Ranger
Award Requirements
How
to Become a Ranger
This is not an easy, quick award
to earn. It will take planning, time, initiative, and plenty of hard
work.
It will probably take you over a year to complete all the
requirements, but that too will speak to
your determination and staying power, two more attributes of a Ranger.
There are two types of
requirements: Core requirements and Electives
In the core area, you will achieve
a high level of proficiency in the areas of:
| First Aid |
Leave No Trace |
| Wilderness Survival |
Cooking |
| Emergency Preparedness |
Land Navigation |
| Communications |
Conservation |
In addition to the eight core
requirements, you must complete at least four of the 18 electives. They
are:
|
Backpacking
|
Mountaineering |
| Cave Exploring |
Outdoor Living History |
| Cycling/Mountain Biking |
Physical Fitness |
| Ecology |
Plants and Wildlife |
| Equestrian |
Project COPE |
| First Aid |
Scuba |
| Fishing |
Shooting Sports |
| Hunting |
Watercraft |
| Lifesaver |
Winter Sports |
Note:
Venturers, who have received the Outdoor Bronze Award,
need only complete four of the core requirements
and two electives to qualify for the Ranger Award, since they already
have completed four core requirements
and two electives already.
There are a variety of ways to
approach these requirements. Many requirements you must do completely
on your own. Others you might choose to do on your own or with
others, such as scuba certification.
Others your crew might decide to do as a crew, such as Project COPE.
The key is to have a plan and
to have initiative. Not everyone will be a Ranger; only those
who are willing to learn, work hard,
and meet the requirements will be known as Rangers.
You may work with outside
consultants who have expertise in the area you are working in, such as
a
scuba dive instructor for the scuba diving requirement or a certified
first aid instructor for the first aid
requirement. However, you must have these consultants preapproved by
your Advisor. Consultants may
initial and date your Ranger Guidebook when you have
completed the requirement.
Once you have completed a
requirement, have your Advisor or the consultant who worked with you
on your requirement initial and date your Ranger Guidebook. Then,
when you complete all eight core
requirements and at least four electives, have your Advisor
review your completed requirements,
certify your completion of the Ranger Award requirements, and order
your Ranger Award.
Multiple
Credit
You may receive multiple credit
for requirements, such as using an American Red Cross Emergency
Response
Course for credit in the first aid core requirement and for the first
aid and lifesaver electives. The only time you
cannot receive multiple credit is when you are required to do a
tabletop display or presentation. If a core
requirement or elective requires you to do a tabletop display or
presentation on a particular subject, then it
must be done just on that subject, not two or more at a time.
Past
Credit
All core requirements and
electives require you to do work as a Venturer. As an example, you may
have
earned the Backpacking merit badge as a Boy Scout, but you must do all
that is required in the Ranger
backpacking elective as a Venturer. Some core requirements and
electives require some type of certification,
such as scuba Open Water Diver, Standard First Aid, or BSA Lifeguard.
This certification may be used
regardless of when you received it as long as the certification is
still current.
