Is an Eagle Scout charge really necessary?

[slaugli]

Is an Eagle Scout charge a necessary element of an Eagle court of honor? I have found nothing official that specifies the elements of a court of honor. I have found many sample court of honor programs that include Eagle charges. However, I have a sense that these sample programs were developed in antiquity by persons with a flair for pageantry. The fact that different sample programs include different Eagle charges suggests that the charge is not a necessary element, or at least that we are free to develop our wording for the charge. I certainly do not remember any sort of Eagle charge when I received my award 35 years ago. I am not opposed in principle to an Eagle charge, but I do not want to blindly follow a tradition or practice without understanding the origins of the practice.

[Eagle69]

The elements of the Eagle Court of Honor are whatever you and possibly the honoree want them to be. There is no hard and fast rule about what to do. In my 25 years of being SM I have always read the Eagle Charge as part of the Court of Honor, but that is my personal preference.

[jr56]

Welcome to the forum. An Eagle can personalize his ceremony any way he wants. He has worked hard to get to that point, and he can be recognized any way he sees fit. An Eagle charge is a nice part of a ceremony, but it doesn't have to be there if the Eagle doesn't want it.

[dan]

I have seen The Charge given by brothers, friends, uncles, and SM. I think it should be given by someone the Eagle chooses. Most include the charge in their own words, but the core is not changed very much. I see the Charge as telling the scout now that he is an Eagle he has a higher path to follow. I think it should be included in the ceremony, but if the eagle does not have an eagle scout that he respects, I could see not doing during the ceremony. It is my understanding that only another Eagle can give the charge.

[EagleInKY]

I love the charge. I still can hear "you are a marked man" echoing in my ears. Traditions like this are great, please keep it.

[frankj]

Since you asked, YES, it is necessary in my opinion. There are elements of the Eagle Court of Honor that make it special and this is one. At the Eagle ceremonies I've attended there have always been relatives, friends, whatever, with little or no knowledge of the Scout program. The Eagle Charge is not done for their benefit, but they sure are impressed with the seriousness and the obligation it places on the Eagle Scout. And having another Scout administer the charge, whether he is a father, brother, family friend, or the troop's most recent Eagle recipient is not only a nice tradition, it gets the point across that Scouting is an movement that spans generations.

 

No, you don't HAVE TO have it, but Be Prepared ... because after the ceremony, someone may ask "what about the Eagle charge?"