conquer.