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When unread “technicality” I immediately thought something like a Merit Badge was completed but not recorded properly, or paperwork was turned in but a signature was in the wrong place, or maybe he had an extended illness that delayed him. Those are technicalities beyond the Scouts control. There are remedies for those situations. But the time in rank is a well known and well documented requirement. That requirement nearly caught up with me more than 3 decades ago, it has nearly caught up with several Eagles I have mentored. It did trip up one I mentored. It is not a technicality, it is a requirement. And it’s not one I hear people complain about being unfair. I do not feel sorry for him, he had a good Scouting experience based on the article. It looks like he has good character based on his comments. I say congratulations on what you have achieved. Nothing is preventing him from continuing as a Scouter, most Scouters are not Eagles. If he chooses not to become a Scouter based solely on feeling slighted by not earning his Eagle then he probably shouldn’t have earned it in the first place. If he does become a Scouter he will have a significant life lesson to pass on to his Scouts. It’s not a technicality if you show up for a college exam 2 hours late and fail the test. It’s not a technicality if you fail to take a licensing exam prior to your deadline. It’s not a technicality if you don’t complete a project by the time the client needs it. If there is some technicality, like I listed above, then I would support National In giving him some more time, but I don’t see that in the article. Eagle Scout is not a participation trophy given out because you tried hard or you are a good kid, it is earned based on then prevailing rules. Congratulations to this young man, it appears he has a bright future with or without having earned Eagle.

There currently is no planned/organized presence for the OA at WSJ. To my knowledge the OA was not invited as it is a uniquely a U.S organization.

Thanks all y'alls for the enlightening information; I'll make sure to change the name on our flag and den equipment accordingly.

"Any life scout who wants to do an Eagle project may do so. There is no reason deny him that privilege. I certainly would never say to a boy, "You can't do a project. You earned Life rank at age 17.51." No doubt that any Life Scout can do a project - is it still called an Eagle project if he has no way of earning Eagle? "Nobody besides the scout needs to pay attention. Nobody should. Even if nobody else is paying attention, he should read his Handbook." True nobody needs to pay attention but a scout is Friendly and I would have had him do the math when he became Star Scout or at least when he brought the project forward. He may have known when he started his project and hoped to squeeze through the cracks. Wonder if he got donations and help by telling people this was his Eagle project.

Any life scout who wants to do an Eagle project may do so. There is no reason deny him that privilege. I certainly would never say to a boy, "You can't do a project. You earned Life rank at age 17.51." I might say, "You know that no matter how awesome this project is, you will not qualify for Eagle rank. But, you'll have something awesome to be proud of. And, if this is a conservation project and you think you'd like to do four more of these, come talk to me about the Hornaday award." Nobody besides the scout needs to pay attention. Nobody should. Even if nobody else is paying attention, he should read his Handbook.

$100 bet? I'm shocked...shocked to find gambling is going on here.

It sounds like your Pack and Den are active, involved, "For the Cubs". That is as it should be. But the Cub Den should be the "Gang" the kid (be they boy or girl) wants to hang out with. Camping is great, gets the kid ready for Boy Scouts, but there should be other stuff for the Cub too. Go to the zoo, go to the museum, the Police Station, the dad's work site, that model Railroad, camp out on a ship (Baltimore Harbor has this), visit a County Maintenance Garage, the State Environmental Protection Agency Lab, a newspaper printing plant, the Bus Transit Garage, anywhere that is DIFFERENT than school. Organize a softball league among the area Cub Packs, go to a minor league game, pro soccer game (call for "Scout Discounts"), University Astronomy Observatory or planetarium. The Pleides meteor shower came by this past weekend, given a dark clear sky, look for those opportunities to lay on the ground and just WATCH. MiF, KiS…..

Ageism raises its ugly head again. But, some pro's should grow a pair, and speak plainly with a sentence like, "He didn't meet the requirements for Eagle, but he's a fine Life scout." No passing the buck to National. Call a spade a spade and then give the reporter your FOS speech and a pledge card. Don't feel bad for any Life scout. Ever. This scout could proudly announce that on any resume or bio sketch. I disagree. Always encourage a boy at any rank to take on any service project he desires. It's a pity this fella didn't donate twice as much and take on two service projects in the spring. I hope that now that he doesn't have the burden of that ungainly Eagle workbook, he and his fellow freshmen will do another one this fall. A scout who holds a position of responsibility in his troop, for any period of time, should be respected. Especially when he is at the end of his tenure and it would get him any bling.

I don’t doubt there were complaints complaints (just go to powwows.com forums and search on Boy Scouts or Order of Arrow). Instead of outright banning the ceremony I wish they setup some rules or guidelines along the lines of working with a tribe. There is very little taught about NA culture in our school systems. OA and aspects of Boy Scouts should be used to teach accurate aspects of their culture (both past and current). If a OA chapter doesn’t want to be part of this... no problem. But if an OA chapter and tribe work together, it would be a powerful experience. My limited OA experience along with several experiences in BSA exposed me to NA culture much more than any other aspect in my life. I’m not an expert and there were probably some errors but it did make me more of a knowledgeable advocate of Indian Affairs. My college had an Indian Mascot. I was told by friends and college officials that the dance and “costume” were authentic. Upon first glance of the “dance” I could see it was pure Hollywood and the costume was nothing I saw at local powwows... it was Sioux. I marched in protest of that mascot as my BSA and OA background helped teach me respect for NA. OA and BSA may not be perfect... but I do see the NA representation as a benefit to both youth and NAs if done correctly. I wish and hope they find a balanced approach going forward

It's not? Now I know where I've gone wrong.