Troop Eagle Recognition

[wagionvigil]

More and more troops are honoring their Eagles with something. WHat does your Troop do? I will start with what a couple do around these parts.

One troop has a Professional Portrait taken of the Eagle and it hangs on the wall of the CHurch where they meet. This same troop has a tomahawk made by a local blacksmith with the scouts name and eagle date on it.
Another troop gives the scout a plaque made by the asst SM. Has a cast Flying Eagle on it made by him.
When I was with our troop we paid for their NESA Membership.

[smtroop168]

We do a 5 year NESA membership.

[jr56]

In the past, the troop contributed 50.00 toward the expense of their Eagle ceremony. I would personally chip in the BSA Eagle neckerchief, and slide.

[scoutaholic]

'The Troop' has no tradition on this. Being chartered by an LDS church congregation, the troop is a part of the youth programs of the church. Some of the church youth leaders have tried to start some traditions, but they always die out as the leadership changes (and church funds get sparce).

My wife and I have been giving each Eagle a pocket knife with an eagle picture on the side in a nice display box. We have been doing this for several years, but as us, not as representatives of the troop.

I also have an ongoing bribe system in place. Any boy who was in scouting in my troop when I was SM gets a handmade tomahawk if they get (finish all the work, not always tenure time/paperwork/BOR/etc.) their Eagle by their 14th birthday. (I have my reasons for doing this, and don't want to fight about young Eagles here. We've already done that on other threads.) Again, this is something I do, not the troop.

[wagionvigil]

I was a 14 year old Eagle and my son was a 14 year old Eagle. I am all for it and then they move to Venturing and real fun They must get it before the fumes kick in Perfume and Gas Fumes

[smtroop168]

Me too...maybe scoutaholic will send us a tomahawk.

[jr56]

I agree, the tomahawk is a great idea.

[scoutaholic]

I was a 14 year old Eagle and my son was a 14 year old Eagle. I am all for it and then they move to Venturing and real fun They must get it before the fumes kick in Perfume and Gas Fumes

Me too...maybe scoutaholic will send us a tomahawk.

You missed a key word in my post. You have to finish BY (before) your 14th birthday. That would mean you are a 13 year old Eagle.

If you really want the tomahawk bad, I can get you a price. There are 3 different styles. I made the first few myself when I worked in a foundary. I don't work there anymore, but I know who has the molds.

BTW, in the 10 years since I started doing this, I've only given away 2 tomahawks. (Unless my #1 son does an Eagle project in the next 3 days, he won't get one either.)

[smtroop168]

Rats...I looked at my stuff and I missed by 2 weeks.

[wagionvigil]

I can't read cuniform so I don't know

[aflmom]

As a I mentioned in another post, our troop is going to start having a yearly recognition party and present plaques.

Along with the gas and perfume fumes comes the $$ fumes and getting a job making it even more difficult for getting Eagle.

[kwildman]

Along with the gas and perfume fumes comes the $$ fumes and getting a job making it even more difficult for getting Eagle.

Another reason for troops to not "slow" the scouts advancements. Need to push the kids into getting eagle by 16 instead of 18.

[Cowboy]

A lot of the boys do not need a push, they just need the support. I am hoping that my son can finish up by his 15th BDay, but it is beginning to look dicey. I had a good long talk to him today about his ambivilance (sp?) and almost dislike for Scouting lately. We finally got to the root of the "Do I have to go?". Really scarey with how close he is now (Life 3 months, most of the funds for his ELSP). He is burned out, and not having fun. Plain and simple. He has been acting SPL 83% of the Troop meetings and outings. Running 70% of the PLC meetings and in sports. His acting ASPL is a 12 yr old who is only 2 months behind him as Life, and a couple of ERMB's short. The SPL has been removed and two PL's have been removed or left the Troop, so the leadership of the entire 23 Scouts has fallen on these two. After I explained to him that new positions are being "assigned" in a month, and his ELSP can be completed by the end of May (2 months) he can begin having fun again. Fortunately he is still looking forward to High Adventure and working at Summer Camp this year. It is just burn out from "too much" responsibility, not enough play. Not only have these two been holding things together, and repairing what was broken, but the Troop has almost doubled since they "took over". Not that I advocate skipping the ELSP, but sometimes a project is no comparison to real life action.

[gwd-scouter]

We do not have a troop tradition as far as an Eagle gift. Last summer we had our first Eagle in years to have a Court of Honor. The three before him simply did not want a COR - 'got' their Eagle and moved on.

The Eagle last summer was something of a fire-bug. In fact, his nickname in the Troop was pyro. We got him a very nice zippo lighter with a raised pewter Eagle on the side. Our next Eagle will be my son, this summer.

I do not agree with the feeling that we must push the guys to get their Eagle. I see that as an excuse Troop leaders use for the fact that they cannot retain older guys. It's not the fumes so much as the lack of adventurous activity that leads the older guys out the door. I also see it happening in the more adult-led troops. Get Eagle and get out. Actually, I don't care for the term 'get' Eagle either. Eagle must be earned. Semantics, maybe. While it may have been true in the past that in our Troop most guys lost interest in Scouts when the fumes hit, that has not been the case in the past several years. Our last four Eagles, over the past four years, were all days or months away from their 18th birthdays. Yep, we worked to change the program.

We now have three guys closing in on the rank: one 17 and two 16. All three are very enthusiastic scouts - guys that almost never miss an outing or meeting. All three are wonderful youth leaders in our Troop. Two are working again at summer camp this year.

Cowboy - your troop sounds like a mess. No patrol leaders, scouts being removed or appointed to positions by the adult leaders. Is this how things have always been done? I agree that too much responsibility put on just a couple of guys can lead to burnout. It's a shame when scouting ceases to be fun for the guys.

[Cowboy]

GWD: Yes and no. Our problems have come from our older scouts not fulfilling their duties. An SPL who should not have accepted the position. He knew that he was going to be in several sports and Drivers Ed. He has consistantly (83%) missed meetings, PLC's and outings. Removal. At the beginning of the school year we only had 11 boys in the Troop. We still had two patrols, but obviously they were small. One of the PL's rarely makes it to meetings now. Mom & Dad have more important things to do (like fight with each other) and he has no parental push. Sad, but does not excuse the lack of performance. This means that when he is unable to make it to a PLC he does not call his APL. Remove him. The other Patrol leader has been acting as ASPL (because the ASPL has to act as SPL). Really, the biggest issue that we have in the Troop right now is: Surprise: Lack of parent support and involvement. Our Troop is split pretty well with an age range from 10.5 - 16. The problem comes in when the 14+ boys forget that they are not just there to hang out. Yes several boys (all Life) have been removed from POR recently for failure to perform. That is real life buddy. Leaving them in position is unfair to them and the other boys. In order to EARN Eagle a Scout must ACTIVELY SERVE in a POR, not just wear a patch. It would be nice if every boy fulfilled his duties at all times, but that is not reality. Even Boy Scouts need to be reminded of what is expected of them, and if they are not fulfilling those expectations, they must be removed. Sometimes it is up to the adults to remove a boy because the younger boys are sick of conduct, but unsure or scared to "take on" the big boys.