multiple ranks at one time

[FrankJ]

A question came up today at committee. We have several boys complete the requirements for tenderfoot, second class, & first class at one time. Do you hold one BOR for each rank? Seperate BORs on the same day? on different days?

[PaulSWolf]

A question came up today at committee. We have several boys complete the requirements for tenderfoot, second class, & first class at one time. Do you hold one BOR for each rank? Seperate BORs on the same day? on different days?

You can hold separate Boards of review for each rank all on one day. There is NO need to do them on different days. The 2nd and 3rd can be relatively short, of course.

[WVBeaver05]

A question came up today at committee. We have several boys complete the requirements for tenderfoot, second class, & first class at one time. Do you hold one BOR for each rank? Seperate BORs on the same day? on different days?

I'm pretty sure this isn't spelled out anywhere. Personally, I would handle it as separate SM conferences and separate BOR's. I would probably not do multiple advancements on the same day. There would be the issues with having the time, plus, in the future, reporting them on the same day would surely cause questions when the advancement was reviewed for Eagle.

Just my thoughts.

YiS

[scoutaholic]

A question came up today at committee. We have several boys complete the requirements for tenderfoot, second class, & first class at one time. Do you hold one BOR for each rank? Seperate BORs on the same day? on different days?

The advancement requirements are written so that the advancements can be earned simultaneously. It is even possible for a boy to earn 1st Class before earning Tenderfoot, but he can't receive 1st Class until he completes Tenderfoot and 2nd Class.

As such, reporting them all on the same day would cause no problems/questions when the advancements are reviewed for Eagle. Since there are no time requirements for these Ranks, there is no reason to not do them all the same day.

In our troop, this has happened several times. I normally just do all the completed ranks together in 1 SMC and 1 BOR. It may be slightly longer than normal to cover the additional rank requirements, but the rank requirements is only supposed to be a small part of the SMC & BOR anyway.

The only reason that you would need to worry about keeping the BOR separate for each rank would be if there was question about them not passing. The board can't pass them for 1st Class or 2nd Class if they don't pass for Tenderfoot. However, I think most boards are smart enough to work that out even if they do all the review in a single session.

[Mrw]

We have only had this happen once or twice and we tell them we will do the Boards in three different meetings, three weeks in a row.

Since this has happened mostly due to a boy losing his book and not getting things signed for a while, we don't have a problem telling him to keep better track of the book to advance.

If there were a reason, such as the requirements will change if we don't do both ranks today, then we would do the Board for both ranks.

[Lynda J]

The only problem I have with a boy earning and receiving three ranks at one time it the fact that he does not get to display each rank on his shirt.

Kevin earned 2nd and 1st at the same time. He didn't like that he couldn't wear his 2nd Class Rank Badge. So we now make a big effort to make sure that a boy has at least a couple of months between ranks so he can wear each rank he earns.

[FrankJ]

In the past I think we generally had one board for the multiple ranks. Our advancement chair's point & think it is a good one is that BORs are learning oppurtunities in themselves & should be seperate events. I suspect we will go to seperate boards, but be flexible as the situation warrants.

Thanks for the comments

[WVBeaver05]

In the past I think we generally had one board for the multiple ranks. Our advancement chair's point & think it is a good one is that BORs are learning oppurtunities in themselves & should be seperate events.

For this reason alone, I would opt for separate BORs on days!! I would hate to feel that we had "cheated" a Scout out of the opportunity to interact with adults that a BOR presents. Especially a younger Scout.

YiS

[summertop]

The only problem I have with a boy earning and receiving three ranks at one time it the fact that he does not get to display each rank on his shirt.

Kevin earned 2nd and 1st at the same time. He didn't like that he couldn't wear his 2nd Class Rank Badge. So we now make a big effort to make sure that a boy has at least a couple of months between ranks so he can wear each rank he earns.

I hope I am not stepping on toes here...but, shouldn't that be more of the boy's decision? The official requirements don't force any time between those ranks. I still have a little bit of a "sore spot" with leaders requiring non-official requirements for rank advancements. I think it is OK to recommend or suggest that, but ultimately if the boy has earned the rank he should receive it. I don't mean to offend and I'm sorry if I did.

[616kayak]

In my troop we have had this situation. The scout had one BOR for the two ranks at the same time. I dont realy know the specifics.

[aflmom]

My son didn't wear 2nd or 1st class rank badge. He did each rank individually, but the troop didn't have the badges on hand and he moved forward as the requirements were met. It didn't bother him and he laughed about it.

He doesn't wear his merit badges either. He's just not interested in putting them on a sash and wearing them. However, he is considering mounting them and hanging them in his room. He's currently Life, waiting for that rank badge, and in the preliminary stages of his Eagle project. I have no doubt that he will wear his Eagle badge when he gets it.

I agree with the other posters that it's up to each individual scout. Some care and some don't.

[Lynda J]

We don't force a boy to not receive more than one rank at a time. But we do suggest that he give himself a chance to wear each rank. So that he can show his journey to rank. Kevin was a little upset that he didn't get to "show off his rank" .

I know of one troop that only does 2 COH a year. I have attended when a boy would receive Star and Life at the same COH. I personally don't think this is fair to that boy. He should have the opportunity to proudly display his ranks for a period of time.

But it isn't a rule for our troop.

[summertop]

Having two rank advancements at the same board of review is one thing...But having Courts of Honor so infrequently that rank advancements pile up is, in my oppinion, a dis-service to the scouts.

The whole idea of the patches (ranks, merit badges, etc.) is to give tangible displayable recognition for a job well done! If it takes too long...I agree with you. It's not fair to make a scout wait that long for his awards.

[FrankJ]

We also only do COH twice a year which reconizes all achievements the past six months.. We award rank & merit pacthes as they are earned so the scouts can wear them and not have to wait. As it says in the program recognition is important.

[pipestone1991]

We do a COH in Feb.,May, and Sept. Some do get two ranks at a COH. I find it no big deal.

[WVBeaver05]

Three to four COH per year should work very well. This should not interfere with Scouts wearing their rank badges.

Our Troop awards the badge of rank (or Merit Badge) at the next meeting after it is earned (as outlined in the Advancement Guide). The COH is a more public, more formal ceremony where the rank or Merit Badge card is presented.

We are even get an extra recogonition in by announcing the advancement (rank or Merit Badge) at the closing of the meeting where it is earned. The advancement report is then submitted, the patch obtained and it is presented at the next meeting.

YiS

[Double Eagle]

In the troop that I serve it is not uncommon for a scout to finish two ranks at the same time. In the last year this has happened three times. When this does happen I hold a Scoutmaster Conference for the first rank and then send the scout off for a board of review with committee members. If there is time that same night I hold a second Scoutmaster Conference and again send the scout off for a Board of Review. We have never had problems with advancement dates in records or with our council.

Today we had a court of honor. One scout was recognized for earning Tenderfoot, Second Class, and First Class at this court of honor. This scout has been a member for 18 months and completed all three ranks since the last court of honor in May. This scout did not complete any ranks on the same day but had a gap of two weeks between each rank. It was great to recognize a scout that used his summer to finish all of his requirements towards First Class.

[mhjacobson]

There is no reason to hold separate SMC and BOR for multiple ranks held at the same time. Look at the sample questions that are on the BSA website and you will see a great commonality between those for Scout through First Class. Why penalize the scout needlessly and make the adults do extra work?