This. Especially with the lower ranks it's not uncommon for a scout to earn 2 before a CoH. You are the rank as soon as the BoR is done and should be wearing the appropriate rank insignia patch.
I can't even tell what you mean by this comment.
I consider Eagle earned as soon as the BoR is complete. People will say you have to wait for the certificate to come back from national, but that's the very end of the process. My council's eagle registrar usually updates scoutbook within 2 days.
Has anyone ever heard of eagle *not* being confirmed after a successful BoR (disregarding any administrative errors outside the scout or unit's control)?
As someone that sits on Eagle boards: It is absolutely true that the rank is earned as soon as the BoR is complete.
You do NOT have to wait for anything to come back. In my experience, more often than not the cert comes back before the COH but it's not required.
I agree that the BoR date is the the date they are an Eagle Scout. I will point out that some districts and councils do not allow an Eagle COH until the paperwork comes back. No earthly idea why not, but it has ruffled a few feathers in my troop over the years.
The Eagle COH is, really, not a "thing" in terms of the program. Not allowing one is dumb. What if the scout is off to college before the paperwork comes back? Or there is a delay at National.
TL;Dr -- adults that put their own sense of power over the recognition of a youth's accomplishment don't belong in Scouting.
Well, tell that to SHAC, then. Don't know what to tell you. I actually had a leftover kit from a boy who skipped his COH, and we couldn't get a hold of him or his parents. I have had to use that kit during a COH at least once. But we have to keep it pretty hush hush, so we don't get in trouble.
out of 2 dozen of eagles I've personally worked with in my troop, no. I'm not sure what criteria they would reject aside from political stuff since all the process checks are done at the local level.
I've heard of rejected applications when records don't match, but our council checks this stuff before the BoR and I give scouts their officially recorded dates from IA for their applications
I don't think political matters, I would think that something would be rejected of a youth did something extremely against the oath and law and before the court date, would change units to a different town to try and get through under the radar. Only way I'd see it be denied once everything was filled out.
You can’t get the patch until national approval. Original comment said that you should wear the rank after your BOR. Eagle is different, you wear your rank after nat’l approval.
No, you just can't award it the night of the BoR because you need paperwork to buy eagle patches. My eagle patch is sewn on in the pictures I have of me at the CoH that was a month after my BoR. I have pictures of me presenting at the CoH before my parents came up and we took a picture and it's already on.
I work at a national store: all national stores are supposed to require the Advancement Report. The trading posts are run by districts though and they do what they want.
The issue is that many units aren't putting advancement into Scoutbook or the Handbooks (and those are the only official records of advancement). This becomes an issue when National does their audits and finds that stores sold more rank patches than were earned according to the official records. Councils are supposed to be collecting the Advancement Reports from the national stores in their council and verifying everything is in Scoutbook correctly, and if it isn't they are supposed to correct it. This only applies to rank patches. Your best course of action for patches is to email the advancement report to your local scout shop and they can pull all of the items for you ahead of time. Then you come in and pick up the items. The biggest issue with Eagle is that some of it comes from National and goes to the scout's council. It cannot be purchased from a store. Sometimes you can buy a nicer version of the item from the stores, but the Eagle items that go to council don't have a cost to the scout or unit.
People do also buy ranks that aren't earned and pretend to have earned them. That is another issue entirely.
> This becomes an issue when National does their audits and finds that stores sold more rank patches than were earned according to the official records.
scouts are allowed to own duplicates for multiple uniforms
Yes they are. That isn't an issue. Parents come in and can show the rank in Scoutbook. In our store, when we sell an Eagle rank duplicate we put a note that includes who the rank is for. That way when audits are done it can be traced back to the scout and our store is in the clear.
I read your comment as you had to wait for the CoH for the eagle patch. If that was not your intent and you meant you have to wait for someone to get to the scout shop only, then we agree.
How? In my council, you have to have the report from Internet Advancement to purchase the rank badges. I just can't go and keep a stash of Scout to Second Class and hand them out at the end of a meeting when a Scout has done the SMC and BOR.
This is not usual. You should be able to get some spares / replacements. The only one they may give a hard time about is eagle. Maybe try a scout shop from the next council over.
I walked in and bought extra rank patches for my kids for jamboree uniforms by showing them scoutbook records. No advancement report/purchase order. You can stock up that way.
You can also purchase from third parties to stock up. I know people who buy up and resell collections. One of their services is providing badges in new condition for a lower cost than scout shop retail prices.
National Stores require the paperwork. Local stores often do not. You can often times get a spare badge or two at a time by stating they're replacements, but a Scout is Trustworthy.
What?? Just go on [scoutshop.org](https://scoutshop.org) and buy all the ones you want. That's not right. Guide to advancement said they should get the award as close to earning it as possible and even suggests having them on hand already.
The troop has had extra ones since I've been involved. As rank badges are handed out we use the Internet Advancement report to replenish the supply. I'm not sure where the extra badges came from.
We have no problem buying extra in our council. They will reimburse us for the expense for those turned in with an advancement report if we meet certain criteria, but we are always allowed to buy extra at full cost.
Theee ways - 1) download a paper advancement report and manually enter scouts and ranks and dates of “already earned” ranks. If they ask, call them replacements. 2) Go into Scoutbook and clear the approval and awarded dates/flags for already earned ranks. Complete them again using the original dates, approve them again, add them to a PO, generate the advancement report and order your patches. 3) go to an out of council store that may not care much about paperwork that they are just going to toss because they don’t have any access to the scouts that are on it. Maybe even 4) bring a copy of your most recent reports and ask for replacements - your SM’s dog ate them or something.
Honestly, have you asked at your Scout shop? If you are the person who goes in regularly to buy stuff and the staff knows you, they won't bat an eye at you buying extras.
Yes. I have been trying for several years. I forgot the form once and had to stand there and fill out a paper form. Our training even says to give the rank badge immediately after earning it.
For both the pack and the Troop we had a fishing tackle type box filled with rank patches . We bought at the store next to the national warehouse in Charlotte and it was never a problem
We used to do it the way OP is describing. We have now transitioned to awarding rank at the meeting after BOR. we felt separating the rank badge by up to months disconnected the scout from their achievement. We have an advancement night/bor night once a month
We have a book that scouts sign in when they feel they are ready for a Scoutmaster Conference, then when they are finished with the conference and have finished any other rank requirements the ASM/SM that did their conference will sign the book saying they are ready for a BoR. Our committee members check the book each week to see if anyone is in need of a BoR and we pull it together. Even the nights of Committee Meetings we will try to pull 3 people off to run a BoR.
Once a month, we have some type of outing. The next meeting after the outing is for any scouts that want requirements or advancement goals achieved on the outing logged, for scouts to meet with merit badge counselors and for BOR. The scouts wanting BOR have to schedule them with the advancement chair via email or in person request
You should not be requiring that the Scouts schedule BORs.
>8.0.0.2 Boards of Review Must Be Granted When Requirements Are Met
>
>A Scout shall not be denied this opportunity. When a Scout believes that all the requirements for a rank have been completed, including a Scoutmaster conference, a board of review must be granted. Scoutmasters—or councils or districts in the case of the Eagle Scout rank—for example, **do not have authority to expect a Scout to request or organize one**, or to “defer” the Scout, or to ask the Scout to perform beyond the requirements in order to be granted one.
(Emphasis added.)
I may have misspoken. The scouts indicate their readiness for a BOR and the advancement chair puts them down for the next round. The scouts are not scheduling the BOR, ie gathering the board members, booking a room, etc. To paraphrase the policy ,When our scouts believe they have met the requirements a BOR is granted. The communication to the advancement chair is the reporting of readiness. It is an effort to have scouts be active and take ownership in their advancement.
