For Scouts

Merit Badges

You can learn about sports, crafts, science, trades, business, and future careers as you earn merit badges. There are more than 135 merit badges, and any Scout, or any qualified Venturer or Sea Scout may earn any of these at any time. Earning badges is required for rank advancement.

How to Earn a Merit Badge

Follow these useful steps as you begin your merit badge journey:

Pick a Subject

Talk to your unit leader about your interests. Read the requirements of the merit badges you think might interest you, and pick one to earn. Your leader will give you the name of a person from a list of counselors. These individuals have special knowledge in their merit badge subjects and are interested in helping you.

Scout Buddy System

You must have another person with you at each meeting with the merit badge counselor. This person can be your parent or legal guardian, or another registered adult.

Call the Merit Badge Counselor & Working on Requirements

Get a signed Application for Merit Badge, No. 34124 or No. 34130, from your unit leader. Get in touch with the merit badge counselor and explain that you want to earn the badge. The counselor may ask to meet you to explain what is expected and to start helping you meet the requirements. You should also discuss work you have already started or possibly completed.

At the first meeting, you and your merit badge counselor will review and may start working on the requirements. In some cases, you may share the work you have already started or completed.

Merit badge requirements and books are revised as needed to reflect updated information and technology. Refer to the latest Scouts BSA Requirements book for merit badge requirement updates. The current Scouts BSA Requirements book is available from your local Scouting merchandise distributor. It may also be ordered online at www.ScoutShop.org. You can also download the badge books from the National Scouting Website Merit Badges A-Z page.

Merit Badge Worksheets are available through the US Scouting Service Project.

Ask your counselor to help you learn the things you need to know or do. You should read the merit badge pamphlet on the subject. Many troops, schools, and public libraries have them.

Show Your Stuff

When you are ready, call the counselor again to make an appointment. When you go, take along the things you have made to meet the requirements. If they are too big to move, take pictures or have an adult tell in writing what you have done. The counselor will test you on each requirement to make sure you know your stuff and have done or can do the things required.

Get the Badge

When the counselor is satisfied you have met each requirement, he or she will sign your application. Give the signed application to your unit leader so your merit badge emblem can be secured for you.

Rank Advancement

Scouting provides a series of surmountable obstacles and steps in overcoming them through the advancement method. Scouts plan their own advancement and progress at their own pace as they meet each challenge. Scouts are recognized and rewarded for each achievement, which helps them gain self-confidence. The steps in the advancement system help a Scout grow in self-reliance and in the ability to help others.

Advancement is the process by which youth members of Scouting America progress from rank to rank and is the method by which we promote and encourage the ongoing involvement and commitment that keeps members coming back for more. It works best when it is built into a unit’s program so that simply participating leads to meaningful achievement and recognition—and to a continually improving readiness for more complex experiences.

For more information about ranks and their requirements, please visit the Scouting Advancement page.

Scout Rank

The first rank of Boy Scouting can be earned as soon as a boy joins a troop, especially if he has earned his Arrow of Light as a Webelos scout. This first recognition is earned by applying and memorizing some important scouting basics.

Tenderfoot Rank

Tenderfoot is the second rank earned as a Boy Scout. The requirements of becoming a Tenderfoot provide basic skills to begin preparing the scout for higher adventure outings. Earning badges and receiving recognition can be very satisfying to boys. However, keep in mind that the badge is only a representation of a valuable set of skills that a scout has learned and demonstrated. The skills, wisdom, and experience gained through the activities of the scouting program are of much more value than a small badge.

2nd Class Rank

Second Class scouts work on building their outdoor survival and camping skills. Compass work, nature observation, camp tools, and swimming are areas where new skills are mastered and demonstrated. A second class scout, having completed all the requirements, should be able to lead a hike, care for his own equipment, set up a campsite, and perform basic first aid.

1st Class Rank

When the First Class rank is attained, a scout has learned all the basic camping and outdoors skills of a scout. He can fend for himself in the wild, lead others on a hike or campout, set up a camp site, plan and properly prepare meals, and provide first aid for most situations he may encounter. A First Class scout is prepared.

Star Rank

Up through First Class rank, a scout was busy learning skills and becoming a self-sufficient scout. He now moves from being a learner to being a leader. The Star rank is attained with participation, leadership, service, and self-directed advancement through merit badges.

Life Scout Rank

Continuing to develop leadership skills, the Life Scout rank is earned by fulfilling additional leadership positions, service hours, and merit badges. A Life Scout is expected to be a role model and leader in the troop, providing guidance to new scouts and helping the troop however he can. Being a good leader can only be learned by doing and troop leadership positions allow the scout to make decisions, lead discussions, and encourage others.

