Monday, March 23, 2009

Service Stars

I posed this question to people in Twitter, but the format isn't very conducive to discussion or details so I felt a post here was in order.

How do you wear your Service Stars?

You see, despite 15 years in scouting, I've never been in a unit that really used them and I'd like to start rewarding the boys and leaders by recognizing their tenure in scouting. I think it's one more way to help someone receive recognition for their contribution to scouting; but is an important way to keep track of a person's scouting history. Scouting record keeping is kind of like keeping a journal and as I'm looking back through my history, I'm wishing I'd kept better records of my personal scouting career; and that our troop had a better history.

I'm clear on how they're worn If a medal or embroidered knot is worn, service stars are worn 3/8 inch above the medal or knot - centered on the pocket below the World Scouting Crest) and the colors (Gold backs for Cubs, Green for Boy Scouts, Brown for Varsity, Red for Explorers, Blue backs for Leaders). What I'm undecided about is how to divide up my scouting tenure and what pins/colors to wear.

The insignia guide says:
Service stars may be worn by all youth and adult members who have at least one year of tenure with the Boy Scouts of America. The stars are worn with the appropriate color background for the phase of Scouting in which the service was rendered. If an individual's primary registration is in one phase of Scouting and later in another, separate stars with the appropriate background and numerals may be worn simultaneously. Or, leaders may combine youth and adult tenure into one or two stars with blue background.


So which years of service are they recommending you combine and how? If using two stars, I presume one is for youth and one is for adult? But both are blue background?

Dividing up my almost 15 years in scouting I would have:
  • 4 years in Cubs (Gold)

  • 6 years in Boy Scouts (Green)

  • 2 years in Varsity (Brown)

  • 3 years as Adult Leader (Blue)


  • So I'm leaning towards just keeping them separate, and going with all 4 stars. But wondered what other Scouters do.

    3 comments:

    Shawn Cleary said...

    I would say that it doesn't really matter how you wear them, but you have the right to wear them. I only ask that you wear them all the time, so folks ask "What are those for?" and you can say "for dedication to scouting"....and say no more...

    Scoutsigns said...

    That is something I need to do, too. I tend to overlook them, since we did them at one point and they had a habit of never being seen again.

    Cub Scout 2
    Boy Scout 4
    Scouter 10+

    Howard G. Barnes said...

    it is exactly how I wear mine... diffrent numbers of course. But I wear mine ans an example, too many leaders and scouts will simply add the new service star... so a web II might have a gold 1,2,3, & 4 when they cross