removing credit for 18 merit badges

[k9gold-scout]

Recently I was told that a scout's parents were turning in advancement reports for their son without telling the scoutmaster. The councli office had already told the mother she could not do this and had pulled the 4 advancement reports she had turned in. These included 2 rank adcancements and 18 merit badges. Since I was the Dist. Adv. Chair. I called the mother to see if I could help work-out the problem. She told me that her brother signed the blue cards and approved the rank. She said that he brother was a very active scouter and was a merit badge couselor for many years. When I told her I could not find his name on any list in our council, she said he was no longer that active.

 

The only advice I could give the mother was, that since her son had finished all the requirements for the badges, her son could see the officila counselors to be signed off on the requirements. Then he would need a board of review in his troop.

 

[OldGreyEagle]

I think you are on the right path. To earn a merit badge all a scout "needs" is a signed blue card with a registered/recognized/whatever merit badge counselor for the Council on it. (along with a few other signatures, like the scoutmaster). Now, as we ALL know, no merit badge counselor may take away or add to requirements (the same as any BSA rank/award)but the scout will have to present to the official merit badge counselors the information required for these badges and have the counselors judge if the requirements have been met.

 

The ranks cant be valid unless a BOR was done with commitee signatures let alone the SM and his Conference. Any reason why this family went the secretive route?

 

 

[eisely]

I find it hard to believe that anyone who knows about the advancement report process and is capable of filling out the form did this accidentally. I suspect an intentional fraud was attempted. Your approach is correct. Play it straight and don't make any accusations whatever suspicions you may harbor. Just send the boy around to properly recognized merit badge counselors and satisfy those counselors as to whether the boy has satisfied the requirements. If the boy is legitimate in his claims he should be able to do that very easily.

[evmori]

K9,

Stick to your guns. Like eisley said, this seems intentional.

 

Ed Mori

Scoutmaster

Troop 1

1 Peter 4:10

[Double Eagle]

Gotta agree about the intentional part. Those forms are not user friendly to someone that hasn't tried them before. As a SM, I don't sign the advancement sheet but I turn in the completed blue card to the advancement chairman.

 

Help for new scouters. Your name cannot be on as a board of review member if your son went through. Getting a blue card for a merit from the SM is one of the first parts of earning a merit badge before completing any requirement.

[Scoutmaster Ron]

Was the brother the merit badge counselor for all 18 merit badges?

[k9gold-scout]

Yes SM-Ron, all 18 badges were given by the uncle. It seems this was a dispute between this scout and the new scoutmaster. I haver since been told that this boy was trublesome and the was "told" to take care of his own advancement? It has ben resolved, the boy is in a new troop and he is retaking the badges in question and will have a sm conf. and board in his new troop. THANKS EVERYONE for the help.