Marykelly

Abosolutly we allow our Eagle scouts to wear the eagle badge they earned until 21. we have had many boys finish their E/P just prior to turning 18. There Eagle Court of Honor was held after they turned 18, with this old rule that would mean they never even get to wear it . thats absurd. They are still in high school. The younger scouts look up to them. They can not become a scoutmaster until the age of 21, so the BSA policy makes no sense, they obviously dont think they are ADULT enough to be an ADULT leader (21)or to form a Troop!! Its like alot of absurd rules, 18 year olds can go in the army and kill or be killed but they cant rent a car until theyre 21. I would like to see this old BSA policy changed. This is an old rule that years ago was fine because alot of B/S earned there E/B younger. But now adays with all that school offers and working, and all the many activities todays youth are involed in, more and more scouts are earning it later. We need to keep up with the times. Let these YOUNG adults proudly wear the badge they worked so hard for. The tiny knot that only scouting people would notice is ok for later.

cell phones non issue in our Troop, we allow them, kids respect them, and a couple of times it came in handy that a boy had one when the s/m cell died, & as/m forgot his. An emergency from home was taken care of. Also we are very fortunate that in this day and age, to have boys 16-18 still active in scouting, with all that they have going on in their lives, that a little perk like a cell phone, so they can call girlfriend after lights out, not a big deal.