Boy/Varsity Scout Policy Other Army Youth Certificate

I have received and am still getting inquiries about the Army's Youth Certificate of Recognition...it was new to me when I built this page, so I contacted the Army's program manager for the Recognition project, Pat Leathem, who works at the Army's Recruiting Command in my hometown (Fort Knox, Kentucky).

I asked Pat seven questions, and she was kind enough to give me some interim answers (some of them she is still researching and others she didn't know about because she didn't know that the Scouting programs have changed so much; I have updated information she and others have provided to me since my original phone call to her several years back).

Here's the questions I asked her, her answers (in italics) and some short discussion:

1. What is the certificate for? Our phonecon this morning indicated that this was something "just for Eagle Scouts" however, I seem to get the impression that this could be presented to just about anyone -- youth or adult, volunteer or professional, Boy Scout, Varsity Scout, Venturer (Venturers are male and female, the only part of the BSA's program which has female youth members...their highest award is called the Silver Award...we don't have Explorers any more).

Most of the U.S. Army Youth Certificates of Recognition are awarded to Boy Scouts upon achieving the rank of Eagle. The certificates are presented at the scout's Eagle Court of Honor. But the Certificates themselves were not designed specifically for BSA Eagle Scouts. They are also presented to Girl Scouts upon receiving the Gold Award.

I will be happy to investigate use of the Certificates as awards for Venturers and will advise you and the BSA of my findings. NOTE: Yes, it may also be awarded to Silver and Quartermaster Award holders.

2. What is the turnaround time for such certificates (I understand that the turnaround time is going to depend upon mission at the local Army/Army Reserve recruiting office)?

Yes, but we're hoping the current turnaround time will improve with our efforts to inform scout leaders and parents about the correct way to request the Certificates. For a very long time, requests for Youth Certificates of Recognition were mailed to the Pentagon. The person in the Pentagon forwarded the request on to me here at the US Army Recruiting Command HQ at Fort Knox, KY, where the U.S. Army Youth Certificates of Recognition program is managed. I would then forward the requests back to the local battalion--in the same area as the request originated. In the past, this Command has issued letters and notices in attempts to inform scout leaders to contact their local battalions. But only until lately have we made significant progress toward resolving the problem. While I cannot give you a definite turnaround time, 4 to 6 weeks notice to the local U.S. Army Recruiting Battalion should be appropriate. NOTE: The program is administered through each Army Recruiting Brigade, so the process and the time frame is much shorter.

Can a Scoutmaster, Coach or Advisor show up with the information in hand and walk out with a certificate?

No. U.S. Army Recruiting Battalions are busy offices. Personnel are not usually able to "drop what they are doing" to fill a Certificates request. The certificate itself must be printed. Also, all requests must be made in writing.

To find the nearest U.S. Army Recruiting Battalion address, scout leaders need only visit the BSA website or http://www.goarmy.com/ycr/

What information does he or she need to provide?

Scout/Venturer's full name
Date of Scout's Eagle Court of Honor (or equal Venturing/Sea Scouting award ceremony)
Requester's name
Is requester scout leader or parent?
Requester's phone number and e-mail (if possible)
Address where certificate is to be sent (no Post Office Box); include zip code
Would you like a recruiter present at the ceremony, if possible? (subject to mission)

3. Can adults receive the certificate and if so, under what circumstances (a frequent question is "We have an Army retiree who is a *********** with our unit and we want to give him/her some sort of recognition. Can we use this as a source of recognition?)

Yes, they may, but I don't know under what circumstances. I will relay the details of our conversation and the rationale behind this question to my supervisor. I will contact you with an answer later this week. No, there are other recognition however which can be provided to such individuals.

4. Is this certificate IN LIEU OF or IN ADDITION TO the "letter of commendation" sent from various military officials to a new Eagle Scout, Silver Venturer, Ranger, or Gold Girl Scout?

No. This is one of the U.S. Army's Youth Programs. As you mentioned in our conversation, military officials sometimes send letters of commendation, such as Star Notes...

(note: a "Star Note" is personal correspondence sent to an individual on letterhead with the "star flag" of that general or admiral. A "Star Note" is considered a special form of correspondence and is usually written in the General or Admiral's handwriting or with additional comments hand-written by the General or Admiral)

...to scouts, but those are done by the military individual on a case-by-case basis. The U.S. Army Youth Certificate of Recognition Program is entirely different.

Can an Eagle or Silver still receive both a letter, say, from the Commanding General of the 18th Airborne Corps in addition to this certificate?

Yes.

5. Is there a special badge or patch which goes along with the certificate (I can answer this, but in background, some Scouters thought that The Army's new logo which appeared on the BSA site (a patch with a white star and the lettering "US Army") was a part of the Certificate/Award and were confused; I just need a head nod here...*smiling*)?

Not at this time, and based on our conversation, not anytime in the furture, either (sadly). NOTE: No. The certificate is the only item from the Recruiting Command.

(The US Army Recruiting Command developed a nice-looking lapel pin for Scouts to wear upon receiving the Certificate; the pin cannot be worn on the BSA field uniform nor on the Venturing uniform...they didn't make the pins, so the pins are not available from the US Army Recruiting Command).

6. Can an Eagle Scout or Silver Venturer receive one of these certificates "after the fact" (yeah, there's some kids' families who want to "get it all in" before the kid leaves Scouting and since they "missed out", they want to know if it's possible to backdate the certificate)?

It depends. If a situation exists like the one you described--parents requesting the certificate 3 years after the fact to have a memento of their son's scouting years--I don't think so. But if there is a situation in which the scout leader was unaware of the program and the scout's Eagle Court had been held during the previous week, I don't see a problem.

There is also the possibility that any Eagle at any time is entitled to this award. I'll need to check into this further. No. Only current Eagles and Silver/Quartermaster Award holders may be presented with the certificate.

7. Can we have an Army Recruiter or representative to present the Certificate to the Scout or Venturer during the award ceremony (Court of Honor for Scouts; Bridge of Honor or Silver Award Ceremony for Venturers)?

You MAY; I don't know if you CAN. The recruiter's availability will vary from battalion to battalion and will depend on the battalion's mission.

Can we have an Army Recruiter to "pitch the program" during a Roundtable or other other training event?

See above.

Do we contact the Army Recruiting Battalion or Brigade office to arrange for such events?

The local US Army Recruiting Battalion.

Thanks to ALL of you who posted and asked me about this special award. As I receive additional information, I'll be happy to share it with everyone and also share it with both the U.S. Scouting Service Project and with those online through my website!! (this information has been updated as of December 2009.)

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