I became a Cub Scout in (year). I later became a Boy Scout in (year) and now I'm a Venturer leader. Can I wear the old Cub Scout and Boy Scout year pins on my shirt? What color of the "backs" do I wear now that I'm a Venturing leader...green like in Boy Scouts to match the shirt or red for the old Exploring color? I was an old Explorer Scout and now I'm a Venturer. Do I wear two separate year pins with red backs to represent the year I spent in Explorers and the year now spent in Venturing? Can I wear my Girl Scout year pins on my Boy Scout uniform - the pins are different, you know?


If you were a Cub Scout, Boy Scout, Varsity Scout, Explorer (when we had Exploring), or Sea Scout/Explorer and are now an adult, you are welcome to wear the appropriate year pin (with the color backing representing the program you served in as a youth) on your adult uniform shirt. There are six "color backings" (plastic discs with holes in the center for the post of the pin to go through) for the "year" or tenure pins:

ORANGE for Tiger Cub YOUTH SERVICE
YELLOW for Cub Scout YOUTH SERVICE
GREEN for Boy Scout YOUTH SERVICE
BROWN for Varsity Scout YOUTH SERVICE
RED for Exploring/Sea Exploring/Sea Scouting/Venturing YOUTH SERVICE
LIGHT BLUE for ALL ADULT BSA SERVICE (regardless of program and whether or not you are a volunteer or professional)

This means that, for instance, an adult who served as a Cub Scouting Den Leader, can NOT wear a year pin with a YELLOW backing on it to represent his ADULT service; but he CAN wear a Cub Scout year pin with the yellow backing on it to represent the three or four years he served as a Cub Scout.

Tiger Cubs have their OWN YEAR PIN, so there is no need to "roll up" their one year as a Tiger Cub into Cub Scouting, even though the Tiger Cub Scouting program has been incorporated into the Cub Scouting program. The same goes for the relationship between Varsity Scouting and Boy Scouting. The Tiger Cub year pin should be presented upon the completion and graduation from Tiger Cub to Cub Scout.

Explorers and adult Exploring leaders whom were "converted" to Ventures wear only ONE service star to represent their service in EITHER program, not two separate pins with red backings. Learning for Life/Explorers under the new relationship between their Corporation and the BSA, do NOT WEAR YEAR PINS currently (this applies to both adults and youth participants in Learning for Life).

Former Girl Scouts MAY or MAY NOT wear their six-pointed year pin(s) on the Boy Scout field uniform to represent their adult and/or youth service as a part of that organization. It depends upon APPROVAL FROM YOUR COUNCIL'S SCOUT EXECUTIVE and nobody else. A District Executive CANNOT give you this permission; nor can you just "go ahead and wear it" without getting this permission; it must come from the Council's Scout Executive. Some Councils say "sure, the backings are different colors and the design is different so there's no confusion"; others say, "NO WAY AT ALL, this is Boy Scouting!" So ASK FIRST.

The year pin has a specific place to go on the shirt. Check out the website and find where it goes, or get a copy of the Insignia Guide and see where it belongs. The pin does NOT belong on the pocket flap of the shirt, nor does it belong on the pocket itself. And if you are concerned about the pins "scraping your skin" or "pulling chest hairs" (as they do me), you might want to read about what to do about that "scraping or pulling."


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