Boy/Varsity Scout Uniform Other General Info

(As of 24 December 2009, I do not have a complete set of images of the "Centennial" uniform which the Boy Scouts of America introduced in 2008). When I get those complete set images showing the complete uniform as well as the differences, I will provide a separate page for that uniform. In the meantime, MOST Scouts and Scouters are using what I am calling the "legacy" uniform (it is NO LONGER the "current" uniform; the "Centennial" uniform is the current uniform for Boy Scouts and Scouters).

"Centennial (the CURRENT OFFICIAL BSA FIELD)Uniform"

The legacy uniform for Boy Scouts and Varsity Scouts is illustrated below. Note the RED shoulder loops, which distinguish Boy Scouts and Boy Scouters from Varsity Scouts and Varsity Scouters. The Varsity Scout shoulder loops are blaze (orange).

Other than the shoulder loops, hat, neckerchief, and some Varsity-specific insignia items (which will be shown on a Varsity Scout page), both Boy and Varsity Scouts wear this same field uniform (if they can), as shown here on this page.

The Scout shown here is wearing insignia on the LEFT shoulder and LEFT pocket. From top to bottom on the sleeve, the insignia is:

• Council Shoulder Patch (CSP) emblem: Each of the BSA's local Councils, Lone Scouts and units supported through the BSA Direct Service, and the National Council has a special shoulder patch which illustrates elements of the territory served by the Council.

  During National Jamboree years, special Jamboree Shoulder Patches (JSPs) are worn by those participating in the Jamboree from that local Council. These emblems may be worn six months before the start of the Jamboree, during the Jamboree experience, and for six months after the conclusion of the Jamboree. After that period, the JSP should be removed and replaced by the current CSP of the local Council for proper uniforming.

  Many local Councils have an assortment of CSPs which they have made available for purchase and/or wear by Scouts and Scouters. Because of the extremely large number of those items, I ask you to consult your Commissioner and ask him or her about which CSPs are "acceptable" for wear by you or your Scout (there are some, for instance, which should be worn by Eagle Scouts in your Council or by camp staff members which can be purchased by anyone but can only be worn by those catagory of Scouts/Scouters).

• Unit numbers: Unit numbers come in two varieties presently: a partially-embrordered single or set of numbers denoting the unit; or a fully embrordered single or set of numbers denoting the Troop or Team number. Either is acceptable, although for proper uniforming, the present partially-embrordered numbers should be used. Above the unit numbers may go a Unit Veteran Bar which indicates the tenured years of that unit.
• Position Patch: Troop/Team members serving as an elected or appointed Troop/Team officer should wear the appropriate position patch (badge of office) indicating the position serving. There are currently two types and Scouts may wear either version.

  A frequently asked question is "What if the Scout is serving in two or more positions -- like Patrol Leader and Troop Scribe, for instance?" He must decide which position is of most importance to him and wear that badge of office ONLY. A BSA uniform axiom states that "Scouts and Scouters wear insignia representing their current status and role in the movement." If he's elected as Patrol Leader and later becomes the Troop's Scribe, he should wear the Troop Scribe badge of office because that's his "current status and role" in the Troop. If by chance he's elected as Patrol Leader AND Troop Scribe at the same time, he has to flip a coin.

  When I answer such questions via email, here's my simple "leadership determination chart" that helps me out:

  If the Scout has	...he should wear the...
  Two "bar" positions (PL & SPL)	highest number of bars
  One "bar" and one staff position	"bar" position
  Two staff positions (QM and Lib)	highest staff position
  One staff position and DC	Den Chief (DC)
  One "bar" or staff position and JASM	JASM

  (The leadership in a Boy Scout Troop, in succession order are: Senior Patrol Leader, Assistant Senior Patrol Leader, Troop Guide, Patrol Leader, Assistant Patrol Leader.
  Supporting staff in a Boy Scout Troop, in succession order are: Scribe, Quartermaster, Librarian, Den Chief(s) (to include WEBELOS Den Chief(s), Instructor, Historian, OA Representative, Chaplain Aide, other positions as determined by SPL.
  While Junior Assistant Scoutmasters are serving in a leadership role, their primary service is to supporting the Scoutmaster and make take on assignments dealing with supervision/training/coaching of Den Chiefs and Instructors, for instance. See this page for more information.)

