Rank Advancement

Turning activities into advancement involves four steps:

1. You LEARN. At troop meetings, patrol meetings, campouts, and at home you learn and practice skills that are required for advancement. (As Scouts develop knowledge and skills, they are asked to teach others and, in this way, they learn and develop leadership.)

2. You are TESTED.

• 1. Once you feel that you have mastered a skill, you ask your Patrol Leader to test you. He either passes you on the requirement or advises you that additional learning is needed. (Make sure your Patrol Leader signs off on the requirement at the back of your book.)

  2. When all requirements except those signed off by adult leaders are met you sign up to rank advance at the next campout.

     1. Requirements signed off on by adult leaders:

        1. Scout Spirit

        2. Service Hours

        3. Cyber Chip

        4. Participation

        5. Troop Activities

        6. Position of Responsibility

        7. Scoutmaster Conference

        8. Board of Review

  3. At the campout, you approach the Advancement Chair for sign offs on things like Service Hours, Participation, Troop Activities, & Position of Responsibility

  4. Then you ask the Advancement Chair to schedule a Scoutmaster Conference. The Advancement Chair will arrange a time for you to meet with a Scoutmaster during that campout. Be sure to be in uniform (e.g. bring a pen, watch, rope, & compass, and have the proper current rank patch on your uniform, and also a good idea to bring a camp chair)

3. You are REVIEWED. For ranks above Scout, when you have completed all the requirements for a rank except the Board of Review, you meet with a Board of Review made up of troop committee members. The board makes sure you’ve completed all the requirements and also talks with you about your Scouting experience.

4. You are RECOGNIZED. As soon as possible, you are recognized for your advancement at a troop meeting where you receive your badge. (You’ll later be recognized again at a special ceremony called a Court of Honor.)

Notes:

§ Scoutmaster Conferences and Board of Reviews are held on campouts although exceptions can be arranged.

§ To sign up for Rank Advancement, use the Campout sign up link and indicate you would like to Rank Advance at that upcoming Campout. This must be done before the Thursday prior to the campout to give the adult leaders time to pull and verify your records (i.e. Service Hours).

§ For the purposes of advancement, “showing scout spirit” is determined by the Scoutmaster. In order for the Scoutmaster to know if you are showing scout spirit you need to be present at activities. This means attending at least 50% of the meetings and 50% of the outings during the advancement period prior to the Scout’s Board of Review date for a given rank (usually the six months preceding the Scoutmaster Conference).

§ The Scout handbook is the master record of the Scout’s achievements, if lost, some information may never be recovered. The Troop records are for administrative purposes only. It is the responsibility of the Scout to ensure the accuracy of all records as they pertain to him.

§ Troop 27 holds a Court of Honor two times a year to recognize those Scouts that have advanced in rank, earned merit badges, or any other awards. These are family events and all are invited.

§ See the BSA “Guide to Advancement” for more details