Merit Badge Sashes
One of the oldest parts of the Boy Scout uniform, the merit badge sash is the place to display merit badges AND more recently activity or special event patches and insignia.
The merit badge sash is worn FORMALLY ONLY by the Boy Scout and Varsity Scout. Male Venturers and Sea Scouts have an option to wear the sash; female Venturers and Sea Scouts may NOT wear the sash since technically, they cannot earn merit badges (more on that down further on this page).
On this page are answers to the commonly asked questions dealing with merit badge sashes, who wears them, when, and why/why not.
What IS a Merit Badge Sash?
A merit badge sash is a piece of olive drab cloth (matches the color of the standard uniform pants). Former Explorers and current Venturers wear a piece of kelly green cloth (which used to match the uniform pants and now just matches the shirt).
The sash is worn suspended from the RIGHT shoulder and downward at a slant as illustrated below:
The merit badge sash is worn during formal activities and events, and not during Troop meetings or campouts. A "Formal activity" is an awards ceremony, a Blue and Gold banquet, a Troop Court of Honor or Team Awards ceremony, a recognition dinner staged by a unit, District, Council or Region, and special activities which lends itself to wearing the merit badge sash. Serving as an escort for a special guest during a dinner is a good example; serving as an usher is not. Serving as a accolade may be. The key is that the sash physically gets in the way of doing anything except looking good...therefore, it should only be worn during those times in which your role is purely "one in which you're looking good" and not doing a lot of physical exertion. Flag details and color guards are NOT "special occasions" since the sash tends to fall or slip off at the most inappropriate times. This is also why the merit badge sash is NOT worn during summer camps, regular Troop or Team meetings or any other time other than FORMAL SPECIAL OCCASIONS.
Only one sash may be worn at any time.
What Goes and Doesn't Go on a Sash?
Merit Badges goes on the sash. There are more than 100 merit badges issued by the Boy Scouts of America at any given time, and no more than 130 of them. Very few Scouts earn more than 50 merit badges and those who do earn more than fifty normally do not earn all 100 or so of them before they turn 18 years of age. There are plenty of exceptions, and I personally know of several Eagle Scouts whom have earned all of the merit badges available to them at the time of their registration as Scouts.
Merit badges are one-inch diameter badges illustrating a skill, hobby, vocation or occupation. More information on merit badges, including areas in which they are to be earned in as well as full color scans or illustrations of them can be found at meritbadge.com
Merit badges ONLY are worn on the FRONT of the sash. On the back of the sash, additional merit badges may be sewn and temporary insignia may be sewn. "Temporary insignia" is defined by the BSA as special insignia for participating in unit, District, Council or national events or programs. Previous rank, service stars and pins are NOT to be worn on the sash.
Merit badges may be worn in any order that the Scout chooses, and not necessarily in alphabetical nor "required-non required" order. Most Scouts choose to wear merit badges in the order in which they have earned them.
And now...a Word About the Gals and Merit Badges
The merit badge program is primarily a Boy Scout Program feature. Boy and Varsity Scouts as well as male Venturers and Sea Scouts use the merit badge program in order to advance using the standard Boy Scout advancement program. Additionally, special awards such as the William T. Hornaday and Scout Lifeguard require some merit badge work if not complete merit badges to be earned.
The BSA allows female members of Venturing and Sea Scouting units to complete requirements toward merit badges and to certify their completion as part of their completion or earning of the Hornaday, Lifeguard BSA or other special awards. However, female youth members of Venturing or Sea Scouting units may NOT wear merit badge sashes nor wear merit badges on the official uniforms.
Several former Exploring Advisors/Skippers like myself have awarded merit badges to female members of their units. We documented the merit badge completion and instead of turning the (blue) merit badge application card into the local Council office for recordposting as we would do for male youth, we retained the cards and photocopied them as attachments to Exploring Achievement Award and other award applications.
Now that Venturing has taken the place of Exploring, many Skippers and Advisors of Venturing units with female members willing to earn the merit badges needed to earn the Bronze or Silver Hornaday Medal or other awards are doing the same things that myself and other Advisors and Skippers have done before. This IS NOT RECOMMENDED BY THE BSA; the BSA's stance is still that female youth members CAN NOT EARN BOY SCOUT ADVANCEMENT (to include merit badges).
For this reason, females may not wear merit badge sashes of any kind with the official BSA uniforms (including the kelly green Venturing uniform nor the white or blue Sea Scout uniforms.)
How Many Merit Badges Are Worn in a Row?
On the wide sash, three merit badges should be worn in a row as shown here;
on the narrow sash, two merit badges should be worn in a row as shown.
Settummanque!