  (The leadership in a Varsity Scout Team, in succession order are: Captain, Co-Captain (date of joining the team determines seniority), Program Manager, Squad Leader, Assistant Squad Leader.
  Supporting staff in a Varsity Team are similiar to what's in a Boy Scout Troop except that there is no Junior Assistant Coach position in a Team.)

  Those no longer serving in those positions should remove their patches and keep them in a safe place at home. They may be displayed on a patch vest, blanket or jacket.

  Those Boy or Varsity Scouts serving as Den Chiefs have two options:

  - Wearing the Den Chief or WEBELOS Den Chief cord as shown above WITHOUT THE DEN CHIEF badge of office. or...

  Wearing the Den Chief badge of office WITHOUT wearing the Den Chief cord. There is more information here.

• Trained strip: Those youth and adults whom have completed a training course for the position that they CURRENTLY HOLD should wear the TRAINED strip. In other words, if he's trained as the Scribe, he should be wearing the "Trained" strip below the Scribe badge of office. When he is elected Senior Patrol Leader, he should REMOVE the "Trained" strip until he has attended training for his role as Senior Patrol Leader. This strip should be worn immediately below and touching the badge of office (position patch).

On the left pocket should go the following insignia:

The BSA Emergency Prepardness Pin may be worn centered on the left pocket flap by those Scouts who qualified for the wear of the emblem.

During FORMAL OCCASIONS ONLY, up to five medals may be pinned to the top edge of the pocket (or if square knot insignia is worn, directly below them pinned to the top edge of the left uniform pocket) in a single row with the order of the medal(s) up to the Scout by Scouts who have earned or received them.

Medals include rank (Eagle), special awards (Hornaday bronze or Silver, Denali Award), heroism or meritorious service awards, religious emblems, trail medals, special medals awarded by the Scout's unit, it's District or local Council; medals awarded during a National Scout Jamboree for achievement and medals awarded by organizations in support of the BSA (for instance, NRA, American Red Cross, American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, etc.) These items are ONLY WORN during formal occasions (a Court of Honor or Blue and Gold Banquet is a formal occasion; a campout or camporee is not; a District or Council recognition banquet is a formal occassion; a unit meeting is not. A speech to a civic group, Scout Sunday and parades and Presidential or veterans observances are formal events; a conservation project, door-to-door or public sales or Eagle Scout service project is not a formal event.)

• Centered on the pocket is Scout rank.ONLY SCOUTS wear rank emblems; adults wear the appropriate square knot insignia to denote their attainment of Eagle Scout and other rank earned as a youth. The rank emblem (in this case, Life Scout) is worn centered on the left pocket.
• If a Boy Scout or Varsity Scout is the holder of the Arrow of Light, Cub Scouting's highest award, he wears the Arrow of Light BELOW the left pocket. On the legacy khaki-tan shirts, the pockets taper down to a point...the Arrow of Light should be centered at that point and NOT sewn to the pocket. If the Scout wears the older khaki shirts, the Arrow of Light is worn so that the top edge of Arrow of Light emblem touches the bottom edge of the left uniform pocket. Again, ONLY SCOUTS wear the Arrow of Light; adults wear the Arrow of Light square knot insignia to denote their attainment of this award.

• Nothing else is worn below the pocket.

Above the pocket would go year pins (if earned) and square knot insignia (representing awards he earned or received). Adults only may wear special 50th or 75th Anniversary strips above the square knots but below the World Crest emblem. Above those items would go the World Crest if not already pre-sewn onto the shirt.

