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Eagle Scout Rank Patch wear after age 18


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15 hours ago, Eagle94-A1 said:

At one time I know Explorers, and later Venturers, could wear the Eagle patch until 21. Saw many 18-20 year olds in my post do just that. Way before my time, Sea Scouts could wear Eagle too. In fact they made a navy blue background and a white background Eagle patch just for them.

I am in Venturing and this is still true. I can wear my Eagle patch until 21 on this uniform. If I wear a Boy Scout shirt as a registered leader or college reserve I can only wear the Eagle knot. If I work at a council camp and am not a Venturer I can only wear the knot since only registered Venturers (boys) can wear the Eagle patch. I can wear the Eagle neckerchief with any uniform. 

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I too earned my Eagle at the zero hour before my 18th birthday.   This was due to procrastination and laziness.  I earned Life by the age of 16 and then dragged my feat on my project and 2 merit badge

I note, @@The Black Eagle (welcome by the way), that you seem to hold a great deal of resentment towards this issue, and that you seem especially zealous to make your point - lots of capital letters a

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I wouldn't use the wording "only the knot," since the knot is still an honorable indication of rank. I think part of the problem here is that people seem to have disparaging views on the Eagle knot, as though only the actual rank patch was really good enough. Why is this? Is it because it's bigger and flashier? Is it the attention we are craving? The knot is just as honorable as the rank patch. And if one really is starved for attention, there are the neckerchiefs, the slides, the belt buckles - goodness knows a hundred other ways to advertise that you are an Eagle Scout if that's what you want. Why people get hung up over the rank patch is frankly pointless to me. 

And if you really do insist on wearing the darn thing, get your Eagle earlier so you have time to wear it longer. Although I got my Eagle at 14 and I couldn't have cared two figs about whether people noticed my patches or not. :rolleyes:

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9 minutes ago, The Latin Scot said:

I wouldn't use the wording "only the knot," since the knot is still an honorable indication of rank. I think part of the problem here is that people seem to have disparaging views on the Eagle knot, as though only the actual rank patch was really good enough. Why is this? Is it because it's bigger and flashier? Is it the attention we are craving? The knot is just as honorable as the rank patch. And if one really is starved for attention, there are the neckerchiefs, the slides, the belt buckles - goodness knows a hundred other ways to advertise that you are an Eagle Scout if that's what you want. Why people get hung up over the rank patch is frankly pointless to me. 

And if you really do insist on wearing the darn thing, get your Eagle earlier so you have time to wear it longer. Although I got my Eagle at 14 and I couldn't have cared two figs about whether people noticed my patches or not. :rolleyes:

I meant only the knot to differentiate between the badge and the knot and wearing both which is a no no. 

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On 3/13/2009 at 11:33 PM, nolesrule said:

1. No

2. Eagle, 1994

 

I can somewhat understand why some would argue to allow Eagle, but I still disagree with it. But other rank patches, whatever the highest? What if they were former Cub Scouts who dropped out after Bear? Should they wear the Bobcat/Wolf/Bear w/ arrow points on their uniforms if that was the highest scouting rank they earned?

 

Rank badges are for youth to wear, not for adults to relive their scouting days or identifying with current scouts. Do you really need to wear an old rank badge to be able to talk to youth about your scouting experience?

This.

 

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What I don't get is why anyone feels it necessary to wear the Eagle rank badge as an adult, when there are plenty of opportunities to display your Eagle accomplishment in other ways. There's the square knot (and 2 varieties to choose from if you want to pony up for the NESA Life Member option), Eagle neckerchiefs (again, multiple options), You can throw in an Eagle neckerchief slide if you want to, or wear an Eagle bolo, Eagle belt buckle, if your Council has a special Eagle shoulder patch you can wear that. There are Eagle rings, necklaces, jackets patches, various other patches and emblems, hats, dog tags, walking stick medallions, pins, bumper stickers, keychains, the list goes on and on. 

When not in uniform you can wear an Eagle t-shirt. Or you can wear it under your uniform for even more Eagle-ness. ;)

If someone really feels the need to show off their Eagle accomplishment beyond the youth rank badge, there are more than enough ways to do it. Insisting on wearing a youth badge on an adult uniform is just unnecessary, and frankly a distraction from youth achievement. There is a reason that square knots are small and understated. This is a youth organization, and we celebrate youth accomplishments above all others. 

Wear your square knot and go drop a paycheck on all of the Eagle paraphernalia you want at the Scout Shop. You can literally cover yourself (and your car and your desk) with Eagle stuff. 

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On ‎01‎/‎17‎/‎2018 at 10:26 AM, Back Pack said:

I am in Venturing and this is still true. I can wear my Eagle patch until 21 on this uniform. If I wear a Boy Scout shirt as a registered leader or college reserve I can only wear the Eagle knot. If I work at a council camp and am not a Venturer I can only wear the knot since only registered Venturers (boys) can wear the Eagle patch. I can wear the Eagle neckerchief with any uniform. 