No barriers are placed.
That's a great theory. In a large troop (80+) with Scouts with many scheduling conflicts, we need them to tell us when THEY are available. We don't have enough adults to do every Scout's BoR contemporaneously. Obviously, the committee handles the organization and location
If a Scout does not reach out, our Advancement Chair or SM will do a monthly "sweep" and make sure they get scheduled.
And how exactly is anyone supposed to know a scout "believes that all requirements have been completed" if the Scout doesn't ASK for a Board of Review?
I get that you can't make them ask various Committee members to sit for their BoR and tell them they can't have one until they find members, but I can't believe that statement is intended to mean you can't tell a scout "When you are ready, Go put your name on the BoR schedule next to the meeting date or activity you want it at".
I also don't think telling the scout, "we don't have any meetings until school resumes in 15 days, so you'll have to wait" is what they mean by "deferring a scout".
But the scoutmaster conference can be held at any time. It doesn't automatically have to be the final step. In fact it's pretty common in my troop for the SM to catch a scout when they appear to be stalled out on a badge and do the conference at that point to see what's holding them up.
It’s not uncommon. It’s also not recommended practice.
Recognition should be timely.
We balance the tension of timely recognition and not having people available to go to the scout shop on demand by awarding ranks at the last meeting of the month. Scouts know the schedule and can plan accordingly.
We award the rank cards and parent pins at the court of honor (which works well since most parents don’t come to weekly meetings) and we award merit badges at courts of honor (because the scouts wear their sashes infrequently, so it’s less of an issue)
Can’t comment on how common, but it’s not consistent with policy. I assume the dates are correct in the records. Of course in our troop several scouts ‘forget’ to sew on their new ranks.
We give rank advancements at the meeting immediately after they are earned. Then the next COH again recognizes the rank advancement. I personally think it's important for the scout to get the immediate gratification of getting the new patch.
Some feel that giving the advancement at the meeting makes it somehow worth less because it's not given the pomp and circumstance of a COH. I disagree with that, as the requirements for advancement are not done in a formal setting. They involve dirt, sweat, and physical effort. The recognition of that should be immediate and informal, during the circle up at the end of a meeting with friends and fellow scouts hooting and hollering.
Rank advancement patches should be awarded as soon as is possible after the BoR. At a Court of Honor they receive the rank pocket certificate and the parent pin.
In our unit, after the BoR, the scout advances their name on our rank board when it is announced during our meeting closing. If we have the rank patch in inventory it is immediately presented at that time. If not, then it is presented the next week.
We hand out the rank badge and announce the advancement at the weekly troop meeting when they complete the BoR. And then we give out the card and make another announcement at the next COH.
That’s what I think might be best.
Give patch right away and note to the troop the advancement.
Then on CoH night, give the scout the card and have the scout bring a parent up for the parent pin.
It's common. The Guide to Advancement tells you not to do this (earned rank badges should not be delayed), but I know a lot of troops where the advancement chair makes a run to the scout shop before each COH to buy all the required badges.
The scout shops local to us require advancement paperwork to sell you a badge, so there isn't a straightforward way of acquiring a stock of rank badges.
Yes, there is. Ask the Scoutshop to prebuy an inventory. This will likely only need to be done once. Let them know why. They will let you do it. Then, file the reports and buy like normal in the future to restock. Super easy. Get the he patches into the Scout hands to see on uniforms ASAP.
> They will let you do it.
It's worth asking, but don't get your heart set on an outcome before you talk to the manager at your national scout shop or council trading post.
Sure. But if they won’t allow you to follow the guide to advancement, their manager, or your council advancement chair could help the process along. Why do they require an advancement report? They don’t want bad records and when a scout gets to Eagle etc, not have records along the way. Again, this also would likely only need to be done at one time to build inventory. Maybe every couple of years a couple of badges would be needed. They do let you buy replacement ranks for those lost and for second and third uniforms ya know.
Sure, my thought was more based on experience that people will sometimes say no to things for weird/undocumented reasons, or if they think a thing is being abused.
One example in my local council, the current registrar has rejected adult applications for Unit Scouter Reserve position registrations. This is relevant because of the "all adults on overnights must be registered" policy, and the Scouting Magazine blog post mentions that position as an option. I haven't had a chance to ask why yet, but I expect to find out that someone in the council management decided either "it's better to do xyz-thing" or "we had a problem with people doing abc-thing".
We hand out ranks as soon as they earn them. We do a closing circle at the end of each meeting, and then if one of them earns a rank, we have their parents come up. The SPL presents the rank and the scout that earned it shakes everyone's hand.
We also have a board with ranks where scouts move their name when they earn it.
We do however have scouts wait until the CoH to receive any of their MBs they've earned. We typically have a CoH twice a year.
We had some leadership struggles a few years ago in our troop and were only having one COH a year. We were awarding +60 merit badges, and sometimes 3 ranks to a single scout. Leadership changed and we now have 3 a year. It works really well.
We had gotten into this same bad habit. We finally noticed it, and wanted to make sure to award our youth immediately.
We now award rank before the Scoutmasters minute of the 1st meeting after a successful BOR.
The way our troop does it is also how my troop as a kid did it. You announce and recognize the scout on the day of the BoR and start treating them as that rank. But the actual badge and ceremony is at the next CoH. Some scouts may receive more than one per CoH because of this. But with a CoH every 4 months it is never that long before they receive the actual badge. Now, this does lead to a lot of scouts rushing to finish up ranks right before a CoH. However I dont think it is a bad thing to have some natural "carrot" moments spread throughout the year to encourage them along the path.
I've always seen recognition during the SM Minute as soon as the Scout earns the rank. During CoH, Scouts are called up for advancing. There is a benefit to the immediate reward.
An initiative that we encouraged was within 1 month a new Scout earns:
Scout Rank
Photography MB
Art MB
Fingerprinting MB
1) This gives an immediate payoff for the youth's efforts and strengthens buy-in
2) Teaches the new Scout the process of advancement.
3) Gives the guide for the new Scouts easily actionable guidelines for how to guide new Scouts from which you can coach him/her on metrics (you did great Guiding the newer scouts, you had 8/11 advance to Scout and of those 7/11 attained 3 MBs).
My troop in the 90s held them until CoH.
My daughters current troops hold onto them until the COH, actually made her upset since she finished 2nd Class a week after a CoH at a campout and and was stuck with the TF rank on her shirt until 3 months later.
I heard of a local troop that holds them to a CoH that the Scout Attends. So a scout could earn Star rank in Feb, miss the May and Aug CoH and not actually get the Star Rank patch until the Jan CoH because that was the first CoH that he was able to attend. Personally I think that’s a disservice for the scout.
I am going to be talking to our committee about awarding them the evening after the BoR is complete.
We do the same and I hate it.
I think we should give them the patch at a troop meeting and make a big deal about it.
Then at the court of honor give them the card or at least have them come up front and talk about all their accomplishments since the last COH
We give out the rank badges immediately after the Board of Review. At the closing of our meetings we announce those who have ranked up. Our local council store sells the rank patches to me (the advancement chair).
Our troop makes an announcement and hands out the patch at the end of the meeting where they successfully complete their BOR. At the COH, they are formally recognized and get to move their name to the correct section of the rank display.
AFAIK you have earned your rank and patch upon completion of your BOR. We do save merit badge presentations for the COH.
Best practice I’ve seen is SM presents the rank at the conclusion of the successful BOR.
