Heroism Award

[Trevorum]

Does anyone know the process for nominations for a Heroism Award, or a Medal of Merit?

 

Last week, an Eagle Scout in my troop saved a toddler from drowning! :)

 

http://www.hillcountrynews.com/articles/2008/06/01/news/news38.txt

 

 

I want to nominate this outstanding fellow for a Heroism Award.

[OldGreyEagle]

Each Council has its own protocal, as far as I understand, read this

 

http://www.scouting.org/Media/FactSheets/02-521.aspx?print=1

 

then have it, keep birddogging the process

[Trevorum]

Thanks! I'll start with our DE.

[Karen_216]

We went through this with a cub. The troop does not give him the award it is a council or national award. They get the paperwork from DE or DC and then witnesss must fill out and submit. Council or (national?) decides the actaul award there are differnet levels depending on if scout was at personal risk and what risk to the person "saved" etc.

Nice to hear these great stories!!

[jr56]

A boy in my troop got the Medal of Merit once. I got the standard form from my DE, had the family fill it out, and sent it in. The council advancement committe?, makes the decision of what award to give.

[GNX Guy]

Contrary to what has been posted here, the proper proceedure is as follows:

 

These awards are National Awards to be presented at a National Court of Honor at the council level

 

Download the 8 page nomination form from here; http://hoac-bsa.org/ae_links/lifesaving_meritorious_action_award.pdf

 

 

Submit to Council Advancement committee, they must investigate the case, interview the principals and witnesses, secure necessary signed statements and make a recommendation base upon knowledge of the facts. It is recommeded that the committee meet within 30 days of receipt of the recommendation. It is the council's committee responsiblity to write a summary of the event, complete the applicaiton in detail, provide attachments pertaining to the case.

 

The national court of honor makes the call on which award is to be presented. Council Committe only suggests as shown on page 1 of the nomination.

 

This was all taken from page 48 & 49 of the Advancement Committee Policies and Procedures publication # 33088

 

Rules are on page 6 of the above application

 

Council requirements are on page 7

 

National responsibilites are shown on page 8

 

[Trevorum]

Our troop representatives have now submitted this form and the attached statements and materials to council. Our DE says it will be reviewed by the Council Awards Committee. Depending on the degree of risk involved in the incident, the award can be decided at the Council level or may be bumped up to National.

 

I wouldn't be at all surprised to see this fine young fellow in Boy's Life!

[Karen_216]

Look forward to reading about it with my son. He and I love to read those stories in Boys Life and have discussions as to what happened, etc.

[Gonzo1]

Way to go!

 

I frequently get choked up read True Stories of Scouts in Action.

 

[NeilLup]

I've been involved with a few of these. I can only hope that your local council advancement committee is experienced because I have seen a few cases of "That isn't that special. He didn't do that much." If this were his job, i.e. he is a lifeguard, then he does not qualify for any award.

 

Depending upon circumstances, it would sound as if the Heroism Award or the Medal of Merit would be appropriate. Based on the article, I would recommend for the Heroism Award. I always recommend to our council's committee that they approve the highest level award that might be given and send it on to National. The National Court knows how to downgrade an award if appropriate. However, for obvious reasons, the BSA likes to give out these awards.

 

I hope that you got the names and statements of the EMTs involved. Those statements are very useful in documenting that the Scout really did save a life.

 

By way of information, there are, I believe, about 250 Honor Medals and Heroism Awards given out each year and about 150 Medals of Merit. By way of comparison, there are over 50,000 Eagle Scout Awards given each year.

 

Congratulations to your Scout.(This message has been edited by NeilLup)

[John-in-KC]

Trev,

 

Like Neil, congratulations to your Scout!

 

Let us know how this wends through the system...

[diogenes]

Thanks for the info as well. I just received a report that one of my scouts and my SM were involved in some whitewater rescues on a family trip and we were trying to figure out the process as well. This thread just saved me a bunch of time! Here's hoping that these young men get the recognition they deserve.

[NeilLup]

Hello diogenes,

 

In cases of multiple "rescuers" or candidates for National Court of Honor recognition, please note that a separate nomination needs to be filled out for each person although copies of the same substantiating material can be used for each. Also, please note that each person is considered on a reasonable standard for their age, status, etc. In other words, something that might get an adult a sincere "thank you" might qualify a Tiger Cub for an Honor Medal.

 

In filling out the nominations, please be sure to list separately what each person did individually. Presumably, what the SM did was different from what the Scout did. I know of one case where there wre four Scouts involved in an extremely ugly incident of the rescue of a newborn infant who was born in a latrine and then dropped in a plastic bag into the back of the latrine. The parents involved were dangerous felons from Mexico. The infant was successfully rescued. Each Scout had his own part in rescuing the infant and in helping apprehend the felons and I believe there were 1 Medal of Merit and 3 Heroism Awards given.