Although the word “leadership” doesn’t appear in the Scout Oath, Scout Law or the BSA mission statement, developing leaders is an important aspect of Scouting. In the Scouts BSA advancement program, showing leadership is a key requirement for the ranks of Star, Life and Eagle. It also can be a source of confusion for Scouts and Scouters alike.
WHAT POSITIONS OF RESPONSIBILITY COUNT? More than 40 positions can be used across Scouts BSA, Venturing and Sea Scouts. The rank requirements list all the eligible positions.
WHAT ABOUT POSITIONS LIKE PATROL QUARTERMASTER? Positions within a patrol, including assistant patrol leader, don’t count. However, these positions do provide valuable leadership practice.
DO THE POSITIONS VARY BY RANK? The only difference is that bugler counts for Star and Life but not Eagle.
DOES HONOR GUARD COUNT FOR ADVANCEMENT? No. Like the musician role, honor guard doesn’t count. Note that the Honor Guard and Musician patches go on the right sleeve, while patches for positions of responsibility go on the left sleeve.
DOES LEADERSHIP IN THE ORDER OF THE ARROW COUNT? Only the role of Order of the Arrow troop/team representative counts. Positions like chapter chief and lodge secretary do not.
WHAT IF YOU HAVE TOO MANY SCOUTS WHO NEED POSITIONS OF RESPONSIBILITY? A unit can have more than one member in some positions, such as instructor. (In that case, be sure to differentiate their duties.) Also, for Star and Life, the Scoutmaster can assign a leadership project in lieu of serving in a position of responsibility.
WHAT MIGHT A SCOUTMASTER-ASSIGNED PROJECT LOOK LIKE? A Scout could, for example, lead the training program for an upcoming high-adventure trip. The assigned project should provide lessons similar to those of the listed positions, but it must not be confused with, or compared to, the scope of an Eagle Scout service project.
DO A SCOUT’S MONTHS OF SERVICE HAVE TO BE CONTINUOUS? No. There could be one or more gaps.
DO ALL THE MONTHS FOR ONE RANK HAVE TO BE SERVED IN THE SAME POSITION? No. A Scout could, for example, serve half his time as quartermaster and the other half as assistant senior patrol leader.
HOW CAN YOUR UNIT EVALUATE A SCOUT’S PERFORMANCE? Ideally, the unit leader will communicate a set of expectations for the position at the outset. If the Scout meets those expectations — within reason and based on his personal skill set — he fulfills the requirement. He also fulfills the requirement if it is left to him to determine what should be done and he makes a reasonable effort to perform accordingly for the time specified. Of course, training and ongoing coaching and support are important to any youth leader’s success.
WHERE CAN YOU LEARN MORE? The best source is the Guide to Advancement 2015 (No. 33088), which is still current in 2016 and is available at Scout shops and online at bit.ly/GuideToAdvancement.
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Could a “Scoutmaster assigned project” include serving as an Event SPL for a District or Council event so long as the duties included participating in the planning?
I would say yes. I believe we have done this before
I think it unfair that the only position within a patrol can not be considered as fulfilling a leadership position for required leadership positions for advancement!
Patrol Leader is one of the positions that fulfills the requirements for Star, Life and Eagle.
Other patrol positions do not fulfill the requirements. These are Assistant Patrol Leader, Patrol Scribe, Patrol Quartermaster, Patrol Grubmaster, Patrol Cheermaster, Patrol Instructor, and perhaps other patrol-unique roles.
Missed one, just like all the Troops that you fail to let know, that there is one more leadership credited position, indeed! That is, the Chaplain Aide, which because of your derelict reporting, you should do as another article, equally as strong as this one.
David C. Gironda, Sr., CREC
Council Religious Emblems Coordinator
Grand Canyon Council, Inc.-BSA
Pretty harsh tone for a CREC. I hope you are better tempered with your scouts sir.
I believe that it was included in the ‘over 40 positions ‘ statement, most positions were not listed individually. You are letting your personal focus cloud your vision and cause you to act in an inappropriate manner. Please go back and review the Scout Law and see how many of them you are ignoring with your total focus on reverent.
