When can you wear Eagle rank badge?

[us3packrats]

My son recently made Eagle. He is 15. However, because of schedule conflicts, he will not be able to have his Eagle COH until late this summer. He will be joining his troop at Summer Camp before then. Is he allowed to wear the Eagle rank badge on his Class A if he hasn't had an Eagle Court of Honor? His troop will be having a regular troop Court of Honor before Summer Camp.

[scoutldr]

As far as I'm concerned, the date of rank is the BOR date and the scout should be awarded the cloth badge. If you want to be safe, wait until the paperwork comes back approved from National...6-8 weeks. The COH can be anytime.

[OldGreyEagle]

National will always regard the date of his Board of Review as the date that he made Eagle, once National affirms it, he can wear the Eagle rank, scheduling conflicts shoukd not interfere with his ability to wear the rank he earned

[ScoutNut]

From the Eagle Scout Leadership Service Project Workbook - The 12th step in The 12 Steps from Life to Eagle -

 

 

"The Eagle Award must not be sold or given to any unit until after the certificate is received by the council service center (from National). The Eagle Scout court of honor should not be scheduled until the local council receives the Eagle Scout rank credentials."

 

 

Your son's Troop will not be able to purchase his Eagle rank award until after his Eagle Scout credentials are received by your council from the National Eagle Scout Service.

 

Once he is certified by National, & his Troop purchases the award, he does not have to wait until a COH to wear his award.

 

 

[Crew21_Adv]

US3,

 

Greetings! and Congrats to your 15 y/o Eagle!

 

For a variety of reasons. Some parents don't desire an Eagle COH, or their Scout is "aging out", or the family is moving, for many reasons they ask when is the earliest it may be worn. I have had parents in my Troops ask similar questions, usually along the lines of "when exactly may our Scout wear the Eagle patch, and may he wear the rank before the Eagle Court of Honor?"

 

Similar to scoutldr and OGE, the application states the date of the EBOR (second to last signature) it states directly next to the EBOR "This date will be used on the Eagle Scout credentials". Then it is signed by the EBOR Chair.

 

I have been told...... (so you can take this with a grain of salt).

Due to mailing or hand carrying the application to the local Council service center, the EBOR and final signature on the application may vary by a few hours to a week or so. Ideally, the very next day is preferable.

 

The final signature on the Eagle Scout Rank Application is the Council Scout Executive, this is the date that is entered into Scoutnet and the Scouts information is submitted to National. The Council Scout Executive is responsible for confirming that all the Eagle Scout procedures were followed IAW the Advancement Committee Policy and Procedures. Again, as I have been told by a handful of Scouting professionals, it is when the Life Scouts application has been endorsed and forwarded to National (now most often conducted electronically over Scoutnet), that is the official time, and the Scout may be allowed to wear the Eagle Rank immediately.

 

I know this is almost the same (or just slightly different) as what scoutldr and OGE have stated, depending on how you look at it. But the EBOR endorsement by the Scout Executive is the final signature and after this final signature is when they are official considered an Eagle Scout. Like I said, take my comments with a grain of salt, since I am neither a professional or work at Irving... lol

 

Scouting Forever and Venture On!

Crew21 Adv

 

[us3packrats]

Thanks for your answers. He should be hearing back from National soon. He's not really keen on an Eagle COH and I feared that he wouldn't be able to wear the rank badge without it. He's very outgoing, but extremely modest. It's nice to know if he backs out on a COH, that he can still wear the badge he worked so hard for.

[John-in-KC]

us3packrats,

 

Welcome to the campfire

 

CONGRATULATIONS TO YOUR SON!!!!

 

I've seen Eagle COHs run from elaborate, in-church kinds of things to a cookout where someone special to the Scout rings the bell, publicly acknowledges what the young man has done, and all get back to friends and fellowship.

(This message has been edited by John-in-KC)

[ScoutNut]

us3packrats,

 

Try and convince your son to have some kind of COH. As John stated, it does not have to be a big, elaborate shindig, with every town & council official invited. However, he SHOULD be recognized, in front of his peers, for all of his hard work. If nothing else, he can have a nice, small presentation at a Troop campfire during Summer Camp.

 

 

[us3packrats]

I'm trying to convince him that he is allowed to do something simpler than the previous ones our troop has held. A few years ago our troop had 6 boys who came up through Cub Scouts together, made Eagle within weeks of each other and held a joint ECOH. Very elaborate!

 

I've told my son, that if he is uncomfortable with the attention, that he should look at it as an opportunity for him to thank all the leaders, fellow scouts and family who have helped and supported him in his journey.

Hopefully, that will work.

[Hunt]

"I've told my son, that if he is uncomfortable with the attention, that he should look at it as an opportunity for him to thank all the leaders, fellow scouts and family who have helped and supported him in his journey."

 

I would state this more forcefully--I think a boy has an obligation to thank those people who helped him get where he is. To deny them the opportunity to attend his COH is unkind.

[KC9DDI]

"I would state this more forcefully--I think a boy has an obligation to thank those people who helped him get where he is. To deny them the opportunity to attend his COH is unkind."

 

Hunt - I think its important to remember that there's many ways for a scout to thank his leaders and those who've helped him earn his Eagle. A letter that's been well thought-out, a notice in the troop newsletter, a brief address at a weekly meeting, etc. The COH isn't meant to be a means for the scout to thank his leaders, its meant to recognize the scout. Of course, I agree that the scout has an obligation to offer thanks, and that often occurs at a COH, but it can definitely occur outside of or in addition to the COH. I think that a scout being pressured into having a ceremony he doesn't feel comfortable with is unkind, to say the least.

[Hunt]

To me, an Eagle COH is very much like a high school or college graduation ceremony. While it is primarily designed to honor the achievement of the Scout or the graduate, it is also an important milestone for the family and other supporters. An Eagle COH is also an important event for the younger scouts in the troop. So, I do think a scout has an obligation to have an Eagle COH unless he has a very good reason not to do so, and I don't think discomfort is a good enough reason. Reminding a person that his choices have effects on other people is not unkind.

[John-in-KC]

Hunt,

 

We do not know this man, nor do we know his son. We should not push Dad to "fall on his sword" with his son. Only Dad knows the full circumstances. We don't.

[us3packrats]

Actually, I am his mother. Part of the problem, I fear, is that his father passed away when he was young. I encouraged him to join cub scouts in order to be around good male role models. Little did I realize exactly how much he would get from scouting!

 

Following his EBOR, he wrote extemely wonderful thank you letters to all those who presided on his EBOR and to those wrote his recommendation letters. He even knows who he would like to give the mentor pin to.

 

I think part of the problem is that he has never seen an Eagle ceremony, minus the father. While there are a few children of divorce in his troop, their fathers are still very involved. And even though his father has been gone many years, the void still remains. Especially, when in Scouting , you see so many father and sons enjoying it together. I suspect he maybe afraid that the ceremony will highlight this.

 

However this is just a guess on my part. Teenage boys aren't always that big on talking about their "feelings".

 

I do appreciate the suggestions that you all have given regarding a simple ceremony and will tell him that it can be whatever he wants it to be.