[rickcr42]

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What do Eagle scouts do exactly?

Scout for eagle of course !

but you gotta be in real good shape 'cause those suckers like to nest on the side of sheer cliffs overlooking a body water and the only access is either a straight up climb or a straight down rapel and neither for the "soft"

On a serious note being an eagle scout is to be commended.It proves a person has enough commitment and drive to excell and goes to dedication of purpose.
Looks damn good on a resume' too if you can find a way to weasle it in

 

[elrod-tom]

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Originally Posted by jbloudg20 The hardest part is usually the leadership project, and completing all the requirements before you turn 18.

That was what killed it for me...I couldn't get the service project approved and turned around in a timely manner.

We had a new scout leader the last few years that I was involved who made it a point to make the bar for approval of the service project very high. He viewed the Eagle patch as something for which not everyone packed the gear to succeed. Buddies of mine did things like clean up river banks, rake leaves at old folks' houses, and so on. Mine had to be some humungous ordeal, involving the city council, a church, and what not...and as such I never quite made the grade in his eyes.

At any rate, I've always had a lot of respect for those who hung in there and achieved what I think is one of the benchmarks of good and productive citizenship for a young person - the Eagle Scout badge.

It used to annoy me that I'd missed out on it for no good reason, but I guess that's just the way it goes sometimes. Scouting was a great experience for me, and I definately got a lot out of it...whether I met all my personal goals or not. I've tried to find the time to volunteer locally, but with two young kids it's tough. Maybe in a few years if my son is interested....

 

[Morphling]

I turned my eagle scout project in the day of my 18th birthday and luckily it was accepted.

 

[thrice]

I received my Eagle Scout in early 1992. I was 16.

It's meant a lot to me over the years. I've come to beleive that you do not become an Eagle Scout when you fulfill the requirements, but moreso you are rewarded for learning a set of tools that help you become an Eagle scout over the course of your life.

I always return to the things I learned in scouts regarding leadership, dedication, being trustworthy and so forth; and yes, the knts are very important. I mean how many people know how to tie a Mast's head knot in order to secure barrels to the mast of a ship, I can't tell you how often that's saved me

It's been a compass for me dispite the fact that I am not always physically strong mentally awake and morally straight. (that last one always got me in trouble...the good kind of trouble

)

 

[rickcr42]

Quote:

I mean how many people know how to tie a Mast's head knot in order to secure barrels to the mast of a ship, I can't tell you how often that's saved me

Knot tying class in BCT still gives me damn nightmares

Never could understand what the big deal was at the time but just like higher math in school where most say "why learn something I will never use" it always comes back as applicable somehwere somehow in life and my knot tying has done that many times ( "look kids ! Dad is tying knots again ! call the neighbors !"

)

Leadership is a thing you either "have" or you don't.It can be taught but still has to come from inside the person with the lessons just a guide on how to get there.Call it a MAP to on how to take charge of a situation and make it work.
The person must do the self reliance and self confidence part without the "self important pr*ck" add-on or all it is are words that sound good.Not sure if I ever got past the "self important pr*ck" part of life but there is still time to work on it.I am fairly young and have SOME patience........

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It's been a compass for me dispite the fact that I am not always physically strong mentally awake and morally straight.(that last one always got me in trouble...the good kind of trouble )

I woulda been screwed from day 1 on that point when a younger man.Damn good thing I never tried or I would have failed and I take failure badly so I have eliminated it as an option in my life.

 

[hempcamp]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jbloudg20 I would hardly call yourself an Eagle then. A real Eagle knows the amount of time and dedication it takes to reach that level of accomplishment. I'd never refer to one of my life's greatest achievements as 'overrated'. I'm not trying to offend, but I took serious offense to your comment.

Sorry to have offended you. Of course I'm proud of what I did to acheive Eagle scout, and proud of what many others have achieved. BUT... after having worked for the BSA for a number of years as a young adult, I came to realize that there are MANY out there who just went through the motions.

That's what I mean when I suggest that the general image of an Eagle is overrated. It's poor practice, in my opinion, to assume an Eagle scout is any better or more capable a person than someone who was never even a Scout.

All my best friends are Eagles also (we worked for many years at a Scout camp together), but for every one of them there are several bad eggs that I know.

--Chris

 

[jbloudg20]

Quote:

Originally Posted by hempcamp Sorry to have offended you. Of course I'm proud of what I did to acheive Eagle scout, and proud of what many others have achieved. BUT... after having worked for the BSA for a number of years as a young adult, I came to realize that there are MANY out there who just went through the motions. That's what I mean when I suggest that the general image of an Eagle is overrated. It's poor practice, in my opinion, to assume an Eagle scout is any better or more capable a person than someone who was never even a Scout. All my best friends are Eagles also (we worked for many years at a Scout camp together), but for every one of them there are several bad eggs that I know. --Chris

I FULL any COMPLETLY understand. I no longer take offense to what you said. I agree whole-heartedly that to some troops, Eagle is just a way for them to boost their roster. "Hey we turn 50% of your scouts into Eagles!!"

I had a tough time making eagle, but I did it just slightly after my 17th birthday, and I can say I worked my BUTT off for it. I truly earned my Eagle, and I hold it to a much higer standard than those who walked through the motions.

 

[androgeny]

Eagle scout, class of 1996.

God, was it really that long ago?

While job hunting/resume streamlining, I got the comment that "Eagle Scout" is not something to put on a resume. I think the quote was "You're not trying to be a den leader" - Ouch, eh?

Eagle is definitely a high honor. I'm glad my dad pushed me to get finished.

