A map of the trail. Official requirements live in the handbook and Scoutbook.
The joining rank. Learn the Oath, Law, motto, slogan, and Outdoor Code. Repeat the pledge, describe the patrol method, and show you can take part in a troop activity.
Camp basics: a patrol campout, a camp meal, knots, first aid for simple cuts and blisters, a fitness test, and the buddy system.
More trail time. Map and compass, a five-mile hike, cooking, swimming or the beginner swim test path, and service to others.
The outdoor foundation. Navigation, a longer hike or float, lashings, tools, nature, and leadership inside the patrol. Many troops treat First Class as “ready to lead.”
Six merit badges (four Eagle-required), service hours, and months as a troop leader — patrol leader, instructor, quartermaster, and the other youth positions.
Deeper leadership, more Eagle-required merit badges, and teaching younger scouts. The rank where an Eagle project starts to take shape.
21 merit badges with the required set, months in a leadership position, a service project planned and led by the scout, and a board of review. Eagle is a milestone, not the end of the troop.
Requirement wording changes. Use the current Scouts BSA Handbook and Scoutbook, not this page, as the record of what must be signed off.
