Yesterday evening, I got a phone call from a young man in my son’s boy scout troop. He asked if I would be a part of his Eagle board of review. This is a very flattering job to be asked to do, and it is truly an honor to do so. For those familiar with the BSA and what it takes to earn the rank of Eagle, I don’t need to elaborate.
For those not familiar with the program, it merits a bit of discussion. First, understand that there are six other ranks a boy must move through in order to get to the doorstep of Eagle. The first four (Scout, Tenderfoot, Second Class, First Class) are all based upon learning scout skills like knots, first aid, camp cooking, pioneering (aka lashing), and pitching a tent. I sort of think of those as the “enlisted man” ranks.
Once a boy gets to First Class, the objective changes from learning skills to leadership, service, and teaching those skills to others. A properly-run boy scout program has the adults supervising while the boys run things. It allows for letting the boys fail with the adults just making sure nothing dangerous occurs. It is amazing how many life lessons a little failure can deliver.
So, the second tier of ranks (Star, Life, and Eagle) are akin to “officer ranks.” These are the boys who plan meetings and outings, teach the younger boys the scout skills they need, and ensure that it is a fun learning experience for all the boys.
Leadership is a large component of earning the rank of Eagle, but not the only one. A boy must have earned a minimum of 21 merit badges, including a group of core required badges, which are generally the most difficult to earn. These include three citizenship badges, conservation-related badges, first aid, several physical fitness badges, a badge on personal finance, and a badge about responsibility to the family. Some of these have long-term tracking of day-to-day activity involved.
Finally, to earn the rank of Eagle, the boy must plan and execute a service project that meets a minimum number of people-hours and benefits the community or the environment. If you have never seen a group of teenage boys working together for hours on end to clear brush, move rocks, build trail stairs, build a tortoise enclosure in 100-degree heat, all for free, and without complaining, then you should witness the cooperation of an Eagle project. But don’t expect an adult to be in charge here. This boy is the boss, calls the shots, and is responsible for the entire thing.
So, once all of that is finished, you have a young man who has developed good character, a work ethic, and has demonstrated commitment.  It should then come as no surprise that the following famous people are Eagle Scouts:
Henry Aaron, Neil Armstrong, Gerald Ford, Steve Fossett, Ellison Onizuka, Donald Rumsfeld, Steven Spielberg, and many many others.
I never earned the rank of Eagle (which is another discussion) but I do have tremendous respect for anyone who does. It is a very difficult road, and it is a road that can only be traveled by teenage boys. Since only about 2-5% of scouts ever reach the rank of Eagle, it is truly a remarkable achievement, and one that I am very honored to have been asked to play a role in that last step, the board of review. By the time the board adjourns, chances are excellent that there will be a newly-minted Eagle scout.