My experience with Chaplain’s Aides is that they do very little compared to the other PORs who are actually responsible for troop operations. At a minimum they should set an example and earn their faith’s religious award in order to meet the leadership advancement requirement.
Iowa’s Quartermaster and part of a year Assistant Senior Patrol Leader and then the following year I was Senior Patrol Leader in about a year or two Assistant Scoutmaster
Isn’t quartermaster a position within a patrol?
It can be. Our Troop has a Troop Quartermaster and each Patrol should have one too.
Each Patrol Quartermaster is responsible for the patrol box content. The Troop Quartermaster is responsible for the Troop gear and helps oversee the Patrol gear including the patrol boxes. In some Troops, the Troop Quartermaster is solely responsible for supervising / directing the packing of the trailer.
Thank you, that cleared up my question!
I am a Cub Master with a son in a very large Boy Scout Troop. Leadership Positions are hard to come by. However, I have two Den Chiefs from the Troop each year. I can not stress the importance of the value to the Pack these Scouts have. My. Cross Over rate has improved double by far!
Valuable discussion – I was fascinated by the points , Does anyone know where my assistant would be able to get ahold of a fillable Eagle Scout Service Project Worksheet – Boy Scouts of America copy to work with ?
Leah Ollis, using your an Internet search engine, search for “Eagle Scout Service Project Worksheet”. It will lead you to a fillable PDF file.
Stephen, here is the link for the current October 2015 fillable PDF workbook.
http://www.scouting.org/scoutsource/BoyScouts/AdvancementandAwards/resources.aspx
NESA has the current workbook.
I had a scout that was oa rep for two years and was only at 12 meetings for two years. Was active in OA but not in the troop. I considered him not active at troop level for the rank of eagle but was told by council he was active because if he was thinking scout like thoughts he was active. Times have changed.
The boy scout relies on his book. He should be able to find answers there without having to ask the Scoutmaster or other adults for clarification. The roles have existed for decades. The handbook has been revised 13 times. Perhaps the authors choose to be ambiguous because circumstances differ among units. For example, there are units with patrol quartermasters, scribes, librarians with more responsibility than scouts designated at the troop level. Some units have patrols larger than some troops. If you have any influence, then please encourage the authors to say what they mean to the scouts. If the definition of leadership roles (positions of responsibility) for Star, Life, and Eagle in the boy scout handbook are poorly defined, the handbook requires revision.
Which POR’s exactly qualify for the EAGLE Rank. Honestly i think there some confusion on this.
From the 2018 Boy Scout Requirements book:
“4. While a Life Scout, serve actively in your troop for six months in one or more of the following positions of responsibility (see footnote 11):
Boy Scout troop. Patrol leader, assistant senior patrol leader, senior patrol leader, troop guide, Order of the Arrow troop representative, den chief, scribe, librarian, historian, quartermaster, junior assistant Scoutmaster, chaplain aide, instructor, webmaster, or outdoor ethics guide.
Venturing crew. President, vice president, secretary, treasurer, den chief, historian, guide, quartermaster, chaplain aide, or outdoor ethics guide.
Sea Scout ship. Boatswain, boatswain’s mate, purser, yeoman, storekeeper, crew leader, media specialist, specialist, den chief, or chaplain aide.
Lone Scout. Leadership responsibility in your school, religious organization, club, or elsewhere in your community.”
Footnote 11: Assistant patrol leader and bugler are not approved positions of responsibility for the Eagle Scout rank. Likewise, a Scoutmaster-approved leadership project shall not be used in lieu of serving in a position of responsibility.
It is possible that a Boy Scout may have transferred from a Varsity team as a Life Scout with six months in a team position of responsibility that counts for Eagle. Here is the list of Varsity team PORs that count for Eagle:
Varsity Scout team. Captain, cocaptain, program manager, squad leader, team secretary, Order of the Arrow team representative, librarian, historian, quartermaster, chaplain aide, instructor, den chief, webmaster, or outdoor ethics guide.