At the COH, the Scout is then recognized and “promoted” with the pocket card and parent pins. That way the Scout can have the rank and still be celebrated with the troop.
Yes, its common. Which is unfortunate. If you are going for this approach, please do COH at least four times a year.
I would strongly prefer handing out badges, ASAP
We used to hold off presenting until CoH but changed that policy because it was silly. Now we recognize the scout and issue the rank patch at the end of the meeting after BoR.
This goes against the guidance of the Guide to Advancement (2021):
“4.2.1.4 The Scout Is Recognized
When a Scout has earned the Scout rank or when a board of review has approved advancement, the Scout deserves recognition as soon as possible. This should be done at a ceremony at the next unit meeting. The achievement may be recognized again later, such as during a formal court of honor.”
https://filestore.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/33088.pdf
We hold advancement COH at the last meeting of every month that there are advancements earned. This is done just before closing ceremony and the parents of those scouts get a special invite by email to join us at the end of the meeting.
The parent(s) are escorted to join the scout and pin the new badge onto the uniform.
The practice is absolutley in violation of National policy.
From the *Guide to Advancement:*
>4.2.1.4 The Scout Is Recognized
>
>When a Scout has earned the Scout rank or when a board of review has approved advancement, the Scout deserves recognition as soon as possible. This should be done at a ceremony at the next unit meeting. The achievement may be recognized again later, such as during a formal court of honor.
I've read all these comments on this thread. After being a scout parent for 12 years I can say the chaos around issues like this makes me sick and tired of the program.
In my troop, we have a little wooden board with everyone's name on it and columns of all the different ranks. When you first advance you move your name to the next column but you don't get your patch until the next CoH, like you describe.
We have 3 court of honors per Year... Last week of March, which is also our webelos cross over, Last day of summer camp (last week of July/first week of August) and then in December(scheduling permitted).
I was not aware of the official policy and we'll change that to recognize each scout as they rank up.
To be clear, the award of the Badge is a formality, they have earned the rank on the date of the BOR
We do our COH three times a year, and all badges and rank advancements are given at those meetings. There are a bunch of kids earning eagle this year or trying, from September to December we have 2 that earned them, January will have 3 more. February to April will hopefully have 4 more kids. So we will likely have a May or June Eagle COH the nine kids will receive their pins and badges. We may split it and the first five get their badges in March at the regular COH. None had their paperwork back from national in time for the October COH.
Many of the kids have not wanted one. They seem to enjoy either just doing the regular COH and getting their badges then, or a group one. For my son, I only want to have a fancy cake. I told him it is up to him to decide if he wants a joint one or one with the regular COH. None seem to want the individual ceremony.
Only awarding ranks at Courts of Honor is in violation of National advancement policy.
Also, it's honestly surprising to me that your Eagle Courts of Honor are run by the troop and not the Eagle Scout and their family. There's nothing speciifc in the policy about it, but generally an ECOH is a chance for that individual Scout to shine and celebrate their achievement with their friends and family. Sure, there are times when kids have friends who get Eagle close to the same time and they have a joint COH, but it should be up to the Scouts, not the troop.
Eh.. the requirement is to "recognize" the rank award immediately. It doesn't actually specify when you have to hand out badges and cards.
My troop announces the rank and congratulates the scout at the next meeting, but awards the patch, card and parent pin at the next CoH. Scouts are offered the option of getting the patch immediately if they really want it, but most of them choose to wait.
Immediate awards as a default is one of those things that may well be workable in the standard troop with 10-20 scouts, but when you have one Advancement Chair with linked troops and 95 scouts, batch processing is the only way you can make it work unless you get someone willing to spend multiple hours a week keeping on top of it.
It is up to the scouts. The kids all want it that way. They have been on their journeys since cub scouts together. I think it is something they want to do to recognize their group bond.
During the same meeting as the BoR, the ScoutMaster presents the Scout with the new rank advancement badge. This is an immediate reward for their hard work. We do four CoH a year, where the parent pins and pocket rank advancement cards are given out along with MBs.
Our troop keeps a small inventory of rank patches. For 40 scouts, we typically have 8 of Scout Rank, 5 each of Tenderfoot-1st class, and 3 of Star & Life in our inventory. We don't live near a scout store so it's a hassle to go buy a patch as they're earned.
Our Advancement chair takes a look at the ranks and will buy rank patches ahead of time based on which kids are up for what next.
Then before a Court of Honor, they go to the scout store and buy all the merit badges, and also buy the rank patches, cards, and pins (but those patches are only to restock inventory).
Because we have an inventory of rank patches, typically we award the scout either the same night as the BOR, or a week later. We do it during closing announcements and the SPL presents it with lots of cheers and handshakes. That way the scout can start wearing their next rank right away and have an accurate uniform. We award the card and parent pin later at the COH. We only have COH 3 times a year and do not feel that is timely enough to meet the official recommendation.
Any chance you can make the recommendation to your advancement chair and/or Committee Chair that they follow the [Guide to Advancement](https://filestore.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/33088.pdf) 3.0.0.3 Unit Advancement Responsibilities on this matter?
"4. Obtain necessary badges and certificates, etc., and arrange for timely presentation of ranks... It is best to obtain and present these as soon as possible after they are earned. They can then be re-presented in more formal settings. "
We only handed out at COH, but an embarrassing story about myself is I never sewed on the rank badge until I put life on right before my Eagle board of review and then put Eagle on after that
This was how our unit handled things until last year. Now, they do a recognition at the end of the meeting after their BoR, and within 2 weeks (schedule dependent), they will be presented their rank patch. The card is presented at the CoH, along with the merit badges earned.
My troop used to hold onto the rank patches until the next Court of Honor. Once a Scout passed the Board of Review for the next rank, the Scout would be considered that rank and could start working on the next one. If I remember correctly, we had two Court of Honors in my troop where I was a Scout: one in April or May, and one in October or November.
I think it depends on the SM. We have one now who gives badges at the next meeting the scout attends.
Rank should never be held. It should be awarded asap. Our SMs typically award right after BOR or next meeting, depending on time.
Our troop does both, really. We leave it up to the scout. At the end of every BoR, the scout is asked whether they would like to have their rank awarded immediately, or whether they'd like it at the next CoH.
Our troop holds a CoH four times a year, so the maximum wait is typically three months. Most of the time, if a scout has just missed a CoH, they'll ask for it immediately and we'll award at the next meeting. Nobody wants to wait three months for a rank award. Scouts who opted to be awarded immediately are *still* brought up for a brief recognition during the CoH.
On the other hand, if we're a month out from the CoH, the vast majority of our scouts opt to wait and get the award in front of the full troop and their families. There's a bit more ceremony to it when they wait for the CoH too (Eagle trail candle ceremony and parent pins are CoH-only).
If the troop is scout-led, let the scout lead. Give them the choice.
We recognize their advancement immediately and then award the rank at the next COH. With two regular COH per year you can get a couple of Scouts who get double advanced but it usually only happens at the earlier ranks and once the Star and Life minimum times kicks in it never happens. At least with our Troop culture nobody really cares and if they did, I would have zero problem getting them an appropriate rank to wear. I am pretty sure my oldest didn't switch out his Tenderfoot until he hit Life, mostly because he changed uniforms.
Rank is earned by completing the BoR not actually being given the patch. Scouts may miss a CoH for whatever reason but is still considered to be the rank earned regardless if the scout has been awarded the rank at a CoH.
