Eagle Scout inducted during flag retirement ceremony

On my honor I will do my best to do my duty to God and my country and to obey the Scout Law; to help other people at all times; to keep myself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight.

These words make up the oath for the Boy Scouts of America — a program which was founded in 1910 and is still to this day helping to change the lives of boys across the United States. Scouting provides a unique opportunity for boys to learn outdoor survival skills as well as knowledge about subjects such as computer science, government, and community service.

“It [scouting] is recognized by everybody who has ever paid attention as the most successful youth program ever invented and I think that is significant, the most successful,” Allen Bush, Assistant Scoutmaster, said.

Scouting begins for kids as young as six years old with Cub Scouts and at age 11 one qualifies to join the Boy Scouts. Beyond Boy Scout is a rank known as Eagle Scout. Boy Scouts have four ranks that they advance through their time as a scout. The first rank is scout then tenderfoot, followed by 2nd class and finally 1st class. By the time 1st class rank is reached one would be fully self sufficient in the wilderness and would be able to survive on their own.

“They learn first aid, they learn how to tie knots, they learn how to camp, they learn how to pitch tents, they learn how to cook, how to hike, how to swim, all sorts of things,” Bush said, “…He’s aware of wild life, he’s aware of plants like poison ivy that can cause problems, he’s aware of what to do in the case of storms and tornados and cold and hot. He aught to by that time know how to camp in the snow.”

Clay Caldwell is 18 years old and has put in the work to not only complete the Boy Scout program, but has completed all requirements to become an Eagle Scout.

On Monday a ceremony was held by the Blytheville Boy Scout Troop to retire Unserviceable Flags of our nation, however, this was not the only ceremony held that night. In front of friends, family, and fellow scout members Craig Fosburg over saw the ceremony that inducted Caldwell into the ranks of the Eagle Scouts.

“It has often been said that when a boy has finished, and become an Eagle, he has had an education through these merit badges that is often said to be equal to a college education,” Bush said

gwilliams@blythevillecourier.com