Lost Merit Badge Card

[sangrang]

My son had all but one requirement completed on a badge before we moved, then completed it in his new troop. My husband (not knowing that my son needed to meet the new counselor for that badge) informed the scoutmaster that the last requirement, which was an individual community service project, was done and gave the scoutmaster the partially completed merit badge card. The SM said that he could arrange for the card to be signed off. I never realized there was a problem until 2 years later when I was helping organize his cards to make sure that everything is in order for his Eagle application. This is an Eagle required MB. I couldn't find the card. The SM doesn't remember receiving it. The troop's record does show that the MB was recorded with the date being accurate to our recollection, however the council has no record of the MB. Our son was promoted to Life a few months after the date of record using this badge as one of the required. When my son met with the troop's counselor for this badge, he was willing to accept that the badge was completed (we found the work he had done in our file cabinet) but he was not willing to date a new card with the original date that matches what the troop record has. If he dates it with a current date, that invalidates the promotion to Life, thus ruining his chances for Eagle. This is a boy who is on the path, working on his project, and has a good chance of making Eagle otherwise. I now know the mistake of not making a copy of the card, as well as giving the SM the card (although that is the protocol for our troop). My son is awfully disappointed and I hate to see him lose this because of someone else's error. Does anyone have any suggestions? Is it acceptable to seek out a different MB counselor for this badge from another troop who may be willing to date it with the original date, as long as we supply the proof to his satisfaction?[/b]

[scoutaholic]

I would suggest that you go ahead and fill out the Eagle Application with the original completion date for the merit badge in question.
1. The merit badge card does not have to be turned in with the Eagle application.
2. The Troop records show the correct date.
3. The Council is unlikely to look closely at his records and find that they don't have record of that merit badge.
4. If they do look for it, and can't find it, they will ask for documentation from you and the troop. In that case, you can write a letter explaining what happened, show the card with the new date, and have the scoutmaster also verify that they have the badge recorded with the older date.

[ICanCanoeCanU]

2. The Troop records show the correct date.
3. The Council is unlikely to look closely at his records and find that they don't have record of that merit badge

This would not work in our council as the dates the troop has recorded do not really matter for the council. The council record is what matters. Our council does goes down the Eagle application and check all the dates against their records. We have had to take our copy of the advancement sheet with the council stamp on it to prove the dates of badges before to them.

Are we to assume that if this scout recieves a new date for his Life rank, that he will be 18 before he has time to complete his Eagle?

Hate to sound picky here but -

My husband (not knowing that my son needed to meet the new counselor for that badge) informed the scoutmaster that the last requirement, which was an individual community service project, was done and gave the scoutmaster the partially completed merit badge card. The SM said that he could arrange for the card to be signed off.

Anyone else see a few problems with this? Sorry, I know this isn't helpful to the situation but should be an eye opener to other scouts or newer parents.

[evmori]

2. The Troop records show the correct date.
3. The Council is unlikely to look closely at his records and find that they don't have record of that merit badge.
4. If they do look for it, and can't find it, they will ask for documentation from you and the troop. In that case, you can write a letter explaining what happened, show the card with the new date, and have the scoutmaster also verify that they have the badge recorded with the older date.

This should never happen. Council has no record of this Scout earning the MB. A letter explaining why isn't good enough. They need a completed MB card. Looks like he will have to redo the badge.

Hate to sound picky here but - Quote:
My husband (not knowing that my son needed to meet the new counselor for that badge) informed the scoutmaster that the last requirement, which was an individual community service project, was done and gave the scoutmaster the partially completed merit badge card. The SM said that he could arrange for the card to be signed off.

Anyone else see a few problems with this? Sorry, I know this isn't helpful to the situation but should be an eye opener to other scouts or newer parents.

Yep. Ignorance is never an excuse for doing something the correct way.

[ASM-142]

The scout received his Life rank using the "missing" MB as one of the requirements. The only way this could of happened was for an advancement form being turned into counsel for the "missing" MB. You need to get a copy of the scout's records from counsel.

[evmori]

The scout received his Life rank using the "missing" MB as one of the requirements. The only way this could of happened was for an advancement form being turned into counsel for the "missing" MB. You need to get a copy of the scout's records from counsel.

The advancement form or blue card (if used) would be the only way to prove he earned this badge. If neither are available, he will have to redo the badge.

[ASM-142]

If counsels records include him earning this MB and Life then an advancement form or Blue Card is no longer needed. The purpose of keeping a copy of the advancement form and the Blue Card is in case the scout's official records (maintained by counsel) get lost. With everything kept of computer today this should not be an issue. Once counsel has recorded it - it will not get lost.

[wagionvigil]

your council should print out a record for you. They have a complete record in the computer and canprint out the whole troop record. The dates on that record are the official dates. ALso the Eagle Application must be sent to the service center to varify that thenscout meets all the requirements then comes back to then troop for the BOR signed by the Eagle Secretary This could be the registar or anyone there. They varify all advancement so there is no need for the cards.

[scoutaholic]

2. The Troop records show the correct date.
3. The Council is unlikely to look closely at his records and find that they don't have record of that merit badge.
4. If they do look for it, and can't find it, they will ask for documentation from you and the troop. In that case, you can write a letter explaining what happened, show the card with the new date, and have the scoutmaster also verify that they have the badge recorded with the older date.

This should never happen. Council has no record of this Scout earning the MB. A letter explaining why isn't good enough. They need a completed MB card. Looks like he will have to redo the badge.