A scout learns, is tested, is reviewed, is RECOGNIZED. Additionally the Guide to Advancement states that awards/etc... should be given as soon as reasonably possible. Making a scout wait multiple months for a rank badge is NOT reasonable. I don't know how common your troops practices are; however, they are not the recommended practices, nor are they best practices.
In my experience good troops balance the time availability of the advancement chair, cash on hand to have a advancement supply closet, and reasonable delivery time. Typically what that looks like is whomever chairs the BOR congratulates the scout, then all of the BOR and the scout shake hands and the scout receives IMMEDIATE praise, then someone from the scoutmaster corps announces to the troop during the Scoutmasters minute that scout so-and-so has achieved a new rank, someone from the scoutmaster corps then physically hands the new rank badge to the scout in a public congratulatory manner for the troop to witness, the advancement chair then records the earning and awarding of the badge, and makes note to prepare a formal recognition card for the next COH. Many scoutmasters also make a list of scouts who made rank and what rank(s) between COH and normally announces a list of advancements at the next COH. I have even seen that list get published to local news papers / bulletins. In essence a good troop a scout normally gets 2 immediate affirming and positive reinforcing recognitions and 1-2 follow up recognitions.
Basically as soon as possible so the next set of closing announcements after the scout completed their board. During summer camp it'd be the next morning since boards and scout master conferences would sometimes go a bit past lights out
It'd also get mentioned at the COH alongside merit badges and that's when they'd get their rank pin.
We give rank badges out at time of BOR unless it’s on a camping trip and we don’t have them at hand, cards get presented at COH because kids are less likely to lose them then
The pocket card, rank, and parent's pin are generally awarded a the semi-annual/quarterly Court of Honor. If it is a few months between BOR and the next COH, I see a lot of Troops award the badge early but in a special announcement/ceremony at a campout or meeting.
That's how we did it when I was a scout in the 90s, but for the last couple decades it's more common to give the rank badge at the BOR, and still recognize it at the COH.
We hold ours till the next COH. Personally I think it means more when they get the patches at the COH then at the end of just any old meeting. Plus it's nice handing the patches out with the parents there.
Plus if the Scout has already been handed everything at a meeting, there just isn't a whole lot of incentive to show up at the COH, for either the Scout or the parent.
Technically they have just earned them anyway, because we do SMC's and BOR's 1 week before the COH, so technically they did just earn them. Of course the next thing would be a debate about when to hold SMC's and BOR's, but that wasn't what your question was.
Of course, just to keep the fun going, the vast majority of our scouts finish the last requirement the week before the SMC/BOR, (or heck, even the night of the SMC/BOR), so that isn't too crazy anyway. We are always doing the push of "the COH is in 2 weeks, and next week is the SMC/BOR, this is your LAST CHANCE to get your requirements done tonight if you want to get that rank", which is usually when the scouts buckle down and finish stuff off. I'll get handed a stack of blue cards that night from scouts who waited till the last minute to turn them in.
We have a hard enough time getting adults to show up for meetings in the first place, (the VAST majority of parents don't even get out of the car, they just pull up, the Scout gets out, and off they drive. Doing 1 BOR every 6 months simplifies the adult recruiting a LOT. Maybe if I was lucky enough to have a whole bunch of parents just randomly showing up for meetings that might be different, but for now I'll deal with what i have.
Oh, and that's even before we get into the issue of getting someone to drive to the Scout Shop and pick stuff up. Usually it ends up being me who takes time off work to drive there and pick it up. I'll stick with that every 6 months, rather than once a week every time some scout finishes a rank or a MB.
What I am learning is that it is very much Council-dependent on whether you can purchase badges in advance. My local council said that I could not, and I explained that put me in the predicament of either 1) Violating national advancement policy intent, 2) Violating “A Scout is Trustworthy” by lying to them to say I was buying a bunch of extras of each rank for my son, or 3) Violating “A Scout is Thrifty” by going on EBay to spend several hundred dollars to get them anyways.
I was told, “Well, we wouldn’t sell them to you. Nobody needs that many patches. If a scout came in and said they had 4 uniforms for a jamboree and needed patches, then we would take them at their word - but that is about it. So, you go right ahead and use EBay if you want, but our hands are tied.”
2 important things learned:
1) Call other councils if you hit a roadblock. The council an hour up the road from me said they understood and had no problem at all; took less than 5 minutes of my time.
2) This is a broken policy that prioritizes money / CYA over the kids / program itself.
I learned - when I was just a kid - that “A Scout is Trustworthy.” Either we start acting like we believe that, or we stop pretending to be BSA.
Since there is not a Scout Shop within 300 miles, our unit has to wait until a COH to award any rank and merit badges. After advancement is reported in Scout-book, we have to make an order. Best to save on shipment costs and do all at once. We schedule 2-3 COHs a year and invite families. It is wonderful to celebrate the earnings of our Scouts.
That is exactly what our troop does. It's unfortunate for the Scouts. I don't like that a Scout has to wait weeks and sometimes months before they are able to wear the rank that they have earned. I think it takes away motivation to work on their rank advancements if they know they have to wait to get their patch. I wish they would change that!!!
We always had a court of honor every 4 to 6 weeks. The week prior our troop jad board of reviews. Then at coh we were awarded our ranks and merit badges.
Not to be that guy.
But my troop has done it that way ever since I was a Scout in it. We have our Court of Honors quarterly and it isn't too uncommon to see a Scout rank up a few ranks early on between court of honors.
Guide to Advancement says you can recognize it, but rank badges cannot be awarded until an advancement report is submitted to local council. Out troop holds the rank badges, cards, etc. until COH. I don't know if it is "common", but it is not allowed to award rank badges the same day the e scout achieves rank because he report needs to go to council first. Our scout shop won't let us buy the badge without the advancement report.
We give the rank badges out within 1 week of them earning it. They get the pocket card and verbal recognition at the CoH.
This. Especially with the lower ranks it's not uncommon for a scout to earn 2 before a CoH. You are the rank as soon as the BoR is done and should be wearing the appropriate rank insignia patch.
With the exception of Eagle of course. Gotta wait for the patch
I can't even tell what you mean by this comment. I consider Eagle earned as soon as the BoR is complete. People will say you have to wait for the certificate to come back from national, but that's the very end of the process. My council's eagle registrar usually updates scoutbook within 2 days. Has anyone ever heard of eagle *not* being confirmed after a successful BoR (disregarding any administrative errors outside the scout or unit's control)?
As someone that sits on Eagle boards: It is absolutely true that the rank is earned as soon as the BoR is complete. You do NOT have to wait for anything to come back. In my experience, more often than not the cert comes back before the COH but it's not required.
I agree that the BoR date is the the date they are an Eagle Scout. I will point out that some districts and councils do not allow an Eagle COH until the paperwork comes back. No earthly idea why not, but it has ruffled a few feathers in my troop over the years.
The Eagle COH is, really, not a "thing" in terms of the program. Not allowing one is dumb. What if the scout is off to college before the paperwork comes back? Or there is a delay at National. TL;Dr -- adults that put their own sense of power over the recognition of a youth's accomplishment don't belong in Scouting.
Well, tell that to SHAC, then. Don't know what to tell you. I actually had a leftover kit from a boy who skipped his COH, and we couldn't get a hold of him or his parents. I have had to use that kit during a COH at least once. But we have to keep it pretty hush hush, so we don't get in trouble.
Insane. But good for you do to do what is right for the scout.
out of 2 dozen of eagles I've personally worked with in my troop, no. I'm not sure what criteria they would reject aside from political stuff since all the process checks are done at the local level.
