Ranks: no rank, Scout, Tenderfoot, Second Class, First Class, Star, Life, Eagle
When a Scout starts with Troop 351, they have no rank. When they complete the required tasks for Scout, they have a Scoutmaster Conference. They are awarded their patch at a Court of Honor, which are held three times a year. This process is repeated for each rank except that a Board of Review is required for the higher ranks.
The first 4 ranks do not require any Merit Badges to be completed. For Star, Life, and Eagle Scouts must complete several Merit Badges and serve in a leadership position for a certain period (4 months for Star, 6 months each for Life and Eagle).
There are more than 145 different Merit Badges. As of July 1, 2022 14 are required to achieve Eagle rank.
Starting with the Tenderfoot rank, Scouts need to do a certain number of hours of a service project. It’s 1 hour for Tenderfoot, 2 for 2nd Class, 3 for 1st Class, and so on.
Scoutmaster Conference: these are where a Scout meets with an Assistant Scoutmaster (ASM) to discuss what they’ve achieved towards their next rank. These are typically short and happen before, during, or after a regular Troop Meeting.
Board of Review: this (also known as BoR) is where a Scout is introduced by an ASM to a group of about 4 adults. The adults are typically parents but not always. They cannot be ASMs. There are various reasons for this: Scouts get more comfortable presenting their achievements to strangers and parents of younger Scouts see what older Scouts achieve.
Court of Honor: three times a year, in place of a regular meeting, Troop 351 recognizes Scouts who have advanced in rank, won merit badges, or achieved other awards.
For more Troop 351 terminology, see Troop Talk.
For the list of Troop 351 Scouts who have earned Eagle, see the Eagle’s Nest