I have never seen any camp that actually encourages staff to wear any type of insignia.  Some tolerate that staff are going to wear their "everyday" Class A, but many have specific rules that they want staff wearing a Class A outfitted just for camp.  My son is 15 and on staff, and he doesn't ear any patches to indicate his Eagle rank, troop position, or even troop numerals.  As he is an "out-of-council" staff member, he can't wear his OA lodge flap either, as he is not part of the "home lodge".  for that council, staff is staff, it isn't about their personal accomplishments outside of being staff.

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57 minutes ago, FireStone said:

What I don't get is why anyone feels it necessary to wear the Eagle rank badge as an adult, when there are plenty of opportunities to display your Eagle accomplishment in other ways. There's the square knot (and 2 varieties to choose from if you want to pony up for the NESA Life Member option), Eagle neckerchiefs (again, multiple options), You can throw in an Eagle neckerchief slide if you want to, or wear an Eagle bolo, Eagle belt buckle, if your Council has a special Eagle shoulder patch you can wear that. There are Eagle rings, necklaces, jackets patches, various other patches and emblems, hats, dog tags, walking stick medallions, pins, bumper stickers, keychains, the list goes on and on. 

When not in uniform you can wear an Eagle t-shirt. Or you can wear it under your uniform for even more Eagle-ness. ;)

I wish they made some things for us Lifes for Life.  Not even a Life coffee mug.   :D

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1 minute ago, NJCubScouter said:

I wish they made some things for us Lifes for Life.  Not even a Life coffee mug.   :D

It sounds too much like a pro-life group. The liberals at national would never go for it.

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58 minutes ago, HashTagScouts said:

I have never seen any camp that actually encourages staff to wear any type of insignia.  Some tolerate that staff are going to wear their "everyday" Class A, but many have specific rules that they want staff wearing a Class A outfitted just for camp.  My son is 15 and on staff, and he doesn't ear any patches to indicate his Eagle rank, troop position, or even troop numerals.  As he is an "out-of-council" staff member, he can't wear his OA lodge flap either, as he is not part of the "home lodge".  for that council, staff is staff, it isn't about their personal accomplishments outside of being staff.

It all depends upon the camp, and even then it can depend upon the camp director or SE in charge.  First two camp sI worked at were in the UK, so they don't count. ;) I wore my standard uniform with their ID badge and/or Sweatshirt.

Third camp I worked at you wore your regular uniform, with the camp staff temporary patch, staff hat, and domino. Fourth camp ditto, but had special shoulder loops made, contrary to national policy. Over time they produced a custom POR patch for the staff. You had to have the green Venturing uniform, the silver loops and summer camp crew number on that shirt. Rank, knots, OA flaps, temp insignia, etc was OK. Or you could wear your regular uniform.

When I went back to the second camp a few years later, you could wear your regular uniform. At that time national made a standard Camp Staff POR patch. you could wear either Boy Scout or Venturing shirt with that POR patch and silver loops, but no unit numbers. All other insignia was OK. One guy alternated between between his camp staff crew uniform and his Sea Scout uniform, which was cool to see. i was the oddball at that camp. 

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There's a guy at my local Council office who wears an Eagle rank badge and an Eagle square knot. He's probably in his 40s or 50s. I have not yet met him directly but I've seen him around and I'm sure the time will come when we cross paths and get to talking. We'll see how long I can bite my tongue. I'm guessing I won't make it much further than, "Hi, nice to meet you. So what's up with that rank badge?" 

😁

 

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7 minutes ago, FireStone said:

There's a guy at my local Council office who wears an Eagle rank badge and an Eagle square knot. He's probably in his 40s or 50s. I have not yet met him directly but I've seen him around and I'm sure the time will come when we cross paths and get to talking. We'll see how long I can bite my tongue. I'm guessing I won't make it much further than, "Hi, nice to meet you. So what's up with that rank badge?" 

😁

 

I would just figure that he must have a mental/emotional handicap that entitles him to still wear the youth badges. ;)

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1. No, I am not in favor of adult leaders wearing the Eagle rank badge. As I have stated before, there are so many other options available to "advertise" one's Eagle achievement that insisting on wearing the rank badge as well seems ostentatious to me and, to be blunt, tacky as all get out.

2. I am indeed an Eagle Scout. 

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18 hours ago, The Latin Scot said:

...insisting on wearing the rank badge as well seems ostentatious to me and, to be blunt, tacky as all get out...

 

I think there are uniform regulation lines that just shouldn't be crossed. Maybe sometimes those lines are a little blurry (am I really going to give an 18-year-old a hard time for wearing the Eagle badge?) and then I think there are lines that are crystal clear (the 40+ year-old Council guy wearing the badge is ridiculous).

Some things we let slide, while some things are sacred in the BSA and should be respected. This is one of those things that I think needs to be respected. We're not talking about an improperly worn Bobcat badge here. This is about improper wearing of an Eagle rank badge. I agree that it's tacky, and I might take it a step further and say it's disrespectful. 

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