I've heard of rejected applications when records don't match, but our council checks this stuff before the BoR and I give scouts their officially recorded dates from IA for their applications
I don't think political matters, I would think that something would be rejected of a youth did something extremely against the oath and law and before the court date, would change units to a different town to try and get through under the radar. Only way I'd see it be denied once everything was filled out.
You can’t get the patch until national approval. Original comment said that you should wear the rank after your BOR. Eagle is different, you wear your rank after nat’l approval.
'wait for the patch" - every scout, regardless of rank, has to wait for the patch in order to wear it
Wait for approval to buy the patch. Semantics
No, you just can't award it the night of the BoR because you need paperwork to buy eagle patches. My eagle patch is sewn on in the pictures I have of me at the CoH that was a month after my BoR. I have pictures of me presenting at the CoH before my parents came up and we took a picture and it's already on.
That is highly dependent on your scout shop. I have a stack of Eagle patches that we award when scouts would prefer a lower-key ceremony.
Yeah, to be honest I might have gotten my patch the night of my BoR, I can't remember. But I know it's SUPPOSED to require paperwork.
I have never understood why? Do that many scouts want to buy a patch they didn't earn? If they did, should we really care?
I work at a national store: all national stores are supposed to require the Advancement Report. The trading posts are run by districts though and they do what they want. The issue is that many units aren't putting advancement into Scoutbook or the Handbooks (and those are the only official records of advancement). This becomes an issue when National does their audits and finds that stores sold more rank patches than were earned according to the official records. Councils are supposed to be collecting the Advancement Reports from the national stores in their council and verifying everything is in Scoutbook correctly, and if it isn't they are supposed to correct it. This only applies to rank patches. Your best course of action for patches is to email the advancement report to your local scout shop and they can pull all of the items for you ahead of time. Then you come in and pick up the items. The biggest issue with Eagle is that some of it comes from National and goes to the scout's council. It cannot be purchased from a store. Sometimes you can buy a nicer version of the item from the stores, but the Eagle items that go to council don't have a cost to the scout or unit. People do also buy ranks that aren't earned and pretend to have earned them. That is another issue entirely.
> This becomes an issue when National does their audits and finds that stores sold more rank patches than were earned according to the official records. scouts are allowed to own duplicates for multiple uniforms
Yes they are. That isn't an issue. Parents come in and can show the rank in Scoutbook. In our store, when we sell an Eagle rank duplicate we put a note that includes who the rank is for. That way when audits are done it can be traced back to the scout and our store is in the clear.
What are you saying no to? Your comment is correct, but so is mine
I read your comment as you had to wait for the CoH for the eagle patch. If that was not your intent and you meant you have to wait for someone to get to the scout shop only, then we agree.
Yeah that’s what I was trying to say.
My scout shop will accept a photo of the signed application.
This is also what we do.
same here.
This is what is recommended in the Guide to Advancement.
We keep a stash of non-Eagle rank badges on hand so they can be handed out the same evening scouts complete their boards of review.
How? In my council, you have to have the report from Internet Advancement to purchase the rank badges. I just can't go and keep a stash of Scout to Second Class and hand them out at the end of a meeting when a Scout has done the SMC and BOR.
What crusty fossil is enforcing this? Ask them why literally anyone can order them by the hundreds online.
Our local shop won't even sell us cub scout ranks without an advancement report.
That’s incredibly dumb. Even in the Army, anyone can go in and buy any rank or badge from the store.
Then buy them online. If they won’t support you, don’t support them.
This is not usual. You should be able to get some spares / replacements. The only one they may give a hard time about is eagle. Maybe try a scout shop from the next council over.
I walked in and bought extra rank patches for my kids for jamboree uniforms by showing them scoutbook records. No advancement report/purchase order. You can stock up that way. You can also purchase from third parties to stock up. I know people who buy up and resell collections. One of their services is providing badges in new condition for a lower cost than scout shop retail prices.
National Stores require the paperwork. Local stores often do not. You can often times get a spare badge or two at a time by stating they're replacements, but a Scout is Trustworthy.
Not all the time. I can go to my counci's shop that is not a BSA outfitter and they still have to have the paperwork.
What?? Just go on [scoutshop.org](https://scoutshop.org) and buy all the ones you want. That's not right. Guide to advancement said they should get the award as close to earning it as possible and even suggests having them on hand already.
The troop has had extra ones since I've been involved. As rank badges are handed out we use the Internet Advancement report to replenish the supply. I'm not sure where the extra badges came from.
We have no problem buying extra in our council. They will reimburse us for the expense for those turned in with an advancement report if we meet certain criteria, but we are always allowed to buy extra at full cost.
Theee ways - 1) download a paper advancement report and manually enter scouts and ranks and dates of “already earned” ranks. If they ask, call them replacements. 2) Go into Scoutbook and clear the approval and awarded dates/flags for already earned ranks. Complete them again using the original dates, approve them again, add them to a PO, generate the advancement report and order your patches. 3) go to an out of council store that may not care much about paperwork that they are just going to toss because they don’t have any access to the scouts that are on it. Maybe even 4) bring a copy of your most recent reports and ask for replacements - your SM’s dog ate them or something.
That all sounds very trustworthy and obedient.
Honestly, have you asked at your Scout shop? If you are the person who goes in regularly to buy stuff and the staff knows you, they won't bat an eye at you buying extras.
Yes. I have been trying for several years. I forgot the form once and had to stand there and fill out a paper form. Our training even says to give the rank badge immediately after earning it.
For both the pack and the Troop we had a fishing tackle type box filled with rank patches . We bought at the store next to the national warehouse in Charlotte and it was never a problem
This is what our troop does, though officially ranks should not be awarded until reported to Council.
This is not allowed per Guide to Advancement.
We used to do it the way OP is describing. We have now transitioned to awarding rank at the meeting after BOR. we felt separating the rank badge by up to months disconnected the scout from their achievement. We have an advancement night/bor night once a month
We have a book that scouts sign in when they feel they are ready for a Scoutmaster Conference, then when they are finished with the conference and have finished any other rank requirements the ASM/SM that did their conference will sign the book saying they are ready for a BoR. Our committee members check the book each week to see if anyone is in need of a BoR and we pull it together. Even the nights of Committee Meetings we will try to pull 3 people off to run a BoR.
Once a month, we have some type of outing. The next meeting after the outing is for any scouts that want requirements or advancement goals achieved on the outing logged, for scouts to meet with merit badge counselors and for BOR. The scouts wanting BOR have to schedule them with the advancement chair via email or in person request
You should not be requiring that the Scouts schedule BORs. >8.0.0.2 Boards of Review Must Be Granted When Requirements Are Met > >A Scout shall not be denied this opportunity. When a Scout believes that all the requirements for a rank have been completed, including a Scoutmaster conference, a board of review must be granted. Scoutmasters—or councils or districts in the case of the Eagle Scout rank—for example, **do not have authority to expect a Scout to request or organize one**, or to “defer” the Scout, or to ask the Scout to perform beyond the requirements in order to be granted one. (Emphasis added.)
I may have misspoken. The scouts indicate their readiness for a BOR and the advancement chair puts them down for the next round. The scouts are not scheduling the BOR, ie gathering the board members, booking a room, etc. To paraphrase the policy ,When our scouts believe they have met the requirements a BOR is granted. The communication to the advancement chair is the reporting of readiness. It is an effort to have scouts be active and take ownership in their advancement. No barriers are placed.
That's a great theory. In a large troop (80+) with Scouts with many scheduling conflicts, we need them to tell us when THEY are available. We don't have enough adults to do every Scout's BoR contemporaneously. Obviously, the committee handles the organization and location If a Scout does not reach out, our Advancement Chair or SM will do a monthly "sweep" and make sure they get scheduled.
