Hi folks,

It has been suggested that this presidential election year would be a good time to do the Citizenship in the Nation merit badge.  I agree whole-heartedly. 

A merit badge is a lot of fun.  It can entail a lot of work.  But failure to follow this sequence can invalidate all of the work done on the badge.  Don’t blow it – follow these steps. This is written with the idea of working the merit badge at T324's troop meetings, but the general process is THE process for merit badges throughout the BSA.

1. Get a blue card from the Advancement Coordinator (Chuck) and get the Scoutmaster (Bear or Christina)  to sign it.
   
2. Talk to the Advancement Coordinator (Chuck) to get a list of counselors – subject matter experts who have specialized knowledge and are willing to help you.  (In this case, it's me (Ray).)
   
3. At a meeting in the near future, I will explain what is expected and will start helping you to meet the requirements. At this point, you should discuss any work that you have already started or completed.  In general, it’s best to wait until you’ve spoken with your counselor before starting any work.
   
4. Most of our discussions will be at the Troop Meetings. If we need to have a conversation by email, then make sure that every email is also CCed to your parent and to the Scoutmaster. If by phone, then make sure the call is made in the presence of your parent, and is done while on speaker. We will NOT use social media channels, including (but not limited to) Facebook, IM, Instagram, or anything else. If in person, it will be at a troop meeting; if a meeting outside of a troop meeting is necessary, your parent must be present, and any meeting will be in a public place.
   
5. Once you have a counselor (for this one, that's me) and understand what you need to do, get to it!  Read the pamphlet for the badge (see the end of this blog entry) and ask the counselor if you have any questions as to what you need to do. Don’t waste your time or the counselor’s time: complete all requirements exactly as directed in the pamphlet – for example, if it says, “show or demonstrate”, that’s what you need to do, you cannot just talk about it.
   
6. Contact the counselor again to be tested on each requirement to make sure that you know your stuff and can do/have done everything required.
   
7. Get the requirements initialed and the blue card signed by the counselor, and then go talk with your Scoutmaster about it.  Make a copy of the blue card for your records, and then give it to the Advancement Coordinator. 
   
8. Get your badge at the next Court of Honor!

If you wish to take this badge, go to the Troop Google Drive and download the Citizenship in the Nation Pamphlet.   I looked all through the pamphlet and saw nothing to prohibit me from scanning it and posting it, so I did.