|
|
Leader Award
Knots Uniform Display
|
|
|||||
How Are These Awards Worn?
The square knots illustrated above (and others
which are presented by local Councils or by other national Scouting
organizations) are worn only on the field uniform of the
Cub, Scout, Venturer or Scouter earning/receiving the award. As a
general rule, the knots are NOT worn when the medal, medallion or device is
worn...the knots are designed for informal, everyday wear by the Scout or
Scouter. Using common sense, however, it is OK to wear both the knots
and the medals if you only own one uniform, although this would be considered
in poor taste. Also considered poor taste is the wearing of more than
15 square knots, even though the uniform shirt can accommodate up to 18
emblems. This has NOT stopped many Scouters that have received more
than this number in wearing the ones that they choose to. There is NO wearing sequence for the square
knots; each Scout or Scouter can decide to wear or not wear the
knot(s), can wear a few or all of the ones he or she has received or earned,
and in the order and manner on the uniform that they choose to do so.
However, in order to provide some form of uniformity, the BSA's Uniform
and Insignia Committee came up many years back with a wearing arrangement for
the knot emblems on the field uniform. It is illustrated below:
The knots are worn centered on the left side of the
uniform, above the left pocket and in rows of three with the bottom edge of
the knot emblem(s) touching the top edge of the pocket flap. Subsequent rows of
knots are placed above the initial set, in rows of three and again, at the
discretion of the wearer. Another Scouter wrote me and suggested an
alternative way of wearing the square knot insignia:
In his case, the knot emblems are worn flush left as
you see the left pocket of the uniform, above the left pocket and in rows of
three with the bottom edge of the knot emblem(s) touching the top edge of the
pocket flap. Subsequent rows of knots are placed above the initial set, in
rows of three and again, at the discretion of the wearer as shown. He stated
he does it this way so that he does not have to rearrange the emblems as he
receives or earns a subsequent award. Either method may be used, although the first one
was published as part of the BSA's Insignia Control Guide in 1973. In the past, professional (career) Scouters did NOT
wear volunteer training awards or other awards for anything other than
achievement and training. However, a message from then-Chief Scout
Executive Ben Love to the professional cadre in the early 90s reversed that
"unwritten policy" and encouraged professional members of Scouting
to wear all of the square knots that they are entitled to wear. A
longstanding restriction in allowing exceptional professionals to receive the
Silver Beaver and District/Division Award of Merit Awards as well as several
other service awards was also lifted. Professionals and Professional-technicians may ONLY
receive service and tenure awards based upon their VOLUNTEER SERVICE TO YOUTH
and not as a direct result of their professional service to a District or
local Council. New applications for both the District/Division Award of
Merit, Silver Beaver, and the Young Award all now state this clearly on the
application. If a professional or professional-technician
is nominated for a BSA service or tenure award, in addition to the approval
of the local Council's Scout Executive, the award must also be approved by
the Deputy Chief Scout Executive at the National Office, BSA. Venturers wearing a "Distinctive Dress
Identity" (DDI) should wear the knot emblems only on the kelly green
field uniform in the same manner. It will look very funny to wear
emblems with a tan background on the kelly green uniform, but the BSA is no
longer creating special versions of the most common knot awards with kelly
green, blue or white backgrounds for the Venturer uniforms. In response to
this, some firms/organizations have cropped up to provide unofficial versions
of those knot emblems featuring white, dark blue, or green backgrounds. While
those emblems are NOT approved officially, with permission from a
local Council's Scout Executive, they may be worn by those Scouters and
Venturers who qualify for wearing the existing tan backgrounded awards. |
|
||||||