The Scout belt should be the belt worn by Scouts and Scouters. The beads and holder shown above left is an optional item available to units to recognize immediate progress toward Tenderfoot, Second Class and First Class rank as well as Troop and District/Council activities and events.

Neckerchiefs are a Troop option. If worn, the neckerchief should be worn either UNDER the collar of the uniform shirt as shown above and below. It may be also worn ABOVE the collar if the Troop wears the neckerchief in that manner. Wood Badgers belonging to units, Districts or Councils without a designated neckerchief should wear the Wood Badge neckerchief in the same manner as shown here.

Hats are also a Troop option. Check with your unit to insure that you're getting and wearing the correct hat. This page explains the various kinds of hatgear that's available.

The second illustration shown below shows the merit badge sash and the activity uniform for Boy Scouts.

The merit badge sash is worn during formal activities, occasions and events, and NOT during Troop meetings, campouts or while selling items either door-to-door or in a mall or shopping center booth or doorway. (a Court of Honor or Blue and Gold Banquet is a formal occasion; a campout or camporee is not; a District or Council recognition banquet is a formal occassion; a unit meeting is not. A speech to a civic group, Scout Sunday and parades and Presidential or veterans observances are formal events; a conservation project, door-to-door or public sales or Eagle Scout service project is not a formal event.)

Only one sash may be worn at any time. Merit badges only are worn on the FRONT of the sash. On the back of the sash, additional merit badges may be sewn starting at the top edge of the back of the sash; and temporary insignia may be sewn starting half-way down the sash on the BACK ONLY. "Temporary insignia" is defined by the BSA as special insignia for participating in unit, District, Council or national events or programs. Previous rank, service stars and pins are NOT to be worn on the sash. The Varsity Scout Letter may be worn at the bottom of the front of the sash by Varsity Scouts who have earned the Letter.

Merit badges may be worn in any order that the Scout chooses, and not necessarily in alphabetical nor "required-non required" order. Most Scouts choose to wear merit badges in the order in which they have earned them. Note also that the merit badge sash is worn OVER the shoulder loop and not "jammed into" or "pinned down" to the shoulder loop.

On the wide sash, three merit badges should be worn in a row; on the narrow sash, two merit badges should be worn in a row. When NOT worn, the merit badge sash needs to be *in a drawer someplace* or *hung in a closet* and NOT draped over a belt nor carried by the Scout. It is ONLY worn during ceremonies and special occasions (like courts of honor or special dinners).

Under the sash, on the right side of the shirt would go the following insignia from top to bottom of the shirt:

• Jamboree Insignia: The BSA keeps going back and forth; here's the current policy: ONLY ONE Jamboree emblem (one World/International or one National) with or with segmented patches ("segments") is to be worn. I would imagine this policy was made because over the years, the size of the Jamboree emblems have been increasing, especially the BSA's National Jamboree emblems. Please note the comment/update (upper left corner) about the wearing of the NAYLE/NYLT emblems by participants and/or staff members in the Jamboree position
• Interpreter Strips: Take a look at the interpreter strip information for more guidance. For best uniforming, no more than three narrow-sized strips should be worn at any one time.
• Order of the Arrow insignia: The Order of the Arrow has "dibs" on the right pocket flap. While other local Councils have developed special insignia for Scouts and Cubs to wear on the pocket flap, Order of the Arrow Lodge insignia should be worn (a current OA flap or a special OA activity or service flap) from THE LODGE IN WHICH YOU ARE A CURRENT MEMBER OF. Those Arrowmen without a current Lodge affiation should not wear a flap but instead wear the Arrow pin suspended from the right pocket flap button. As an alternative, the Founders Award, the 85th Anniversary, or the Order of the Arrow Service Award may be worn, ONE AT A TIME instead of the standard Arrow Pin
• Temporary Insignia: ONE temporary patch or a temporary patch with "segments" not to exceed the dimensions of the right pocket are to be worn on the field uniform. A patch suspended from the right pocket button of Boy Scout/Varsity Scout uniforms are considered as "sewn on" for proper uniforming. "Temporary insignia" is defined by the BSA as special insignia for participating in unit, District, Council or national events or programs. NAYLE/NYLT, Philmont, and other leadership development training, along with National Camping School/staff emblems are considered "temporary insignia" by the BSA. Previous rank, service stars and pins are NOT to be worn on the pocket.
• A special "Recruiter" strip may be worn below the right pocket by members of local Councils that authorizes the wearing of such a strip. In other local Councils, no other strips or patches should be worn below the right pocket.

