Previous page: Additional Opportunities
Eagle Required Merit Badges
The Eagle rank requires nine elective merit badges and 12 specific merit badges to be earned; for some an either/or choice is allowed. Starting with earning the Star rank, merit badges -- including the Eagle required merit badges — need to be earned. (When the Life rank is earned, the scout will have at least seven required and eleven total merit badges completed.) The Eagle required merit badges are:
- First Aid
- Citizenship in the Community
- Citizenship in the Nation
- Citizenship in the World
- Communications
- Personal Fitness
- Emergency PreparednessFootnote — or — Lifesaving
- Environmental Science
- Personal Management
- Swimming — or — Hiking — or — Cycling
- Camping
- Family Life
The First Aid and Swimming merit badges have requirements that are linked to rank advancement. Many scouts earn these badges at their first Boy Scout summer camp or at a merit badge event. The Camping merit badge includes requirements that scouts earn during troop campouts (including camping for a total of 20 nights). Most scouts who are in a troop with an active camping and summer camp program can complete the Camping merit badge during their second or third year in Boy Scouts.
A portion of these badges are challenging and are often appropriate for older scouts. For example, Family Life, Personal Fitness, and Personal Management require the scout to set goals and track his progress over a period of several months. The three Citizenship badges (Community, Nation, and World) require a scout to understand government and his role as a citizen.
The Eagle-required badges teach life skills that a scout will carry with him into adulthood. A scout may gain the greatest benefit if he waits until he is more mature to work on the most challenging Eagle badges.
- ...Footnote
- Note that the Emergency Preparedness merit badge requires the First Aid merit badge to be earned.
Previous page: Additional Opportunities
Next page: The Merit Badges
|
Order the parents and new leaders guide to Boy Scouting Inside this quick reference you'll learn: how to get started (for the boy, parent, and leader), about significant requirements, how to earn merit badges, to prepare for overnighters and summer camps, what to wear on the uniform, about the boy-led patrols, how to volunteer, steps to complete the Eagle, and lots more! Order the Book Now |
