Kathy sent in this question:
We have a boy who just transferred in from another pack. He is currently in fifth grade. He was in a pack for fourth grade but never earned his webelos badge. I know new boys joining in fifth grade can start working on their AOL without completing the webelos badge. But I’m finding conflicting information because he was a scout in fourth grade as to whether he needs to finish webelos too. We are only a few month to crossover so I don’t think he will be able to finish both.
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The Webelos badge is not required for Arrow of Light.
It was before 2014, but it is not anymore. That might be the cause of the confusion. Sometimes people work from memory rather than checking the current requirements. But the requirements for Arrow of Light are:
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Get a Scout shirt- Be active in your Webelos den for at least six months since completing the fourth grade or for at least six months since becoming 10 years old.
- Complete each of the four required adventures.
- In addition to the four required adventures listed above, complete at least one elective adventure of your den’s or family’s choosing (for a total of at least five adventures).
- With your parent, guardian, or other caring adult, complete the exercises in the pamphlet How to Protect Your Children From Child Abuse: A Parent’s Guide.
- Earn the Cyber Chip award for your age. (The Cyber Chip portion of this requirement may be waived by your parent or guardian if you do not have access to the internet.)
As you can see, there is no requirement to earn the Webelos badge.
For more about the requirement and check off sheets for the adventures and the badges, see my Webelos and Arrow of Light page.
Can AoL still be worn on the Boy Scout Uniform? Since it is now stand alone, I would expect not, but not sure.
John – I don’t think there’s been a change on that but hopefully someone will answer who knows.
Interesting, however I disagree. In the den leader information it says “All Cub Scouts, except for those boys who join Cub Scouting for the first time in fifth grade, must earn their Webelos rank prior to earning Arrow of Light. The requirements for Webelos and Arrow of Light may be worked on at the same time but the tenure requirements for each must be met and the awards must be earned and presented sequentially.”
I found this in the den leader materials on cubscouts.org that is currently online. I do not know if this was changed in the revamp of the program, but I haven’t seen that it was. Here is the link to the page: https://cubscouts.org/library/welcome-to-arrow-of-light-cub-scouting/
Randi, that is good to know. I know our leadership was unsure on this. Thank you for sharing it.
The Webelo handbook states that and the Cub Scout Leader Handbook in the Advancement section under Webelos Advancement:
A child is Cub Scouting who is the 4th grade must earn the Webelos rank badge before working on the Arrow of Light.
It’s also listed on the official webage: https://www.scouting.org/programs/cub-scouts/what-cub-scouts-earn/the-advancement-trail/
Fourth Grade – Webelos Requirements
Fourth graders work toward the Webelos rank. The Webelos rank is earned by completing six adventures as described below. Scouts who are in Cub Scouts in fourth grade must complete the Webelos rank before working towards their Arrow of Light.