Advancement
“Advancement is one of the eight methods used by Scout leaders to help youth fulfill the aims of the BSA.”
The outcomes of the Scouting experience should be fun and educational, and not just relate to completing rank requirements that might place unrealistic expectations on a member who has a disability.
CMS Eagle Projects
04/09/2024
April 1 is the restart of the CMS Eagle Projects. Please note there are changes to the process. Listed below are the new guidelines.
If you are contemplating a project on a CMS facility:
Any project on a CMS facility must have the proposal approved by the
- the troop leader and committee,
- the school's principal, and
- the MCC district project approval representative.
Once the proposal is approved by the district proposal approval representative, the full project proposal together with a map showing the proposed location must be sent to Mr. Bob Sorell at charlesr.sorrell@cms.k12.nc.us. No work may be started until CMS Real Estate has given their final approval and a Right of Entry is signed by CMS, your parent/guardian and your troop's charter organization representative or their designee. Any questions chould be directed to the Council Advancement Committee.
Cub Scout Program Updates Presentation
03/26/2024
A presentation is now available for those who want to present the Cub Scout program updates to Cub Scout Packs.
The slides are PDF files and you can find the presenter notes by clicking on the comments tab on each page.
Knife Safety Updates:
https://www.scouting.org/program-updates/knife-safety/
Arrow of Light and Webelos Updates:
https://www.scouting.org/program-updates/webelos-and-arrow-of-light-at-a-glance/
Scout and Life Rank Advancement Updates
03/04/2024
Beginning January 1, 2024, minor modifications to the Scouts BSA requirements for the ranks of Scout and Life will take effect. See “Program Updates – Advancement Updates 2024” https://www.scouting.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/SBSA-Advancement-Updates-2024-v2.pdf for more details. Scouts may continue using the existing requirements for the rank on which they are currently working. Scouts must use the new requirements once they advance to their next rank.
Program Updates:
https://www.scouting.org/program-updates/
Merit Badge Updates:
https://www.scouting.org/skills/merit-badges/all/
Scouts BSA Rank Requirement Updates
03/01/2024
BSA recently updated several rank requirements as well as several merit badge requirements. You can find the updates here: Advancement Updates 2024. Please review these changes as they affect Scout and Star ranks, Eagle Palms and at least 30 merit badges.
Scouts BSA Rank Requirement Updates
06/24/2022
"In 2021, all outdoor-related rank advancement requirements were reviewed and realigned based on guidance from the National Outdoor Ethics and Conservation Subcommittee. These adjustments will help more effectively build a Scout’s outdoor ethics knowledge and align with the information in the Scouts BSA Handbook and Fieldbook. The requirements now build in a logical way through the ranks, with Leave No Trace (LNT) and the Outdoor Code (OC) used as references throughout.
Beginning August 1, 2022, these minor modifications to the Scouts BSA requirements for the ranks of Scout through Star will take effect. Scouts may continue using the existing requirements for the rank on which they are currently working, or they may choose to use the new requirements. Scouts must use the new requirements once they advance to their next rank. On January 1, 2023, all Scouts must use only the new requirements.
The specific changes are detailed below.
In addition, beginning July 1, 2022, the Citizenship in Society merit badge becomes required for the rank of Eagle.
Finally, new videos were created to support “Personal Safety Awareness” (chapter 13) of the Scouts BSA Handbook. These can be used as an alternative to earning the Cyber Chip.
The specific changes can be found here."
Advancement Report Processing
Reporting Advancements to the council is required for all units. Using Scoutbook to record unit advancement and to print an advancement report is highly recommended; but some circumstances may necessitate use of the BSA Advancement form which can be found here.
According to the Guide to Advancement 2021, all rank and merit badges are restricted items and will not be sold without the required advancement report or proof that one has already been submitted prior to their purchase.
Blue Card Records
Even with Scoutbook, blue cards are the Scout's official record for having completed merit badges. Blue card records can be invaluable to confirm merit badges for Star, Life, and especially for Eagle Boards of Review.
The Scout office no longer "stamps" the blue cards as they have done in the past. It is advised that the Scout retain the blue cards for their records if verification of a merit badge needs to be confirmed as completed and signed off by a registered Merit Badge Counselor after turning in their Eagle Scout Project Workbook and Application.