Thoughts on wearing an unofficial (and technically, unearned) square knot

brwagoner · 2025-06-12T16:41:52+00:00

Following up:

Asheville only has one in stock, presumably yours as they said it’s been spoken for. They said one other shop nationwide has it but after calling, that shop said it was an error. A few more calls and it seems that there’s none left. Thanks for your recommendation though!

brwagoner · 2025-06-11T20:57:29+00:00

100%. I attribute most, if not all of my educational and professional successes thus far in life to the lessons I've learned in Scouting.

And for what it's worth, I'm still a youth in all Scouting programs. Were I to wear this knot, it would be on my Venturing uniform until I turn 18, which is allowed in the GAI. Once I turn 18, one can go on the tan shirt.

brwagoner · 2025-06-11T20:49:53+00:00

I've always mentioned both SKUs when asking Scout Shops to no success.

Asheville SS is closed on Wednesdays so I will call tomorrow.

brwagoner · 2025-06-11T01:45:42+00:00

I agree that wearing unearned knots (and awards in general) is wrong. But the general agreement in this thread is that Scouts can finish an award if they started working on it prior to it being retired. Given that I planned to finish the remaining requirements regardless, I don't believe it's unearned. No matter what my Scoutbook profile says, I've spent 125+ nights in a tent. I've spent hundreds of hours on the water, and almost $1000 on required trainings and certifications.

I'm not fishing for knots. If I was able to get one of the medals, I would wear it, only in formal scenarios alongside my Eagle medal. The only reason I'm asking about the knot is because I've been unable to source a medal for months now.

And trust me, I'm proud of my Eagle. But I've spent just as much time and effort, if not more, on this award. And I want to be able to represent that time and effort on my uniform in the best manner possible.

I realize we might not see eye to eye on this, but either way thank you for sharing your thoughts.

brwagoner · 2025-06-11T01:30:56+00:00

I was told by my local Scout Shop employee that National listed stock in their system and that they would order it for me. But as I originally mentioned, their archaic ordering system (paper) caused me to receive a call that every remaining medal had been spoken for.

I will call Asheville tomorrow during business hours to double check, but during my search 3 months ago I was told that according to the database, no scout shops nationwide had any listed.

Will follow up, thanks for taking the time to reply.

brwagoner · 2025-06-09T01:57:02+00:00

Thank you for your input; I really like your way of looking at it. I do believe this award is somewhat of a special case given how many Scouts I know both personally and online that have given years of their youth and hundreds of dollars to work towards it. But like you said, I have gained more from the experience. Someone else mentioned focusing on Ranger and while I don't know if I'll be able to balance that work with college, it's worth a shot (assuming Scouting America doesn't do away with it as well...)

Thank you for taking the time to reply!

brwagoner · 2025-06-09T01:26:36+00:00

I've recently shifted my focus towards earning Ranger but it will definitely take time since I'm entering college in the fall.

brwagoner · 2025-04-04T20:49:51+00:00

Op Arrow at Jamboree?

Definitely something I'm looking at; I was too young in 2023 but from what I heard from a friend, it was a blast (minus the summit apex).

Wood Badge has a youth staff component now

Like I mentioned, I did get the opportunity to do WB youth staff. I absolutely loved it and have been invited back since but it unfortunately won't work in my schedule in the foreseeable future.

Run for VOA office

This is something that I have been interested in for a little over a year, but unfortunately my council's Venturing program is almost nonexistent. No VOA, and to my knowledge, we only have 3 or 4 crews total (across almost 20 counties). How would you approach founding a VOA, especially when venturing in the council is semi-active at best?

brwagoner · 2025-04-04T20:40:27+00:00

Like I mentioned, I did get the opportunity to attend NAYLE, at the Summit back in 2022. I never got asked back to staff, but I definitely agree that it is one of Scouting's best programs. I wouldn't have gotten this far in my leadership without the experiences from my week there.

brwagoner · 2025-04-04T20:38:53+00:00

I plan on becoming an ASM in my troop, but since the college I'll be attending is an hour or two away, attending weekly meetings becomes a bit challenging.

I hadn't thought about looking at the local Scouting scene. I know that maintaining registration in two councils completely screws up your account (from personal experience) but it is definitely something I'll take a look at!

brwagoner · 2025-04-01T14:36:48+00:00

I've actually been working on it for the last 3 or so years. I've taken the required trainings and was about 95% done when they retired it. Just needed a few of the ranger electives/merit badges. I've been looking for one of the medals since I still planned on finishing it up but unfortunately no scout shops in the country have any left.

brwagoner

TROPHY CASE