BOY SCOUT TROOP 1347
Burke, Virginia

The Trail to Eagle

If you are a Life Scout, or just about to become one, this information is for you!

As you advanced through the Scout ranks you were recognized for what you did. The Eagle Rank is different, because it is more a measure of the kind of person you've become, not merely what activities you've completed. Earning the rank of Eagle Scout is a lifetime commitment.  Do you have what it takes?  Are you on the right path?  What kind of a citizen are you? 

• Deadline -- All requirements for Eagle Scout must be completed and approved by the day before your 18th birthday.  If you are fortunate and earn the Eagle rank a considerable time before your 18th birthday, you may earn Eagle palms every three months after earning Eagle, up to your 18th birthday.
   
• Guidance -- It is strongly recommended you begin your Trail to Eagle by familiarizing yourself with the the most up-to-date National Capital Area Council Life-to-Eagle information which is available here.

To many Scouts, achieving Eagle rank seems larger than life.  In reality there are only six requirements. If you plan ahead and are systematic in your approach, nothing can stop you.

First and foremost, check with your unit, district, or council leadership to ensure you have a complete package to use for working on Eagle. This will include a current application form.  Please note! Your Eagle Scout Rank Application (#58-728) should have a 2000 or later date on the bottom of the backside.  The current form is dated 2004 and may be obtained here.

Requirements quoted on this site (other than on the history pages) are from the 1999 Eagle Scout Rank Application. Eagle candidates please note: all six requirements must be completed PRIOR to your 18th birthday.

Getting started seems to be easy for some, difficult for others. Either way, it is your desire, not that of your parents or unit leaders, that will be the driving force to a fun and rewarding pursuit. But even with great desire, you may not be successful (or have a good time, which you should) if you don't plan properly.

Linked to this page are two planning sheets I give out at my Life to Eagle Seminars (which I do for the entire District). The first sheet covers requirements 1 - 3, the second requirements 4 - 6. Print it (or better, create a better one of your own) and use it to determine what you need to do and WHEN (see below). This will ensure you are off to a great start! And don't be afraid to ask for help. One of the best leadership traits you can ever develop is to use resources available to you.

Now, about that WHEN: after you determine what needs to be accomplished, you must set deadlines for yourself to get them done. This is your promise and reminder to yourself regarding when things will be completed. It keeps you on track, makes sure first things get done first, and will make your life much easier. If you don't do this, you may find yourself overwhelmed at the final hour with too many activities and only 24 hours in a day.

Planning sheet page 1 of 2 -- covers Eagle Scout requirements 1 - 3

Planning sheet page 2 of 2 -- covers Eagle Scout requirements 4 - 6

By the way, you should remember to document your actions all along the way. This demonstrates maturity and leadership, and will help (a lot!) when you compile your information and submit your application.

Although the troop needs you as an active, contributing leader, this requirement, as defined by the Boy Scouts of America, means to be registered with your troop and hold a registration card.  So what do you do if life has you running a hundred miles an hour? Talk to your unit leader. Find out what he or she sees as acceptable performance. If necessary, use those leadership skills you're developing to negotiate an acceptable arrangement. You'll be glad you did!

Also, keep in mind that this time is your window to accomplish all the other requirements. You may wish to take more than six months to complete requirements, which is all right as long as you have time prior to turning 18. However, at the very least, it is imperative that you not delay in establishing AND writing down your plan to accomplish all the requirements.

If you are of Eagle quality, this requirement will be difficult because you'll have so many people to list, you won't know which ones to use! Seriously, any Eagle candidate should have no problem with this. Simply list people who know you well. Try to select a variety of people from different areas of your life.

If you don't currently have a job, it's okay to put a line through the title "Employer" and use the space to list another reference. Since a Scout is reverent, consider including a religious reference.

If you're home-schooled and don't know what to do with the "Educational" line, think about other educational sources: music lessons; a sports coach; etc. You could use anyone as a reference who has a major role in one of your educational pursuits.

The 12 required merit badges are: Camping; Citizenship in the Community; Citizenship in the Nation; Citizenship in the World; Communications; Emergency Preparedness or Lifesaving; Environmental Science; First Aid; Cycling or Hiking or Swimming; Personal Management; Personal Fitness; Family Life.

