Advancement

Scouts advance through six ranks before becoming eligible to become a candidate for the rank of Eagle Scout, the highest rank attainable in Boy Scouts.

The ranks are Scout, Tenderfoot, Second Class, First Class, Star and Life. The requirements for these ranks are listed in the Boy Scout Handbook.

All ranks, beginning with Tenderfoot, require the Scout to perform a certain number of hours of Scoutmaster-approved community service. Service hours can also be earned by working on an Eagle Scout project.

After First Class Rank is attained, the Scout must earn a specified number of merit badges and serve in a position of leadership for a prescribed number of months in order to advance to the next rank (see the Boy Scout Handbook).

Eagle rank requires the Scout to have earned a total of twenty-one merit badges as well as to have developed and led Scouts in a service project.

With the completion of the requirements for each rank up to Eagle, a Scout has to take part in a Scoutmaster conference. This allows the Scoutmaster to assess the boy’s progress as a Scout and determine if the Scout is ready to participate in a Board of Review. It also offers the Scout the opportunity to tell the Scoutmaster how he feels about himself as a Scout and what he thinks about the troop. Scoutmaster conferences can occur at other times, as necessary.

After the Scoutmaster conference, the Scout takes part in a Board of Review, in which a panel, composed of adults in the troop, assesses his growth as a Scout and his readiness for the rank for which he is applying.

The Boards of Review allow a Scout another opportunity to express how he feels about the troop and his Scouting experience, and also help prepare him for his Eagle Scout Board of Review. An Eagle Board of Review consists of a panel of adult leaders from outside the troop who review the Eagle project and assess if the Scout has lived up to the ideals of the Scouting and therefore merits the rank of Eagle Scout. At each Board of Review, the Scout will be asked to repeat the Scout Law, Oath, Slogan and Motto.

Troop 19 holds three Courts of Honor yearly, wherein our Scouts are publicly recognized for advancement and are presented with the merit badges they have earned since the previous Court of Honor. Scouts must dress in full Class A uniform. It is important for parents to come and support the achievements of their sons. A potluck dessert party usually follows a Court of Honor. This is a time for socializing, both for the adults and the Scouts.

An Eagle Court of Honor is held in recognition of Scouts achieving the rank of Eagle Scout and is planned and presented by the parents of the Eagle Scout.