All Program Information Applying for Heroism Medals

I am seeking information on how one nominates someone for the Medal of Merit. I have found a number of web pages, including the one on US Scouting which all state what it is and what is required but NONE of them say how to nominate an individual or refer to any forms or process on how to get this award to someone. I had even spoken with one of the Local Council officials and they weren't sure how to go about it. The scout handbook which shows it in Awards and Recognition doesn't say how to go about getting it awarded. If I sound a little frustrated I am only be cause we have a young man in our troop whose actions I feel deserve consideration for the award. Any help that you may be able to provide would be very much appreciated.

(The awards themselves along with the square knot insignia representing them are illustrated on the Recognition awards section of the Badge and Uniform Site).

The nomination starts with the individual aware of the action. The individual does two things: first, obtains from the local BSA Council (or from the BSA's official website, at http://www.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/LifesavingAward.pdf) a copy of the Application for Lifesaving and Meritorious Service Awards. You can also get a copy of this PDF from the USSSP's website or from the Leaders' Online™) website.

The BSA asks that you use ONLY THE OFFICIAL FORM.

Here are the guidelines as listed on the application form; this is different and is the most current (as of 2014) which the BSA's National Court of Honor will accept through local Councils:

• 1.The official application must be used.


• Provide the full name of applicant to be honored, exactly as it should appear on the certificate if the award is granted.


• 3.Provide as much information as necessary using the space provided on this form. No additional documents should be attached.


• 4.All recognitions are reserved for members who were registered at the time of the action.


• 5.Lifesaving actions or meritorious actions performed as part of the duty of a trained lifesaver—i.e., doctor, nurse, lifeguard, first responder—will not be considered.


• 6.Boy Scouts of America employees are not eligible.


• 7.No case should be forwarded to the council without a signed statement from the applicant and an eyewitness.


• 8.No application may be considered after a lapse of 12 months of the incident.


• 9.Separate applications are required if more than one member is being recognized for recognition.


• 10.The council committee must investigate the case, interview the principals and witnesses, secure necessary signed statements, and make a recommendation based upon full knowledge of the facts. It is recommended that this committee meet within 30 days of the receipt of the recommendation.


• 11.The council committee bears the responsibility to write a summary of the event and complete the application in detail that pertains to the case.


• 12.Upon approval of the council committee and Scout executive, the council will submit this application electronically to awards@scouting.org.



If the Council feels that the materials do NOT merit a national award but is merit of recognition, they will authorize the Scout Executive to prepare a Certificate of Merit or a letter of merit (both which I have received in the past) and present it to the individual at an appropriate ceremony.

The Council Scout Executive's signature confirms the Council's recommendation that the award be approved -- the award may be upgraded from a Merit Medal to a Heroism Medal, or even the Honor Medal if, in the opinion of the Council's review committee, the situation merits such recognition. The Council Scout Executive then forwards the original and one copy to the BSA's National Court of Honor.

The National Court of Honor is composed of volunteers and two professionals which review all recommendations submitted to them from local Councils. Not only do they review all heroism and meritorious service awards, but they also review Silver Buffalo, Antelope, Beaver, and the Eagle Scout awards. Those awards are then approved, the certificate and medal is authorized, and are sent to the local Council within the next "Council pouch". Normally, the process at this level takes between two and four weeks. Sometimes, Roger, the National Court of Honor will request additional information from the local Council, which delays the award and is why I mentioned at the offset that your packet must be as complete as possible before you send it upwards. I have knowledge that some Merit Medal recommendations have taken longer than four months before approval.

As part of the review process at the National level, the BSA's Registration Service is involved to verify that the individual being recommended is a currently registered member of the BSA, since such awards are restricted to currently registered members of the BSA with no exceptions.

Finally, the award is presented by the Council to the Scout or Scouter involved during a Council or District award ceremony. There is no official recommended award ceremony, but I did provide a sample Heroism Award presentation script at the USSSP's site as well as to Leaders' Online™ site so that those desiring to provide a ceremony may do so.

Here's some additional information:

First, please use the official application and fill it out as completely as possible. Older versions of the application are no longer good; and since the new application must be emailed to the BSA National Court of Honor, the old attachments won't work.

Second, I can tell you that the National Court of Honor LOOKS CAREFULLY AT THE APPLICATIONS for all of the special awards and depending on the composition of the review committee, some will return the application back to the local Council to correct errors.

Hope this all helps out, and thanks for asking!

Settummanque!





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