If you're nearing age 18 and you still have merit badges to complete, lay out a plan to get the toughest done first, and plan the fun ones for the last.

Note: Before you fill out this section of your application, save yourself and the people at your council office a lot of headaches by doing the following:

List the actual merit badges you used for Star and Life ranks, as well as the rest needed for Eagle. Many Scouts want to put down the merit badges they are most proud of, but don't! Any checks made against the dates you list on your application will most likely make it appear that you did not have enough merit badges to earn earlier ranks as per the board of review dates you list for them.

On the Eagle Application there are two sets of required merit badges from which you can choose to do one from each group (Emergency Preparedness or Lifesaving; and Cycling or Hiking or Swimming). Both Star and Life ranks allow you to use two from one group, like using Hiking and Swimming as two required merit badges on your Star rank. If you have done this, make sure you select one as the required merit badge (cross off the other option on the application) and list the other required merit badge as a non-required merit badge (in one of the spaces numbered 13-21).

The date earned for the merit badge is the actual day the merit badge counselor signed and dated your merit badge card. Do not use the date you received it at your Court of Honor. Your unit or district advancement chairman can help you with dates if you do not have complete records.

Leadership positions: Patrol Leader, Assistant Senior Patrol Leader, Senior Patrol Leader, Troop Guide, Den Chief, Scribe, Librarian, Quartermaster, Junior Assistant Scoutmaster, Chaplain's Aide, Instructor, Historian.

Make sure your plan includes a position of responsibility. If it is not currently possible for you to be in an elected to an office (for example, your unit elections won't be held for a while), talk to the Scoutmaster because positions can be assigned. Also, don't overlook being a den chief. They're always needed and it's a very rewarding position!

Selecting a project -- Guidelines and ideas from other Scouts. More (including web links) are available in the planning guides below.

Documenting -- What should you have written down before you start? How about after you're done? How about during?

Getting approvals -- Ideas plus a checklist to ensure you are ready for the approval phase.

Eagle Project Planning Guide -- an excellent work written by Randy Smith (used here with his permission).

Guidelines for earning the Eagle rank -- A great compilation of information from Joe Sinniger (provided with his permission) which is under the section called "the Path." It has a lot of good Eagle project information.

The Final Report -- Guidelines to help you. Be creative and do more than we discuss here!

Let's look at this single requirement in the two parts it really is.

First, your statement. This is very straight forward, and an excellent opportunity for you to tell members of your board of review what you do outside Scouting. The statement will reveal who you have become in several ways. Scouts who have been successful in Scouting will find it has spread to other areas of their life. This is especially true of Eagle candidates, since you have actually developed character which demonstrates the Scout Oath and Law in everything you do.

Don't be shy about bragging! List it all! Most Scouts don't consider this well enough to remember all the things they do. And it is key to something that will help you all your life - that being establishing a good self-esteem, which, by the way, is to do good things and remember what you did!

List all the various awards and honors you've achieved along the way. These may be a medal, plaque, or certificate, but could also be a different type of honor. For example, a letter from a principal or volunteer organization recognizing your contributions. Or maybe a letter from an elected official thanking you for being their assistant (like a Page) for a season. Maybe it's a newspaper article mentioning you. If it made you feel honored, it counts!

Next is the Scoutmaster conference. You've been through this drill before, but here, of course, it is more significant. You are applying for the highest honor available from the Boy Scouts of America. Walk the walk, talk the talk. You should be prepared beyond your unit leader's expectations.

Make sure you have completed all the requirements and have everything ready for him or her to review. You might want to talk to him/her ahead of time to see what is expected in the way of documentation when you have the conference (such as, are you expected to have everything completely written and ready to turn in). Remember, this conference must occur prior to your 18th birthday.

An excellent source of information on planning your journey to Eagle can be found here.

Your application and the information you submit along with it your says a lot about the kind of person you are. You have one shot at making a great impression! This will also be good practice for you, since being able to present yourself in written form is an important life skill. Use the information here to help you put you materials together for both your Scoutmaster's Conference and board of review.