Here’s an update courtesy of the 2020 Scouts BSA Requirements book:
4. While a Life Scout, serve actively in your troop for six months in one or more of the following positions of responsibility*:
Scout troop. Patrol leader, assistant senior patrol leader, senior patrol leader, troop guide, Order of the Arrow troop representative, den chief, scribe, librarian, historian, quartermaster, junior assistant Scoutmaster, chaplain aide, instructor, webmaster, or outdoor ethics guide.
Venturing crew President, vice president, secretary, treasurer, den chief, historian, guide, quartermaster, chaplain aide, or outdoor ethics guide.
Sea Scout ship. Boatswain, boatswain’s mate, purser, yeoman, storekeeper, crew leader, media specialist, specialist, den chief, or chaplain aide.
Lone Scout. Leadership responsibility in your school, religious organization, club, or elsewhere in your community.
* Assistant patrol leader and bugler are not approved positions of responsibility for the Eagle Scout rank. Likewise, a Scoutmaster-approved leadership project shall not be used in lieu of serving in a position of responsibility.
How is the 6 month period defined? Is it counted by 30 day increments, i cant find it defined anywhere. Is it, for example, the 3rd of the month to the 3rd of the 6th month? Is it 6 x 30 days?
Since the requirement says 6 months and not 180 days, I count it 3rd of the month to 3rd of the month.
What is the typical length of service for your troops Position of Responsibility (SPL, PL, Librarian,) etc? Does it depend on the length of term needed for rank advancement, semester, yearly? Who makes the decision about how long the term will be?
Are your Position of Responsibility voted on by the scouts, or designated by the adult or troop leadership?
Are there any required prerequisites for any of the Position of Responsibility?
Are the prerequisites documented for your troop, or just assumed… Does the Scoutmaster approve a scouts ability to run for PL or SPL before the scouts vote?
How long can a scout “camp out” in a particular Position of Responsibility before being “removed” from office?
@Dr. Z – It varies. My son’s troop has had 6 and 12-month terms of office. I have heard of some troops with 4-month terms. The troop decides the length of the term of office, but it could be decided by the SPL, PLC, the Scouts in the troop, the Scoutmaster, or the adult leaders / committee. JMO, but I would recommend having the PLC come up with the answer, and they might decide to put it to the Scouts in the troop for a vote.
In my son’s troop, the SPL and Patrol Leaders are elected. The Junior Assistant Scoutmaster (if we have one) is appointed by the Scoutmaster. The SPL appoints the other troop-level positions with the advice and counsel of the Scoutmaster. Patrol Leaders appoint other patrol positions as needed.
There are a few positions that do have prerequisites: a JASM should be 16-17 years old and appointed by the Scoutmaster, a Troop Guide should be First Class rank or higher, etc. We mostly follow the positions as described at:
https://troopleader.scouting.org/troop-positions/
Our Scoutmaster ensures that the Scouts running for SPL meets the troop’s qualifications (see the SPL Handbook), but otherwise does not pre-approve Scouts running for positions. We also require that the ASPL meet the same troop qualifications as the SPL. It’s supposed to be a Scout-led program, so let the Scouts decide who their leaders are.
I’m not exactly sure what you mean by “camping out” in a position, but a Scout should be counseled / mentored at the beginning of his or her term of office on the expectations of the POR. If a Scout is not meeting expectations, then this must be communicated to the Scout early. For more information, please see the BSA’s Guide to Advancement starting at section 4.2.3.4 Positions of Responsibility.
https://www.scouting.org/resources/guide-to-advancement/mechanics-of-advancement/scouts-bsa/#4234
My daughter wants to become a scout. But my wife would like me to become a leader or an assistant. Must one be a scout in order to hold these types of positions?
What positions can be doubled up under the BSA guidelines? I recently became the advancement chair for our troop and noticed that after the Scoutmaster updated our Troop Master records following the last PLC change-over that there are two and in one position 3 scouts listed. The positions in question are Scribe, Quartermaster, and Asst. SPL. It doesn’t seem correct to me but do not know where to find the guidelines for this issue before questioning the Scoutmaster about it.