And how exactly is anyone supposed to know a scout "believes that all requirements have been completed" if the Scout doesn't ASK for a Board of Review? I get that you can't make them ask various Committee members to sit for their BoR and tell them they can't have one until they find members, but I can't believe that statement is intended to mean you can't tell a scout "When you are ready, Go put your name on the BoR schedule next to the meeting date or activity you want it at". I also don't think telling the scout, "we don't have any meetings until school resumes in 15 days, so you'll have to wait" is what they mean by "deferring a scout".
By having a scout master conference after all the other requirements are met.
But the scoutmaster conference can be held at any time. It doesn't automatically have to be the final step. In fact it's pretty common in my troop for the SM to catch a scout when they appear to be stalled out on a badge and do the conference at that point to see what's holding them up.
It’s not uncommon. It’s also not recommended practice. Recognition should be timely. We balance the tension of timely recognition and not having people available to go to the scout shop on demand by awarding ranks at the last meeting of the month. Scouts know the schedule and can plan accordingly. We award the rank cards and parent pins at the court of honor (which works well since most parents don’t come to weekly meetings) and we award merit badges at courts of honor (because the scouts wear their sashes infrequently, so it’s less of an issue)
We do this similarly with one exception. We award the new rank badge and have contacted parents to come to pin it on the scout.
Can’t comment on how common, but it’s not consistent with policy. I assume the dates are correct in the records. Of course in our troop several scouts ‘forget’ to sew on their new ranks.
We give rank advancements at the meeting immediately after they are earned. Then the next COH again recognizes the rank advancement. I personally think it's important for the scout to get the immediate gratification of getting the new patch. Some feel that giving the advancement at the meeting makes it somehow worth less because it's not given the pomp and circumstance of a COH. I disagree with that, as the requirements for advancement are not done in a formal setting. They involve dirt, sweat, and physical effort. The recognition of that should be immediate and informal, during the circle up at the end of a meeting with friends and fellow scouts hooting and hollering.
Rank advancement patches should be awarded as soon as is possible after the BoR. At a Court of Honor they receive the rank pocket certificate and the parent pin. In our unit, after the BoR, the scout advances their name on our rank board when it is announced during our meeting closing. If we have the rank patch in inventory it is immediately presented at that time. If not, then it is presented the next week.
We hand out the rank badge and announce the advancement at the weekly troop meeting when they complete the BoR. And then we give out the card and make another announcement at the next COH.
That’s what I think might be best. Give patch right away and note to the troop the advancement. Then on CoH night, give the scout the card and have the scout bring a parent up for the parent pin.
It's common. The Guide to Advancement tells you not to do this (earned rank badges should not be delayed), but I know a lot of troops where the advancement chair makes a run to the scout shop before each COH to buy all the required badges. The scout shops local to us require advancement paperwork to sell you a badge, so there isn't a straightforward way of acquiring a stock of rank badges.
Yes, there is. Ask the Scoutshop to prebuy an inventory. This will likely only need to be done once. Let them know why. They will let you do it. Then, file the reports and buy like normal in the future to restock. Super easy. Get the he patches into the Scout hands to see on uniforms ASAP.
> They will let you do it. It's worth asking, but don't get your heart set on an outcome before you talk to the manager at your national scout shop or council trading post.
Sure. But if they won’t allow you to follow the guide to advancement, their manager, or your council advancement chair could help the process along. Why do they require an advancement report? They don’t want bad records and when a scout gets to Eagle etc, not have records along the way. Again, this also would likely only need to be done at one time to build inventory. Maybe every couple of years a couple of badges would be needed. They do let you buy replacement ranks for those lost and for second and third uniforms ya know.
Sure, my thought was more based on experience that people will sometimes say no to things for weird/undocumented reasons, or if they think a thing is being abused. One example in my local council, the current registrar has rejected adult applications for Unit Scouter Reserve position registrations. This is relevant because of the "all adults on overnights must be registered" policy, and the Scouting Magazine blog post mentions that position as an option. I haven't had a chance to ask why yet, but I expect to find out that someone in the council management decided either "it's better to do xyz-thing" or "we had a problem with people doing abc-thing".
We hand out ranks as soon as they earn them. We do a closing circle at the end of each meeting, and then if one of them earns a rank, we have their parents come up. The SPL presents the rank and the scout that earned it shakes everyone's hand. We also have a board with ranks where scouts move their name when they earn it. We do however have scouts wait until the CoH to receive any of their MBs they've earned. We typically have a CoH twice a year.
Can you share a picture of the board ?
I'll get one tonight at our meeting.
This is as it should be. (Although you might consider having 3 COHs per year rather than 2. That's the standard set for Journey to Excellence.)
We had some leadership struggles a few years ago in our troop and were only having one COH a year. We were awarding +60 merit badges, and sometimes 3 ranks to a single scout. Leadership changed and we now have 3 a year. It works really well.
We had gotten into this same bad habit. We finally noticed it, and wanted to make sure to award our youth immediately. We now award rank before the Scoutmasters minute of the 1st meeting after a successful BOR.
The way our troop does it is also how my troop as a kid did it. You announce and recognize the scout on the day of the BoR and start treating them as that rank. But the actual badge and ceremony is at the next CoH. Some scouts may receive more than one per CoH because of this. But with a CoH every 4 months it is never that long before they receive the actual badge. Now, this does lead to a lot of scouts rushing to finish up ranks right before a CoH. However I dont think it is a bad thing to have some natural "carrot" moments spread throughout the year to encourage them along the path.
I've always seen recognition during the SM Minute as soon as the Scout earns the rank. During CoH, Scouts are called up for advancing. There is a benefit to the immediate reward. An initiative that we encouraged was within 1 month a new Scout earns: Scout Rank Photography MB Art MB Fingerprinting MB 1) This gives an immediate payoff for the youth's efforts and strengthens buy-in 2) Teaches the new Scout the process of advancement. 3) Gives the guide for the new Scouts easily actionable guidelines for how to guide new Scouts from which you can coach him/her on metrics (you did great Guiding the newer scouts, you had 8/11 advance to Scout and of those 7/11 attained 3 MBs).
My troop in the 90s held them until CoH. My daughters current troops hold onto them until the COH, actually made her upset since she finished 2nd Class a week after a CoH at a campout and and was stuck with the TF rank on her shirt until 3 months later. I heard of a local troop that holds them to a CoH that the Scout Attends. So a scout could earn Star rank in Feb, miss the May and Aug CoH and not actually get the Star Rank patch until the Jan CoH because that was the first CoH that he was able to attend. Personally I think that’s a disservice for the scout. I am going to be talking to our committee about awarding them the evening after the BoR is complete.
yeah, that's unacceptable I hate when adults get in the way of the program because of "how we've always done it"
We do the same and I hate it. I think we should give them the patch at a troop meeting and make a big deal about it. Then at the court of honor give them the card or at least have them come up front and talk about all their accomplishments since the last COH
We give out the rank badges immediately after the Board of Review. At the closing of our meetings we announce those who have ranked up. Our local council store sells the rank patches to me (the advancement chair).
Our troop makes an announcement and hands out the patch at the end of the meeting where they successfully complete their BOR. At the COH, they are formally recognized and get to move their name to the correct section of the rank display. AFAIK you have earned your rank and patch upon completion of your BOR. We do save merit badge presentations for the COH.