There has already been a lot written on this website about the paperwork you'll need. You should check with your local leadership for specific requirements for Scouts in your area (since there will be variances around the country). These are the things most frequently required, with links to where they are on the site (you should have these done already!):

If you are of Eagle quality, this requirement will be difficult because you'll have so many people to list, you won't know which ones to use! Seriously, any Eagle candidate should have no problem with this. Simply list people who know you well. Try to get a varied selection- meaning, don't list four teachers, rather select people from different areas of your life.

If you do not have an employer, it is permissible to put a line through that title and use the space to list another reference. Since a Scout is reverent, you should have a religious reference. I have seen Scouts who are home-schooled that don't know what to do with the "Educational" line. If this is the case for you, I suggest you think about other educational sources: music lessons; a sports coach; etc. Someone who has a major role in one of your educational pursuits.

Your local Scout organization may also have a special form they want you to distribute to your references. This is to provide your Board of Review members with written comments on you. Check with your leadership (Unit, District, or Council, in that order) to see if this is the case for you.

How to begin

Before you start your project, even before you begin planning your project, get a notebook. Record events in your notebook when they happen and keep as accurate a set of notes as possible. When you call or visit some one to discuss your project, write that in your notebook. Make a separate section to record what you buy, what is donated, any moneys that you receive. In a separate section, record when you do the various parts of your project, who helped, how much time each of the volunteers spent on the project. Make a section to list tools and equipment.

If you keep good records, the report will almost write itself. You may start your report whenever you feel ready.

Suggested Project Report Outline
As you write your report, emphasize your Leadership, your Planning, your Organization of project details, your project Direction (instruction and direction of project volunteers). Try to include strong statements, such as "I said...", "I decided...", "I think...". In the following suggested outline, the recommended total length of sections 1,2,3 should be about 3 to 5 pages.

1. Introduction
Tell what your project is, what you intended to accomplish, why you selected this particular project. Tell who your sponsor is and how your project benefits the sponsor. Mention the sponsor representative, and if you had some one guiding and instructing you technically, mention that person.

2. Project implementation
Describe the planning stages of your project, who you met with, any special problems in planning that you had to resolve, any special concerns such as safety . Discuss what you did to prepare for your project, such as presentations to sponsoring organizations, raising funds, getting donations of material and equipment, preparing posters and handouts, what you did to get people to volunteer.

Discuss the actual work required to accomplish your project. Was the project completed according to your original plans, or did you have to revise and change some of the steps? Were you able to keep everyone busy, were there any special problems keeping everything under control and running smoothly? Were the volunteers friendly, or did they complain and fool around? Generally, the best way to write this section is to simply say, "This is what we did on the first day," "This is what we did on the second day," etc.

3. Conclusions, Thoughts, Ideas
This section summarizes your efforts and how the project affected you and the people you worked with. Tell whether the project was successful, did it met the goals outlined in your project approval form? Tell about any unexpected problems and what you might do differently if you were to do this project again. What did you learn from doing the project? How has the project helped you and your sponsor?

Finally, take some time to acknowledge and thank anyone special, the people that gave you that extra bit of support. Acknowledge your sponsor, the person who guided you as a mentor, the people and organizations that donated money and material, your friends who volunteered their time.

4. Tables, Charts, Diagrams
Provide an appendix with the following documents and any other documents that you think would help the Board of Review evaluate your efforts.

• Time Log -- list the people that worked on your project, when and how long they worked
• Tools and Equipment
• Expenses, Money Received, Goods and Services
• Diagrams and drawings
• Photographs

Let's look at this single requirement in the two parts it really is:

First, your statement. This is very straight forward, and an excellent opportunity for you to tell members of your board of review what you do outside Scouting. The statement will reveal who you have become in several ways. Scouts who have been successful in Scouting will find it has spread to other areas of their life. This is especially true of Eagle candidates, since you have actually developed character which demonstrates the Scout Oath and Law in everything you do.

Don't be shy about bragging! List it all! Most Scouts don't consider this well enough to remember all the things they do. And it is key to something that will help you all your life - that being establishing a good self-esteem, which, by the way, is to do good things and remember what you did!

List all the various awards and honors you've achieved along the way. These may be a medal, plaque, or certificate, but could also be a different type of honor. For example, a letter from a principal or volunteer organization recognizing your contributions. Or maybe a letter from an elected official thanking you for being their assistant (like a Page) for a season. Maybe it's a newspaper article mentioning you. If it made you feel honored, it counts!