Happens all the time in our council. Council has no good way of keeping individual advancement records. If you call and ask for records on a scout they will say they don't know. If you go in, they will hand you a file (about 3 inches thick) of all the paper advancement reports from troop #???? (and the pack, team, and crew as well). If you want to sift through all those sheets and find it, you are welcome to do so, but they never do it.

Our council advancement secretary processes about 30 Eagle applications every day. She doesn't actually look at any council records. She looks at the application to be sure all the blanks are filled in, checks to be sure the boy is registered, and then forwards the application to the district advancement chair for BOR. All told, she spends about 2 minutes on each application that comes across her desk.

If the council advancement secretary sees a discrepancy or has extra time, she may occasionally spot check a date or two on the application. If the above situation were discovered in such a check, the troop records and the parents/scouts explanation would be enough to solve the problem.

[ASM-142]

Troop advancement records are also available on line and can be used to ensure that council records matches those of the troops.

[jr56]

If it is recorded that he recieved his Life rank, and that Merit Badge was used to earn his Life rank, then the council must have a record of that merit badge being earned.
If there is no council record of the merit badge being earned, then I feel Ed is right , the merit badge will have to be reearned.

[joat]

Was the boy not curious as to why he was not presented with the merit badge at a court of honor, even 2 years after completing it?

[FrankJ]

The benefit of doubt should go to the scout in these cases. The council does not have a record of it, but troop records show it being awarded. Ask the troop advancement chair to see the advancement reports from the time frame the merit badge was rewarded. (One copy is turned into council & the other is kept by the troop in a perfect world.)

The problem with back dating a blue card is that is still not officially earned until it is turned into council.

I would not worry to much about the life rank being invalidated. Once it is awarded & recorded, it's very difficult to take back.

[smtroop168]

Here's a true story. We had an Eagle BOR where as we were looking at the application, the scout did not have enough required merit badges to become a Star. The BOR was stopped because no one knew what to do because if he didn't have all requirements for Star, how could he make Life and be eligible for Eagle?

Here's the Paul Harvey...BOR was appealed to National. National said that a "card laid was a card played" and the scout should not be penalized for the Star BOR awarding him his rank so his Star BOR date was his date and move on from there.

So I agree that his Life date is the BOR date and we move forward from that date to Eagle. You can't take back the rank, just as you can't take back a signed MB if signed by an approved counselor.

As far as the MB goes, my opinion is that if it can be shown in the troop records that he completed the MB, then get a completed blue card with the date he meets with the counselor. If there is not sufficient information, then he should redo the badge. Which badge are we talking about anyway? It should all come out in the wash at his Eagle BOR. We don't want to teach scouts that backdating is an acceptable thing to do.

This is another example of why I beat (not literally) the point of keeping your records in a safe place because you never know when you'll need them.

smtroop168

[ASM-142]

If the blue card is really needed and was lost and the troop has a record that the MB was completed, then dated a new blue card with that date would not be back dating.

If counsil does not have a record of the MB and the troop does, the troop can submit a new advancement form with the date from their records.

[smtroop168]

I went back and read the original post.

You have a troop counselor for the merit badge in question who was willing to accept that the badge was completed but wouldn't use the troop record date? Was he the person who signed the partial card as the MB counselor the SM was given 2 years ago? Does the counselor have his Counselor record part of the blue card? My guess is no or there wouldn't be an issue and would solve the case.

My point on backdating anything is that is can only lead to further madness and confusion.

[evmori]

If counsels records include him earning this MB and Life then an advancement form or Blue Card is no longer needed. The purpose of keeping a copy of the advancement form and the Blue Card is in case the scout's official records (maintained by counsel) get lost. With everything kept of computer today this should not be an issue. Once counsel has recorded it - it will not get lost.

In my council, the advancement form is tacken as fact whether it is or not. What I mean is no proof needs to be shown (except for Eagle) that a Scout has actually completed all the requirements for a rank.

[maricopasem]

Would anyone here really make him "redo" or "reearn" the badge because of a paperwork snafu, especially one not of his doing? Would you really make him write another letter to his congressman or track his finances for another three months, for example?

[wagionvigil]

The kid has the MB it's that simp-le

[ICanCanoeCanU]

Well no, the kid doesn't really HAVE the MB, it is that simple. And that is the problem.

Now if I were a MBC for this badge I can't say I would make him do the entire badge over but I also wouldn't just give him a new blue card either. Too many veribles to say for sure. Like was I involved with the troop at the time he finished the badge? Have I known this boy for any length of time? What type of scout is he otherwise? If I was new to the troop and asked to back date a blue card (especially 2 years ago), then yes, I would have a problem with this. Since it is my signature saying the scout has completed the requirements. If I belonged to a different troop and recieved a call from the SM asking me to sign a blue card dated 2 years, yes I would have a problem and would not do it.

BUT... I can tell you that I have a few other problems with this situation. Why did the father talk to the SM about the badge? Why did the SM say he would turn this in to the counselor and why did the MBC take a blue card from the SM and sign off when he didn't seem to ever speak to the scout? From the original post, doesn't look like the scout had any involvement in pursueing this badge. This being an ERB besides? And if the boy is running out of time now, then that would mean he had to be about 16 at the time of this mix-up and the whole process doesn't sound very Eagle like to me. I would also like to know how many other troops/SM's operate this way?

Sorry ahead of time to offend someone as I know I will. But just being real here.