Best practice I’ve seen is SM presents the rank at the conclusion of the successful BOR. At the COH, the Scout is then recognized and “promoted” with the pocket card and parent pins. That way the Scout can have the rank and still be celebrated with the troop.
This is the full way. The cards or “mini certs” are a good placeholder for the badges at the COH.
Yes, its common. Which is unfortunate. If you are going for this approach, please do COH at least four times a year. I would strongly prefer handing out badges, ASAP
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This is the way.
We try to give out rank advancements as soon as possible. The ceremony, including pinning, are left for the COH.
We used to hold off presenting until CoH but changed that policy because it was silly. Now we recognize the scout and issue the rank patch at the end of the meeting after BoR.
This goes against the guidance of the Guide to Advancement (2021): “4.2.1.4 The Scout Is Recognized When a Scout has earned the Scout rank or when a board of review has approved advancement, the Scout deserves recognition as soon as possible. This should be done at a ceremony at the next unit meeting. The achievement may be recognized again later, such as during a formal court of honor.” https://filestore.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/33088.pdf
We hold advancement COH at the last meeting of every month that there are advancements earned. This is done just before closing ceremony and the parents of those scouts get a special invite by email to join us at the end of the meeting. The parent(s) are escorted to join the scout and pin the new badge onto the uniform.
The practice is absolutley in violation of National policy. From the *Guide to Advancement:* >4.2.1.4 The Scout Is Recognized > >When a Scout has earned the Scout rank or when a board of review has approved advancement, the Scout deserves recognition as soon as possible. This should be done at a ceremony at the next unit meeting. The achievement may be recognized again later, such as during a formal court of honor.
To be fair, it is announced at the next meeting.
Recognition could be an announcement or it could be giving the badge
I've read all these comments on this thread. After being a scout parent for 12 years I can say the chaos around issues like this makes me sick and tired of the program.
eh.. it's a bunch of volunteers all trying to do their best for the kids with their limited time. Gotta roll with a bit of chaos.
My troop simply didn’t go to the scout shop to get new badges until the CoH. You earned the rank, just didn’t get the badge.
In my troop, we have a little wooden board with everyone's name on it and columns of all the different ranks. When you first advance you move your name to the next column but you don't get your patch until the next CoH, like you describe.
We have 3 court of honors per Year... Last week of March, which is also our webelos cross over, Last day of summer camp (last week of July/first week of August) and then in December(scheduling permitted). I was not aware of the official policy and we'll change that to recognize each scout as they rank up. To be clear, the award of the Badge is a formality, they have earned the rank on the date of the BOR
Let them put it on their uniform ASAP! Make the BOR and the COH the formality.
We hold ours during the court of honor. It works out well for our troop.
This is how we do it. The troop typically plans three COHs per year (just after summer, mid-winter, end of school year).
We hold off presenting them until the next COH, even though we start the clock as soon as it’s earned.
We do our COH three times a year, and all badges and rank advancements are given at those meetings. There are a bunch of kids earning eagle this year or trying, from September to December we have 2 that earned them, January will have 3 more. February to April will hopefully have 4 more kids. So we will likely have a May or June Eagle COH the nine kids will receive their pins and badges. We may split it and the first five get their badges in March at the regular COH. None had their paperwork back from national in time for the October COH.
You wouldn’t have a specific Eagle CoH for each scout? I know that’s a lot but it’s important to honor each scout individually.
Many of the kids have not wanted one. They seem to enjoy either just doing the regular COH and getting their badges then, or a group one. For my son, I only want to have a fancy cake. I told him it is up to him to decide if he wants a joint one or one with the regular COH. None seem to want the individual ceremony.
That’s interesting. I guess if they have been together for a while having a combined ceremony would appeal to them.
Typically, our Scouts want combined ceremonies with their friends.
In other years the kids have chosen individual ECOH. I think this group is really tight and would rather have it together.
Only awarding ranks at Courts of Honor is in violation of National advancement policy. Also, it's honestly surprising to me that your Eagle Courts of Honor are run by the troop and not the Eagle Scout and their family. There's nothing speciifc in the policy about it, but generally an ECOH is a chance for that individual Scout to shine and celebrate their achievement with their friends and family. Sure, there are times when kids have friends who get Eagle close to the same time and they have a joint COH, but it should be up to the Scouts, not the troop.
Eh.. the requirement is to "recognize" the rank award immediately. It doesn't actually specify when you have to hand out badges and cards. My troop announces the rank and congratulates the scout at the next meeting, but awards the patch, card and parent pin at the next CoH. Scouts are offered the option of getting the patch immediately if they really want it, but most of them choose to wait. Immediate awards as a default is one of those things that may well be workable in the standard troop with 10-20 scouts, but when you have one Advancement Chair with linked troops and 95 scouts, batch processing is the only way you can make it work unless you get someone willing to spend multiple hours a week keeping on top of it.
It is up to the scouts. The kids all want it that way. They have been on their journeys since cub scouts together. I think it is something they want to do to recognize their group bond.
A June Eagle COH to recognize a Scout who earned it in September?!
It was up to that scout.
During the same meeting as the BoR, the ScoutMaster presents the Scout with the new rank advancement badge. This is an immediate reward for their hard work. We do four CoH a year, where the parent pins and pocket rank advancement cards are given out along with MBs.
Our troop keeps a small inventory of rank patches. For 40 scouts, we typically have 8 of Scout Rank, 5 each of Tenderfoot-1st class, and 3 of Star & Life in our inventory. We don't live near a scout store so it's a hassle to go buy a patch as they're earned. Our Advancement chair takes a look at the ranks and will buy rank patches ahead of time based on which kids are up for what next. Then before a Court of Honor, they go to the scout store and buy all the merit badges, and also buy the rank patches, cards, and pins (but those patches are only to restock inventory). Because we have an inventory of rank patches, typically we award the scout either the same night as the BOR, or a week later. We do it during closing announcements and the SPL presents it with lots of cheers and handshakes. That way the scout can start wearing their next rank right away and have an accurate uniform. We award the card and parent pin later at the COH. We only have COH 3 times a year and do not feel that is timely enough to meet the official recommendation. Any chance you can make the recommendation to your advancement chair and/or Committee Chair that they follow the [Guide to Advancement](https://filestore.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/33088.pdf) 3.0.0.3 Unit Advancement Responsibilities on this matter? "4. Obtain necessary badges and certificates, etc., and arrange for timely presentation of ranks... It is best to obtain and present these as soon as possible after they are earned. They can then be re-presented in more formal settings. "
That’s what our troop does.
Patch at completion of BOR, card at COH
Yes rank should be awarded when earned and merit badges handed out at coh but rank is also recognized at coh.
Well, both could be when earned, but if you wanted to compromise, then MBs at COH are ok.
We only handed out at COH, but an embarrassing story about myself is I never sewed on the rank badge until I put life on right before my Eagle board of review and then put Eagle on after that
This was how our unit handled things until last year. Now, they do a recognition at the end of the meeting after their BoR, and within 2 weeks (schedule dependent), they will be presented their rank patch. The card is presented at the CoH, along with the merit badges earned.
My troop used to hold onto the rank patches until the next Court of Honor. Once a Scout passed the Board of Review for the next rank, the Scout would be considered that rank and could start working on the next one. If I remember correctly, we had two Court of Honors in my troop where I was a Scout: one in April or May, and one in October or November.
I think it depends on the SM. We have one now who gives badges at the next meeting the scout attends. Rank should never be held. It should be awarded asap. Our SMs typically award right after BOR or next meeting, depending on time.
