Boy Scout Troop 346

Parish of St Michael, Sioux Falls, South Dakota

Troop 346 Handbook

Uniform Advancement Discipline Policy Troop Outings Youth Leadership Adult Leadership Finances Recruiting

Advancement is one of the eight methods of Scouting. The troop advancement program encourages boys to meet significant challenges that lead to personal growth. As a Scout works his way from Tenderfoot through the ranks towards Eagle, the requirements he must complete will help him develop physically, emotionally, and morally into manhood.

Four Steps to Advancement

A Scout learns.

Learning is a natural outcome of Scouting activities. The requirements for Tenderfoot, Second Class and First Class provide hands-on experience to challenge young Scouts. Since a Scout may complete any requirement at any time, he is rewarded based on his own pace.

At the higher ranks, merit badges and required community service open new doors for older boys. Some requirements may lead to rewarding careers and life-long hobbies.

A Scout is tested.

A Scout wanting to complete a requirement for advancement must demonstrate that he has mastered that skill. Once he has been tested and found competent in that skill, the Scoutmaster, an Assistant Scoutmaster or trained youth leader will sign his advancement record. Parents may not sign a Scouts requirements.

A Scout is reviewed.

Once a Scout has completed all requirements for any rank from Tenderfoot to Life, his progress will be review by the Scoutmaster and the Troop Committee.

The Scoutmaster Conference. The Scoutmaster Conference is an opportunity for the Scoutmaster to discuss with the Scout his activity in the troop and his understanding of the ideals of Scouting. The Scoutmaster will review with him the requirements for his next rank and expectations for the Board of Review.

Board of Review. The last step to advance to a rank is the Board of Review. The Board consists of three to six members of the Troop Committee. The purpose of the board is not to retest the Scout but to ensure he has completed all the requirement. They also determine the quality of his troop experience and encourage him to advance to the next rank. Each review will begin with the recitation of the Scout Oath and Law. Boards of Review are generally held the first meeting of each month.

A Scout is recognized.

Recognition is a powerful incentive of the BSA program. Our Scouts will receive new badges as soon as possible after the Board of Review has certified his achievement. Every three months, the troop holds a Court of Honor to publicly recognize advancing Scouts in front of family and friends.

Be active in your troop

The troop requirement for being active to meet this Star, Life and Eagle requirement is minimum 50% attendance for Troop meetings and minimum 50% attendance for campouts and other troop events. If a boy comes to a meeting or event late and attendance has been taken it is the responsibility of the scout to make sure that he has been recorded as present in the troop record. There are no excused absenses since the 50% rule should allow for this. The troop does not suspend inactive scouts, but the Scoutmaster may not allow them to attend certain activities if they do not meet the minimum active level. If your son will not be at meetings for an extended period of time, the Scoutmaster should be notified.

Scout Spirit

A Scout should have "Scout Spirit" in daily life -- not just at scout events. Scout Spirit is defined by living the principles of the Scout Oath and Law and exhibited in many ways. One of them is conduct at meetings. Another is participation in service projects and his attitude towards that service. A scout would not be demonstrating "Scout Spirit" if there is a negative approach to service to others or non-participation in service events. This is also defined as his overall attitude towards the boys in his patrol and troop. Poor Scout Spirit would be a non-participative manner in patrol/troop events or blatant disregard for troop policies or procedures.

Merit Badges

There are over 100 merit badges covering a wide variety of subjects. Of these, a Scout must earn 21 for Eagle Scout. Twelve of these 21 must come from a list of fifteen required badges. You can find more information as well as the requirements for each badge at USScouts.org.

We recommend that new Scouts work on Tenderfoot, 2nd Class and First Class before working on merit badges. The focus of the first year in the troop should be achieving the rank of 1st Class. If a Scout not yet First Class wants to work on a merit badge, he should contact the Scoutmaster. With the Scoutmaster's approval, he will be allowed to work on one merit badge. For boys that have 1st Class, up to three at a time may be approved depending on the merit badge. There are some exceptions to the above rules that will be handled as they arise.

When a Scout is ready to begin a merit badge, he needs to have the Scoutmaster sign a merit badge application, commonly called a blue card. At that time, he'll be told who the counselor is for the badge and how to make arrangements to begin working on the badge.

Once the Scout has finished all the requirements, the merit badge counselor will sign all sections of the blue card. The counselor may keep his/her portion of the blue card and return the rest to the Scout. The Scout is responsible for returning the completed blue card to the Scoutmaster for recording.

Leadership Positions

Every rank past First Class requires serving in a leadership position for a specified amount of time. Leadership positions are critical in meeting the aims of the Scouting program. Positions which meet this requirment are the Senior Patrol Leader, Assistant Senior Patrol Leader, Patrol Leader, Troop Guide, Quartermaster, Scribe, Historian, Librarian, Instructor, Chaplain Aide, Den Chief, OA Chapter Representative and Junior Assistant Scoutmaster. More information about these positions can be found in the Youth Leadership section.

There are also several positions in the patrol which Scouts may hold that do not count toward rank advancement. Younger Scouts may want to hold one of these positions to gain experience while working his way toward the First Class rank. These positions include Assistant Patrol Leader, Patrol Scribe, Patrol Quartermaster and Patrol Grubmaster.