AOL board of review

[Bob White]

The AOL is a CUB SCOUT award. If you are a Scoutmaster then what happens in the Pack has nothing to do with you does it? If the Scout joins the troop he needs to earn the Scout Badge. The Scout Badge requires a SM Conference, if you did not get to do one with Scout yet, then do one now that he is in the troop.

 

I do not see the issue here.

[Stosh]

On the contrary, if one reads the requirements, doesn't add anything to them, nor detract, it spells it out quite clearly.

 

"With your Webelos den, visit at least

one Boy Scout troop meeting"

 

If it's a Cub Scout award that has nothing to do with Boy Scouts, I find the wording here quite confusing.

 

"one Boy Scout-oriented outdoor activity."

 

I guess one could do a Boy Scout-oriented outdoor activity without actually doing a Boy Scout outdoor activity. I'm sure the "-oriented" could leave it open to not needing any Boy Scouts around. I could see that being interpreted that way.

 

"(If you have already done this when you earned your Outdoorsman activity badge, you may not use it to fulfill requirements for your Arrow of Light Award.)

Participate in a Webelos overnight campout or day hike.

(If you have already done this when you earned your Outdoorsman activity badge, you may not use it to fulfill requirements for your Arrow of Light Award requirements.)

After you have completed all five of the above requirements, and after a talk with your Webelos den leader, arrange to visit, with your parent or guardian, a meeting of a Boy Scout troop you think you might like to join. Have a conference with the Scoutmaster."

 

Hmmm, if it's a Cub Scout only award that has nothing to do with Boy Scouts, why would the requirements spell out explicitly having a conference with the Scoutmaster of the troop being visited. Surely the Cub Scout program has Cub Scout Scoutmasters registered with them so that Boy Scout Scoutmasters wouldn't be involved in the Cub AOL award process.

 

"The AOL is a CUB SCOUT award. If you are a Scoutmaster then what happens in the Pack has nothing to do with you does it? If the Scout joins the troop he needs to earn the Scout Badge. The Scout Badge requires a SM Conference, if you did not get to do one with Scout yet, then do one now that he is in the troop.

 

I do not see the issue here."

 

Then it would seem that one isn't looking at the AOL requirements because there seems to be at least 3 issues directly related to interaction with Boy Scouts in order to qualify for the award, so, no, it isn't an issue that is reserved only for the pack, but requires some interaction between pack and troop along with the SM.

I do believe this is done to encourage the process of transition between the two scouting programs.

 

From what I see in the requirements, the boy does a AOL SM conference and a BS Scout SM conference. Kinda like he has to tie a square knot for AOL and another for Scout.

 

Stosh

 

 

 

[Bob White]

While it requires interaction it is still a cub scout advancement and as a Scoutmaster you have no authority over advancement that takes place in a unit you do not lead.

 

So if the Pack wants to award the AOL to a cib Scout or cubscouts that have not earned it you have no say in the matter. But once the boy ins in the troop you can review his knowledge of the elements of the Scout badge, have a scoutmaster conference with him and see that he has earned his Scout Badge correctly.

 

But the pack can do what they want while he is a Cub Scout.

 

Wjhile the pack can present the Aol you do not have to give him the Scout Badge at the crossover if you as the SM feel that the Scout Badge requirements were not met. The Pack has no authority to give him the Scout Badge or to tell the troop that they must.

 

 

 

 

 

[Stosh]

I believe that is the point I made in an earlier post:

 

"SM conference for an AOL candidate? I just saw 19 boys cross-over having earned their AOL and 17 joined my troop. None of them did a SM conference prior to this. They all visited my troop, but no conferences were requested. It's just what the Pack leaders decide is necessary to walk away with the AOL.

 

Stosh "

[CalicoPenn]

The Arrow of Light is awarded by the Cub Scout Pack - not by the Boy Scout Troop. There is no Boy Scout Troop Board of Review before the awarding of a Cub Scout Award.

 

The conference with the Scoutmaster as part of the Arrow of Light awards is not the same as a "Scoutmaster Conference" needed to advance in rank in the Boy Scouts. The AOL conference with the Scoutmaster need not be any more difficult than a 1 minute conversation with the Lad about his interest in Scouting and his plans to join a troop.

 

Note also that the requirements do not state that the lad has to have this conference with the Scoutmaster of the Troop the lad ends up joining. He only needs to have this conference with "a" Scoutmaster. None of those 17 boys may have had a conference with you, but that doesn't mean they didn't have that conference with another Scoutmaster. And even if the Webelos Den Leader fudged on that requirement, there is nothing that you, as the Scoutmaster, can do about it. The award was granted by the Pack - it's earned and can't be taken away.

 

The original question was simple - a Scoutmaster asked about an AOL Board of Review before a group of Webelos crossed over. The answer is simple as well. There is NO SUCH THING as an Arrow of Light Board of Review. The Webelos Den Leader certifies that the Webelos has met all the requirements, and once certified, the Arrow of Light is awarded. Scout Troops have no say in the awarding of the Arrow of Light - none what so ever.

 

CalicoPenn