The activity uniform (right side) is worn during travelling or other occasions in which the field uniform would not be appropriate wear. The Wood Badge is NOT worn with this uniform; however, a small pin denoting the rank of the Scout may be worn on the left side below the words "Boy Scout" or the Universal Emblem as shown (there are two versions of the shirts which were made:
one version has the words "Boy Scout" or "Varsity" below the Universal emblem or the special BSA emblem; another version does not have any lettering below the emblems).

I have seen Wood Badgers wear the small Wood Badge beads and axe-log combination pin in gold below the "Boy Scout" emblem and words.

Not shown on either illustration is the items worn on the right shoulder. From top to bottom:

• U.S. Flag emblem. The US Flag emblem is an OPTIONAL item for the BSA's uniforms, and newer uniforms have the emblems pre-sewn onto the shirts. The older uniforms had the flag detached. No other nation's flag emblem is to be worn in the place of the US flag emblem; and only the BSA version of the US flag emblem (with the blue border and the flag looking like below) is to be worn with official uniforms
  
  This is the official BSA US Flag emblem...the only one which should be worn on our uniforms.
• Patrol emblem. Patrol emblems are worn by patrol members. Adult Scouters should NOT wear Patrol emblems except during Basic training, additional training experiences and Wood Badge, for adults do not belong to patrols with the exception of while participating in specific training periods and in the case of Wood Badge, until the Scouter has received his or her Wood Badge.
• Quality emblem: The Quality Unit, District, Council and Region emblems may be worn by those members that have attained Quality status during the present or previous year. Only ONE such Quality (either unit, district, council, or region) emblem may be worn at any one time. If a unit becomes part of a Quality District, the unit emblem is replaced by the Quality District emblem. Likewise, if the Council becomes a Quality Council, and authorizes members of the Council to wear the Quality Council emblem, the Quality District emblem is replaced by the Quality Council emblem. Both youth and adult members of the Quality unit, district, council or region may wear the Quality emblem during the year in which Quality status has been earned.

Nothing else is worn below the single Quality Unit emblem.

Every Scout should have a uniform, either the current "Centennial" uniform, the legacy uniform as illustrated above or one of the older versions. They are plentiful...one can obtain a Scout uniform for less than the retail price through several methods. Every Scouter should set the positive example and wear as complete a uniform as he or she can, either as illustrated above or one of the older uniforms, during all Scouting activities and events and programs in which Scouts may be present, with or without uniforms. Scouts -- kids -- take their cues from us, the adults of the movement. If we show up with sloppy uniforms or uniforms with insignia not in the right places, they will do likewise and will wonder why we get "bent out of shape" when we correct their uniform problems!

Parents or Scouts with concerns about "where things go" on the uniform can look in the first section of the Scout Handbook for full-color line drawings showing where everything should go. They can also ask their Scoutmaster or Commissioner. Or you can post a question.

The BSA's Insignia Guide is a publication which contains information on many of these badges and insignia; check also with your local Council for the wearing of insignia and items which come in conflict with the information presented within this unofficial online guide and within the Insignia Guide. In many cases, your local Council may not be aware of the wearing of a particular item -- its hard to keep up with well over 2000 pieces of BSA insignia and uniforming options !!!

Here's hoping that your Scout or Troop's Scouting experiences are positive and grand!

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