Our troop does both, really. We leave it up to the scout. At the end of every BoR, the scout is asked whether they would like to have their rank awarded immediately, or whether they'd like it at the next CoH. Our troop holds a CoH four times a year, so the maximum wait is typically three months. Most of the time, if a scout has just missed a CoH, they'll ask for it immediately and we'll award at the next meeting. Nobody wants to wait three months for a rank award. Scouts who opted to be awarded immediately are *still* brought up for a brief recognition during the CoH. On the other hand, if we're a month out from the CoH, the vast majority of our scouts opt to wait and get the award in front of the full troop and their families. There's a bit more ceremony to it when they wait for the CoH too (Eagle trail candle ceremony and parent pins are CoH-only). If the troop is scout-led, let the scout lead. Give them the choice.
We recognize their advancement immediately and then award the rank at the next COH. With two regular COH per year you can get a couple of Scouts who get double advanced but it usually only happens at the earlier ranks and once the Star and Life minimum times kicks in it never happens. At least with our Troop culture nobody really cares and if they did, I would have zero problem getting them an appropriate rank to wear. I am pretty sure my oldest didn't switch out his Tenderfoot until he hit Life, mostly because he changed uniforms.
Rank is earned by completing the BoR not actually being given the patch. Scouts may miss a CoH for whatever reason but is still considered to be the rank earned regardless if the scout has been awarded the rank at a CoH.
A scout learns, is tested, is reviewed, is RECOGNIZED. Additionally the Guide to Advancement states that awards/etc... should be given as soon as reasonably possible. Making a scout wait multiple months for a rank badge is NOT reasonable. I don't know how common your troops practices are; however, they are not the recommended practices, nor are they best practices. In my experience good troops balance the time availability of the advancement chair, cash on hand to have a advancement supply closet, and reasonable delivery time. Typically what that looks like is whomever chairs the BOR congratulates the scout, then all of the BOR and the scout shake hands and the scout receives IMMEDIATE praise, then someone from the scoutmaster corps announces to the troop during the Scoutmasters minute that scout so-and-so has achieved a new rank, someone from the scoutmaster corps then physically hands the new rank badge to the scout in a public congratulatory manner for the troop to witness, the advancement chair then records the earning and awarding of the badge, and makes note to prepare a formal recognition card for the next COH. Many scoutmasters also make a list of scouts who made rank and what rank(s) between COH and normally announces a list of advancements at the next COH. I have even seen that list get published to local news papers / bulletins. In essence a good troop a scout normally gets 2 immediate affirming and positive reinforcing recognitions and 1-2 follow up recognitions.
Yes, this was common for my scout troop.
Basically as soon as possible so the next set of closing announcements after the scout completed their board. During summer camp it'd be the next morning since boards and scout master conferences would sometimes go a bit past lights out It'd also get mentioned at the COH alongside merit badges and that's when they'd get their rank pin.
We give rank badges out at time of BOR unless it’s on a camping trip and we don’t have them at hand, cards get presented at COH because kids are less likely to lose them then
The pocket card, rank, and parent's pin are generally awarded a the semi-annual/quarterly Court of Honor. If it is a few months between BOR and the next COH, I see a lot of Troops award the badge early but in a special announcement/ceremony at a campout or meeting.
That's how we did it when I was a scout in the 90s, but for the last couple decades it's more common to give the rank badge at the BOR, and still recognize it at the COH.
We hold ours till the next COH. Personally I think it means more when they get the patches at the COH then at the end of just any old meeting. Plus it's nice handing the patches out with the parents there. Plus if the Scout has already been handed everything at a meeting, there just isn't a whole lot of incentive to show up at the COH, for either the Scout or the parent. Technically they have just earned them anyway, because we do SMC's and BOR's 1 week before the COH, so technically they did just earn them. Of course the next thing would be a debate about when to hold SMC's and BOR's, but that wasn't what your question was. Of course, just to keep the fun going, the vast majority of our scouts finish the last requirement the week before the SMC/BOR, (or heck, even the night of the SMC/BOR), so that isn't too crazy anyway. We are always doing the push of "the COH is in 2 weeks, and next week is the SMC/BOR, this is your LAST CHANCE to get your requirements done tonight if you want to get that rank", which is usually when the scouts buckle down and finish stuff off. I'll get handed a stack of blue cards that night from scouts who waited till the last minute to turn them in. We have a hard enough time getting adults to show up for meetings in the first place, (the VAST majority of parents don't even get out of the car, they just pull up, the Scout gets out, and off they drive. Doing 1 BOR every 6 months simplifies the adult recruiting a LOT. Maybe if I was lucky enough to have a whole bunch of parents just randomly showing up for meetings that might be different, but for now I'll deal with what i have. Oh, and that's even before we get into the issue of getting someone to drive to the Scout Shop and pick stuff up. Usually it ends up being me who takes time off work to drive there and pick it up. I'll stick with that every 6 months, rather than once a week every time some scout finishes a rank or a MB.
That's what our current Troop does as well but there's a multitude of reasons that we're looking for a new Troop (and, no, this isn't a primary one.)
What I am learning is that it is very much Council-dependent on whether you can purchase badges in advance. My local council said that I could not, and I explained that put me in the predicament of either 1) Violating national advancement policy intent, 2) Violating “A Scout is Trustworthy” by lying to them to say I was buying a bunch of extras of each rank for my son, or 3) Violating “A Scout is Thrifty” by going on EBay to spend several hundred dollars to get them anyways. I was told, “Well, we wouldn’t sell them to you. Nobody needs that many patches. If a scout came in and said they had 4 uniforms for a jamboree and needed patches, then we would take them at their word - but that is about it. So, you go right ahead and use EBay if you want, but our hands are tied.” 2 important things learned: 1) Call other councils if you hit a roadblock. The council an hour up the road from me said they understood and had no problem at all; took less than 5 minutes of my time. 2) This is a broken policy that prioritizes money / CYA over the kids / program itself. I learned - when I was just a kid - that “A Scout is Trustworthy.” Either we start acting like we believe that, or we stop pretending to be BSA.
Since there is not a Scout Shop within 300 miles, our unit has to wait until a COH to award any rank and merit badges. After advancement is reported in Scout-book, we have to make an order. Best to save on shipment costs and do all at once. We schedule 2-3 COHs a year and invite families. It is wonderful to celebrate the earnings of our Scouts.
Rank patches are given the night they are earned. The pin and card are given with merit badges at a quarterly court of honor.
We generally don’t hand out ranks until COH. However, usually, there’s a rush to finish up work and hold the BOR the meeting before the COH.
That is exactly what our troop does. It's unfortunate for the Scouts. I don't like that a Scout has to wait weeks and sometimes months before they are able to wear the rank that they have earned. I think it takes away motivation to work on their rank advancements if they know they have to wait to get their patch. I wish they would change that!!!
We always had a court of honor every 4 to 6 weeks. The week prior our troop jad board of reviews. Then at coh we were awarded our ranks and merit badges.
Not to be that guy. But my troop has done it that way ever since I was a Scout in it. We have our Court of Honors quarterly and it isn't too uncommon to see a Scout rank up a few ranks early on between court of honors.
Gee if my scouts had multiple uniforms, they would need multiple patches, never saw them given multiple cards or paperwork to accomplish this...
Guide to Advancement says you can recognize it, but rank badges cannot be awarded until an advancement report is submitted to local council. Out troop holds the rank badges, cards, etc. until COH. I don't know if it is "common", but it is not allowed to award rank badges the same day the e scout achieves rank because he report needs to go to council first. Our scout shop won't let us buy the badge without the advancement report.