wait between second and first classes?

[MI6Ash]

hey. 1st of, I do not wish to come accross as rude, but please could I recieve a reply quite hastely, I hope to get 1st class by Firday.

I am currently 2nd class, and I would like to become 1st class, but the head advancement counciler (please don't mind my spelling) says I have to wait three months between second and first. the assistant troop leader says that there is a three month wait. But nobody else agrees with them. and we can't find it written anywhere else in the book.

We need to somehow convince the advancement counsiler, because he is refusing to let me become 1st class untill February!

please could anybody help, a link to a site would be handy.
thanks in advance
~MI6Ash~

[OldGreyBear]

there is no rule about waiting 3 months between second and first class ranks. I would say its up to the guy who is the minority to prove his stand. I would look in the scout handbook and see where the time in rank explanations are, such as first class, star and life and them point out no such langauge exisits for second to first class.

[hops_scout]

I got 2nd Class one week and 1st Class the following week.

[commish3]

I apologize in advance for suggesting that a leader refer to a BSA handbook and follow its content, however...

I would explain to your counselor that you have looked through your Boy Scout Handbook and cannot find a requirement that states there is a waiting period between those two ranks. Ask if he might be confusing the waiting period between First Class and Star, or some of the other higher ranks. If he insists the waiting period exists ask him for the written source, since it is not in your handbook or in the BSA Advancement Requirements book.

Good luck and have fun as you advance. Let us know how things go.

[t305spl]

Call your council office. Ask for the Council Advancement Person. Ask him about the waiting period. Then tell your Advancement Chairperson what the council person said. If he still has a problem call council again and ask them to fax or call your Advancement Chairperson and speak with him about it.

[ASM-142]

I agreee that there is no waiting period to get to 1st class. But I do know of cases where a Scout Master would not sign off on Scout Spirit or hold a Scout Master conference for a certain time building in his own time period.

[freebyrd1964a]

Sounds to me that your advancement counsilor is either ignorant of the regs or your unit may have imposed a waiting period. Either way, the BSA rules are not being followed so I think your best bet would be to contact your district counsil if you can not resolve this at your unit level.

[wagionvigil]

Again units cannot make their own rules that alter advancemnet. There is no waiting period. Period!

[freebyrd1964a]

I think that you've misunderstood me wagionvigil. I didn't mean that the unit had a right to make that policy or rule. That's why I suggested that he contact district if he couldn't resolve the matter at unit level.

[RWSmith]

MI6Ash,

Not to be rude, but you need to (like now) go edit your profile and remove your (last) name and (exact) location from your signature file. Better yet, stick to a "handle" and, if you must reference a location, please keep it general. Everybody who joins this message board agrees to this policy... "To protect the privacy of youth members, please do not include the names of any youth members in any posting." (That includes your own.)

BTW, you are correct; there is no waiting period. In fact, if you have your SM refer to the requirements, he'll find that it is specifically prefaced with"The requirements for Tenderfoot, Second Class, and First Class ranks may be worked on simultaneously; however, these ranks must be earned in sequence."

[wagionvigil]

Did not misunderstand you. Just repeating what was discussed in another line of this forum.

[evmori]

There is not "waiting" time between 2nd & 1st class. You could have your SM conference for 2nd class & BOR one day & have the same for 1st class the next day!

[Rick Tyler]

There is not "waiting" time between 2nd & 1st class. You could have your SM conference for 2nd class & BOR one day & have the same for 1st class the next day!

Not only that, but I've seen a number of Scouts get stuck on a particular 2nd class requirement (like the drug and alcohol education program) long enough that they finish all the 1st class requirements before finishing 2nd class. You CANNOT receive the T-2c-1c ranks out of order, but nothing says you can't complete them out of order.

Rather than make a Scout wait some arbitrary length of time (like a day or week), when nothing is likely to change, I have participated in a number of combined 2c/1c Scoutmaster conferences and BORs. Why go through a complete conference on Monday for 2c and then again on Tuesday for 1c?

And, as everyone including Ed has written, there is no "waiting period" in Scout advancement rules for these ranks.

[Lynda J]

Last Court of Honor we had one boy that got 2nd and 1st Class at the same.

[teepeeayy]

My experience matches Lynda's. My son completed 2nd and 1st class before the COH, but was only awarded 1 rank. "Can't get two at the same time" was what I was told. He is to wait 3 months (sound familiar?) until the next COH.

He is, however, actively completing MB's for the next rank.

[ASM-142]

It sounds like the award is presented at the COH. However, it should be credited when it is earned without having to wait for the next COH

[Rick Tyler]

Another misconception that some adults fall into is that the badge of rank is not supposed to be presented until a Court of Honor. The advancement program is based on instant recognition. I like the way one local troop does it: the night of the Board of Review, a small (5-minute) presentation is done of the rank patch in front of the troop. The Scout can put on his new rank immediately. At the Court of Honor, he is recognized formally in front of the troop (and his parents, grandparents, Godparents, neighbors, and girl friend) and given the card that goes with the rank. The same thing should be done with Merit Badges, too, but there is a practical logistical problem here -- most troops cannot afford an unlimited stock of MB patches, and sometimes the Scout shop is too far away for weekly visits.

Nothing in the Advancement policies and procedures require that a Scout wait for "promotion" to the next rank.

There is some serious and well-considered discussion about whether or not this is appropriate for an Eagle Scout, but we can leave that for some other thread. For all other ranks, the award should be made as soon as possible after the Board of Review.

[evmori]

Excellent points, Rick! Excellent!

[wagionvigil]

Rick I always have done it that way. I keep a couple of each Rank Badges in my brief case for each rank and when we have a BOR I present them their patch.

[Lynda J]

When I went through District Committee Advancement Training, the one thing that was stressed the most. (other than keeping records)
Recognition should be immediate. At the point a boy has his completed and passed Board of Review the scout has completed and earned his rank, and has the right to wear that rank. A boy may request a BoA at any time he feels he is ready. It is up to the Review Board to recommend or not the scout for advancement. If he does not pass his board them he can come back for the next board and try again. We hold a Court of Honor about every 3 months. For our Court of Honor we try to make sure that parents and community leaders and sometimes teachers are invited. It is a wonderful time to get good kids into the public eye. And it gives the boys an opportunity to show off a little. When our boys were awarded their Arrow of Light and crossed over from Cubs the mayor came to the meeting. He presented each boy with a letter from the city praising them. Kevin's is framed and hung on his wall.

It is very unfair to make a boy sit on a rank simply because the SM doesn't want to advance him.