Leadership Positions

All Scouts will have leadership position requirements for scout ranks once they reach first class. This page will help navigate them through the process.

What are the position of responsibility requirements?

• Scout, Tenderfoot, Second Class and First Class: No position of responsibility requirements

• Star requirement 5: While a First Class Scout, a young person must serve actively for four months in one or more of the acceptable positions of responsibility listed in the next section. (Or they may carry out a Scoutmaster-approved leadership project to help the troop.)

  • Scouts BSA troop: Patrol leader, assistant senior patrol leader, senior patrol leader, troop guide, Order of the Arrow troop representative, den chief, scribe, librarian, historian, quartermaster, bugler, junior assistant Scoutmaster, chaplain aide, instructor, webmaster or outdoor ethics guide.

• Life requirement 5: While a Star Scout, a young person must serve actively for six months in one or more of the acceptable positions of responsibility listed in the next section. (Or they may carry out a Scoutmaster-approved leadership project to help the troop.)

  • Scouts BSA troop: Patrol leader, assistant senior patrol leader, senior patrol leader, troop guide, Order of the Arrow troop representative, den chief, scribe, librarian, historian, quartermaster, bugler, junior assistant Scoutmaster, chaplain aide, instructor, webmaster or outdoor ethics guide.

• Eagle Scout requirement 4: While a Life Scout, a young person must serve actively for six months in one or more of the acceptable positions of responsibility listed in the next section. (The Scoutmaster-approved leadership project is not an option for Eagle.)

  • Scouts BSA troop: Patrol leader, assistant senior patrol leader, senior patrol leader, troop guide, Order of the Arrow troop representative, den chief, scribe, librarian, historian, quartermaster, junior assistant Scoutmaster, chaplain aide, instructor, webmaster, or outdoor ethics guide.

Which positions count toward the requirements?

In Scouting, as in life, “responsibility” can take on a number of different forms. Not every young person needs to be a senior patrol leader or patrol leader. They can still take on responsibilities that help them grow.

In a Scouts BSA troop, there are 16 eligible positions of responsibility for Star and Life. For Eagle, there are 15 options within the troop and more in a crew or ship.

Having a number of eligible positions helps larger troops. In these troops, it would be impossible for each Scout to take a turn as senior patrol leader or assistant senior patrol leader. Multiple options also allows a Scout to find a role that interests them.

Two things to note about the positions listed above

• You won’t see assistant patrol leader listed here. It is not an approved position of responsibility for rank advancement.

• Bugler, while acceptable for the Star and Life ranks, is not an approved position of responsibility for the Eagle Scout rank.

Note: Guide to Advancement, topic 4.2.3.4.1, states that service in positions of responsibilities in provisional units, such as a jamboree troop or Philmont trek crew, does not count toward this requirement.

Leadership Interest Form - Please fill out the google form in this link if you are interested in a leadership position.