First and foremost, use a current version of the application (available from your council service center) and BE NEAT. The quality of your applications is, like everything else, a reflection of you. Also, check with your unit leader. They might want you to make a copy of your application and fill that out, while saving the original for when they meet with you.

The top part of the front page is easy. Just make sure you use the actual board of review dates for the dates your achieved First Class Scout and Life Scout ranks. Check resources like your Scout Handbook (if you had it signed for your advancements), your unit Advancement Chairperson, etc. to verify dates.

PID Number:  (at the top of 2004 application, marked "Required").  Your PID number is your registration number in BSA.  You may not even know you have such a number, but you do. If you have your BSA membership card, you'll find the number there.

Even though it says "required", it may not be necessary for you to fill it in.  As of 2004, most councils submit your application information through the national BSA "Scoutnet" membership system and do not send your physical application to the national Eagle Scout service office.  They need this number to make sure the Eagle application is recorded for the right Scout.  In most councils, the council registrar, staff member, or secretary whole certifies your application will look up the number and fill it in themselves.  Councils have different administrative procedures, so it is best to follow the recommendations of your district advancement committee, council registrar, or other knowledgeable person.

Requirement 1. As above, use the date of the actual board of review.

Requirement 2. If you are of Eagle quality, this area is not difficult. Simply list people who know you well. Try to get a varied selection - meaning, don't list four teachers, rather select people from different areas of your life.

If you do not have an employer, it is permissible to put a line through that title and use the space to list another reference. Since a Scout is reverent, you should have a religious reference. I have seen Scouts who are home-schooled that don't know what to do with the "Educational" line. If this is the case for you, I suggest you think about other educational sources: music lessons; a sports coach; etc. Someone who has a major role in one of your educational pursuits.

Requirement 3. Before you fill out this section of your application, save yourself and the people at your council office a lot of headaches by doing the following:

List the merit badges you ACTUALLY used for Star and Life ranks, as well as the rest needed for Eagle. Many Scouts want to exclude those easy merit badges they earned earlier in their scouting careers (like Basketry and Woodcarving), and instead list on their Eagle Scout application the merit badges they are most proud of (like Wilderness Survival and Kodiak Bear Wrestling). Don't do it! Your council office checks all the dates you list on your application to ensure you are eligible to earn the rank of Eagle Scout. If you list alternate merit badges it will appear as though you did not have enough merit badges to earn your earlier ranks (Star Scout and Life Scout, per your board of review dates), and your application will be rejected. Then you'll enjoy the pleasure of correcting your Eagle Scout application and resubmitting it. Do it right the first time!

On the Eagle Application there are two sets of required merit badges from which you can choose to do one from each group (Emergency Preparedness or Lifesaving; and Cycling or Hiking or Swimming). Both Star and Life ranks allow you to use two from one group, like using Cycling and Swimming as two required merit badges for your Star rank. If you have done this, make sure you select one as the required merit badge (cross out badges not used in items #6 and #9 of the application) and list the other required merit badge as a non-required merit badge (in one of the spaces numbered 13-21).

The date earned for the merit badge is the actual day the merit badge counselor signed and dated your merit badge card. Do not use the date you received it at your Court of Honor. Your unit or district advancement chairman can help you with dates if you do not have complete records.

Requirement 4. Make sure you remember to list at least six months of service since your Life Scout board of review. Check your date on the front of the application to double check.

Requirement 5. Input completion date as stated.

Requirement 6. Input completion date as stated.

Preparing for your Board of Review

We know that an Eagle Scout is an Eagle Scout, no matter where they earned their rank. However, each Council, District, and/or Scout Unit might have differences in expectations and implementation of BSA national policy. Here is what we use - it should help you prepare! 

Planning a world-class Court of Honor

A complete Eagle Court of Honor book in electronic form! Tips to help you get started and be successful, and lots of resources including ceremony templates, poems, charges, pledges, prayers, complete scripts, and more!

Useful Resource Links

http://www.eaglescout.org/; http://www.geocities.com/SouthBeach/Shores/6098/eagle.html

Questions about Troop 1347? Send an e-mail to the Scout Master

Want to send something to the entire troop? Send an e-mail to Troop1347@googlegroups.com

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Last modified: 07/05/08