MARINE CORPS AIR STATION IWAKUNI, Japan -- Since its birth in 1910, the Boy Scouts of America has grown into one of the largest youth organizations in the U.S.
More than 110 million Americans have participated in the BSA since 1910.
This year marks the 100 year anniversary of Boy Scouting.
“I don’t think we’re really celebrating the scouts being in, I think we’re celebrating the scout masters who have been teaching us for 100 years,” said First Class Riley Attaway, 15, Troop 77.
The mission of the BSA is to train young boys in responsible citizenship, self-reliance and character development through participation in a wide range of outdoor activities, educational programs, and career-oriented programs in partnership with community organizations.
“Boy Scouts is supposed to teach character and teach a boy how to become a man,” said Eagle Scout Trevor Wentling, 17, Troop 77. “Not all boys get the most out of boy scouts and understand every single aspect that it teaches, but myself, I’ve learned so much about leadership and I’ve changed so much due to Boy Scouts.”
The BSA has a unique rank structure aimed toward teaching young boys leadership, respect and submission to authority at a young age.
The minimum age requirement to join the BSA is 10, and once a scout reaches the age of 18 he is considered a man and is no longer eligible to be a scout.
When a boy first joins the BSA, he is given the rank of scout, which is the lowest rank in the BSA.
In order to advance in ranks, a scout must meet all time-in-rank requirements for the next rank, and the scout must meet all merit badge requirements for the next rank, which are earned by being able to perform basic scouting skills such as knot tying, camping and navigation.
After advancing from a scout, scouts move up to the ranks of tenderfoot, second class, first class, star scout and life scout. Once a scout picks up the rank of life scout, has a total of 21 merit badges and the seven required Eagle Scout merit badges, he must do an Eagle Scout project to reach the rank of Eagle Scout.
An Eagle Scout is a rank only achieved by four percent of scouts.
An Eagle Scout project will benefit the community in some way for an extended period of time.
For the centennial year, The BSA has offered four historic merit badges this year that have not been given since the start of the BSA.
The four badges are Morse code, path finding, carpentry without the use of modern tools and stalking, which recently has been changed to tracking.
The BSA is also offering a centennial patch, which is a breakdown of five key scout principles: service, achievement, character, outdoors and leadership.
“You have to prove that you are the ideal scout in order to earn (this centennial badge),” said Wentling.
There’s also another centennial patch that scouts can earn by completing 100 miles in physical activities.
In order to earn this patch, scouts must swim five miles, bike 75 miles and run 20 miles.
Offering merit badges and centennial patches are just a small part of the 100-year celebration.
The BSA is hosting the 2010 National Scout Jamboree in Fort A.P. Hill, Va., where scouts from around the world will meet up for several days of fun activities, parades and scout camaraderie.
Since the organization is non-profit, troops usually have to raise funds to pay for events like the jamboree.
Troop 77 has been having bake sales and engaging in other community activities in order to raise funds for upcoming BSA events, and according to Wentling, the troop will raise whatever funds they need.
“Troop 77 is an awesome troop. They’ve been the honor troop now for seven years in a row. These boys act more like a family than a scout troop,” said Brandon Fisher, Troop 77 assistant scout master.
After recently completing summer camp and earning honor troop for the seventh year in a row, Troop 77 has a lot of changes to look forward to the rest of this year, including the departure foe college by Eagle Scout Wentling.
“(Boy Scouts) is an absolutely invaluable experience. It teaches boys to have ethics, morals and to work together as a team,” said Fisher. “It gives them an opportunity for leadership that’s not purely based on physical ability like sports.”
For more information about future events or participating in the Boy Scouts Far East Council, contact Brenda Wentling, Troop 77 committee chair, at 253-3505.