First Aid/First Class

[jstephens42]

I'm not sure if this is the right place for this, but here it goes... I recently got re-involved in scouting by working at a Merit Badge college my employer hosted, and noticed something. When I was in scouts, to earn the First Class rank, you needed the First Aid merit badge. What alerted me to the fact that something changed was when I saw a First Class scout registered for the First Aid badge. I'm wondering when this changed, and what the reasoning behind it was.

 

 

[John-in-KC]

Welcome to the Forums!!

 

You were part of the "in-between" times, the 70s. Up to the 1960s, there was a progressive set of skills in First Aid which Scouts learned as they advanced to First Class. They then earned the Eagle Required First Aid Merit Badge during their Star and Life tenures.

 

This was the long-standing program of Green Bar Bill Hillcourt.

 

Sometime after I left the youth program, BSA changed it and made First Aid MB the check-block for First Class, rather than ramping up to it at S-L.

 

In the late 80s/early 90s, Hillcourt revamped the program one last time (he's since passed this life). First Aid again became disrete skills at T-2-1, and First Aid MB was required for Eagle.

 

HTH.

 

YIS

[jstephens42]

Thanks for the quick reply. I made first class in the late 80s, so that does make sense. I 'aged out' right about the time the uniform changes took place (no more background color on rank/position badges and everyone could wear the WC). It would make sense that there were other changes that happened around that time with the requirements. I probably never looked back at the 1st class requirements once I hit star. I still miss the metal belt loops for the skill awards that we had to earn to advance, I think there was a first aid one for that too.

 

James