Eagle Scout Rank

Attaining the Eagle rank is often the end goal of a scout and his parents. It looks good on a resume and shows commitment to a program over an extended span of time. But, just like each rank advancement before it, the Eagle rank is a major advancement milestone, but not the culmination of scouting.

After reaching Eagle, a scout can continue to earn merit badges and be rewarded with an Eagle Palm for each 5 additional merit badges.

He can also continue to lead and guide the troop or he can change his focus to helping Cub Scouts become Boy Scouts. He may become a Junior Assistant Scoutmaster, helping the Scoutmaster with projects to improve the troop. Or, he can look for worthwhile endeavors outside of scouting to which he can apply his scouting background.
There are many ways an Eagle Scout can continue to contribute to and receive from the Scouting program.

Click here to download the Eagle Workbook.

Leadership Projects

Leadership development is one the methods of Scouting, directly helping a Scout learn how to develop, nurture, and guide a team to accomplish a goal. Scouting is one of the finest examples of leadership training for our youth and once you are working on the ranks of Star, Life and Eagle, leadership becomes not only a requirement, but a cornerstone of your progress.

For the ranks of Star and Life you must hold a role of responsibility, or carry out a Scoutmaster approved leadership project to help the troop. Unlike the role of responsibility, there is no time frame for the length of a leadership project; however, it is expected that the leadership skills shown by a scout doing a project are the equivalent of those shown by someone who has served in a position for several months. A leadership project can not be used to replace the role of responsibility requirement for the rank of Eagle Scout.

What follows are the guidelines for what Troop 727 would like to see for a leadership project.

Scope

The intent of the leadership project is not to be compared to an Eagle Scout project. If a scout brings an acceptable leadership project idea to the Scoutmaster which could be considered similar in size and scope to that of an Eagle project, the scout will be cautioned; however, the scout will not be discouraged. We will not hold back a scout who wants to provide a lasting and large impact to their troop!

A leadership project must benefit the troop in some manner. This can be a direct benefit, or it can be something a little less direct. An example of an indirect benefit might be a community based service project. This benefits the community, but it also benefits the troop in that it raises the awareness of the troop within the community, which can be seen as recruiting and provides an opportunity for service hours for scouts within the troop.

Before a leadership project can begin it must be approved by the Scoutmaster.

Steps for a Leadership Project

In order to complete a leadership project you must do the following things:

Write a proposal and get approval for the leadership project from the Scoutmaster.
- You can have your own idea, or if you can’t think of anything, talk with the Scoutmaster. There are always projects and tasks that the troop needs done.
- Write up a short proposal for the project. This doesn’t not have to be anything elaborate. Touch on the highlights of the project, what impact you see it having on the troop, and why you think it shows leadership. Just a few paragraphs is fine.
- You and the Scoutmaster should agree on expected outcomes for the project, or criteria in which means the project was successful.
- You may be assigned a project coach to help you out.
Once you have approval, plan and carry out the project.
- This portion of the project will usually require you to think through your plan, organize your tasks and communicate with others that you will be leading.
- It will help a lot if you take notes of your plans and communicate often with those you are working with.
- If you have questions, or get stuck, please reach out to your project coach, the other Youth Leadership or Scoutmasters for guidance. You have access to a lot of experience and we are here to help you succeed.
Complete an after project report.
- Write up a report detailing the outcome of the project. Include a brief description of how your project was organized, how you thought it went and what you learned from leading it. You should also include a list of all those that helped you on the project and how many hours each helper spent on the project.
  - What do you think went well?
  - What didn’t go according to plan, and how did you fix it?
  - Who was involved or helped, and how many hours did they help?
  - How do you feel you showed leadership in this project?
Request the requirement be signed off by the Scoutmaster
- Once you complete you project and turn in your project report you should meet with the Scoutmaster to have them sign off the requirement. An Assistant Scoutmaster can sign off on the project if they are designated to do so by the Scoutmaster.
- In order for the requirement to be signed off the Scoutmaster must be able to see the leadership skills you have performed as part of the project. Understand that if you do not actually lead, or put forth effort to do your best for the project, the requirement will not be signed off and you may may have to perform another leadership project, or wait for an open role of responsibility to complete the requirement.

Note the requirement for a leadership project is simply that it must be approved by the Scoutmaster, and must benefit the troop. If for some reason a scout is unable to write out the project proposal, or after project report, the Scoutmaster can replace those steps with a discussion with the scout covering the same information at their discretion. The purpose for requesting the steps of writing out the proposal and report is so that scout will be more inclined to think through the project before them, as well as give them have a deeper understanding to what they have accomplished. It will also help prepare them for the greater amount of paperwork required for an Eagle Scout project.

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