Honestly, I felt like my treks at Philmont were the high point in my scouting career. My troop is/was very active in backpacking; we would take a week every summer and do 50-60 miles on the Appalachian Trail. Philmont was one of the most positive experiences I've had outdoors.

My eagle project was to re-blaze a local trail. The trail exists on private land, so it is clear-cut on a regular basis. We had to find maps of the trail's original routing, contact landowners, and (in some cases) re-route the trail around new obstacles. I had originally wanted to do all 50 miles of the trail, but my project advisor got me to back down to 12 miles.

There will always be variances in the "quality" of eagle scouts, as there are variances in anything relating to individual people. (How many valedictorians end up flunking out of college?) My challenge in life is remembering the strength I forged out on those mountains, not trying to live my life by the Oath and Law.

Just from the posts in this thread, it's obvious that each eagle has his own set of obstacles to overcome. While there are a number of boys who have their eagle handed to them, I think the vast majority earn their eagle through hard work. Whether or not other people believe they have worked hard is irrelevant. Eagle is a recognition of completing a journey - everyone's path is different, none are truly easy.

 

[rickcr42]

Quote:

"You're not trying to be a den leader" - Ouch, eh?

Kinda like someone calling me "soldier boy" if I let it slip on a job interview that I was in charge of a rifle squad when in the infantry (not that I ever would but if it happened would with THEY were civil

) and a comment that would only be made by one who fell short of the mark and needs to now feel superior to someone who did not is my thought.
That or the person has no clue what is involved to reach certain plateaus in life even though is his/her self in a postion of some authority.Could be a menial position that no one else wanted or maybe daddy owns the company so hard work was not part of the promotion

 

[jbloudg20]

Quote:

Originally Posted by androgeny Eagle scout, class of 1996. God, was it really that long ago? While job hunting/resume streamlining, I got the comment that "Eagle Scout" is not something to put on a resume. I think the quote was "You're not trying to be a den leader" - Ouch, eh? Eagle is definitely a high honor. I'm glad my dad pushed me to get finished. Honestly, I felt like my treks at Philmont were the high point in my scouting career. My troop is/was very active in backpacking; we would take a week every summer and do 50-60 miles on the Appalachian Trail. Philmont was one of the most positive experiences I've had outdoors. My eagle project was to re-blaze a local trail. The trail exists on private land, so it is clear-cut on a regular basis. We had to find maps of the trail's original routing, contact landowners, and (in some cases) re-route the trail around new obstacles. I had originally wanted to do all 50 miles of the trail, but my project advisor got me to back down to 12 miles. There will always be variances in the "quality" of eagle scouts, as there are variances in anything relating to individual people. (How many valedictorians end up flunking out of college?) My challenge in life is remembering the strength I forged out on those mountains, not trying to live my life by the Oath and Law. Just from the posts in this thread, it's obvious that each eagle has his own set of obstacles to overcome. While there are a number of boys who have their eagle handed to them, I think the vast majority earn their eagle through hard work. Whether or not other people believe they have worked hard is irrelevant. Eagle is a recognition of completing a journey - everyone's path is different, none are truly easy.

I second your feelings about Philmont, one of the greatest experiences I have had to date!

 

[m0nKeY bUsiNeSs]

I earned my Eagle in July 2000. I also managed to get a bronze gold, and silver palm before I turned 18.

Quote:

While job hunting/resume streamlining, I got the comment that "Eagle Scout" is not something to put on a resume. I think the quote was "You're not trying to be a den leader" - Ouch, eh?

I really do feel like alot of what I learned from my Eagle service project would be very useful for project management in the business world .

 

[1911]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rickcr42 Scout for eagle of course ! but you gotta be in real good shape 'cause those suckers like to nest on the side of sheer cliffs overlooking a body water and the only access is either a straight up climb or a straight down rapel and neither for the "soft" On a serious note being an eagle scout is to be commended.It proves a person has enough commitment and drive to excell and goes to dedication of purpose. Looks damn good on a resume' too if you can find a way to weasle it in

haha...when i was in the boy scouts the only eagles we scouted for were spread bald eagles...hahahaha....yeah bad joke but then our troop was a joke

 

[rickcr42]

Quote:

haha...when i was in the boy scouts the only eagles we scouted for were spread bald eagles...hahahaha....yeah bad joke but then our troop was a joke

Never a scout so my youth was spent hunting beaver instead of eagles

Even worse joke

 

[androgeny]

Quote:

Originally Posted by m0nKeY bUsiNeSs I really do feel like alot of what I learned from my Eagle service project would be very useful for project management in the business world .

It really is. If you're doing any sort of contract work, the process is exactly the same.

Something else that's important about the eagle project is the write-up - a project write-up/postmortem is a very unique writing project, not like anything taught in high school. Again, a skill that can really come in handy later on.

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1911 haha...when i was in the boy scouts the only eagles we scouted for were spread bald eagles...hahahaha....yeah bad joke but then our troop was a joke

LOL - it's so difficult to find a troop that is middle-of-the-road as far as the "bs/bsa" ratio. You have some troops that are little more than gangs, and others that are uber-geek even for scouts.

So, only slightly off-topic - I assume all of the eagles are also Order of the Arrow members. What lodge? Occoneechee #104 here.

 

[androgeny]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jbloudg20 I second your feelings about Philmont, one of the greatest experiences I have had to date!

What was your trek like? North country/south country? In the three times I went, I was lucky enough to tour a pretty large part of the ranch. The range of activities available at Philmont is just amazing. It really takes 4-5 trips to do everything.