Steve sent in this question about Eagle palms and merit badges:
In terms of earning Palms. Do MB’s earned before getting Eagle count towards Palms? The wording on the BSA site is unclear to me. My oldest will be 15 in July and has to be in his PL position for about 4 months to be able to SMC for his Star Rank. We were wondering about Palms since there are a few scouts, younger than he is who started BS from Cubs and have well over 20 MBs already. Thanks! Steve
About Eagle Palms and Merit Badges Earned Earlier
Thanks for the question Steve. The merit badges for the Eagle palms can be earned at any time since starting Scouts BSA. See this article about palms and merit badges for more information.
So all of those merit badges they are earning now can be used for palms later. For our Scouts it is not uncommon for them to have so many merit badges that as soon as they get one palm, they are just waiting for their additional three months in the troop to get their next.
Do you have a question about Scouting? Send it to me and I’ll do my best to answer it or put it on my site for others to give their solutions.
How to Earn Merit Badges
You can learn about sports, crafts, science, trades, business, and future careers as you earn merit badges. There are more than 100 merit badges. Any Scout may earn any merit badge at any time.
How to Earn Eagle Palms
Eagle palms represent additional recognition for an Eagle Scout who has stayed active in his or her unit. In order to receive this recognition, he or she must also continue to earn merit badges.
Recognizing Eagle Palms
A reader recently wrote to me with this question about recognizing Eagle palms:
My son is about to get his 17th Palm before he turns 18. Is there some type of ceremony to recognized this similar to the Eagle COH?
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