Square knot insignia
Square knot insignia | |||
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Square knot insignia are embroidered cloth patches that represent awards of the Scout associations throughout the world.
The Scout Association of the United Kingdom uses a "figure-eight" knot and many Scouting organizations of the Commonwealth countries follow suit. The World Organization of the Scout Movement uses military-style ribbons. The Boy Scouts of America a square knot made of colored ropes is depicted; the colors are generally dictated by the award the insignia is associated with.[1][2].
History
In the earliest days of the Scouting Movement military veterans were urged into service as Scoutmasters. The first Scout uniforms therefore resembled military uniforms. It was common for these veterans to wear their military decorations on their modified Boy Scout uniform — a national uniform was not to be developed until the early 1920s.[2]
Military tradition dictated that the actual medal from a military award was only worn on ceremonial occasions — at other times, it was replaced with a thin ribbon bar with the same ribbon style as found attached to the medal. This carried over to Scouting, whose awards were medals, similar to the military, but were most often worn as ribbons.
The first country to switch over from military ribbons to a unique parallel was the United Kingdom, which introduced its knot emblems in 1922.[3]
Boy Scouts of America
The Boy Scouts of America likewise moved away from allowing Scouters to wear military ribbons, but kept the style, introducing their own ribbons in place of medals in 1934. The BSA introduced its own square knot insignia in lieu of the military-style ribbons in 1947. The choice of the square knot as the common emblem was made by James E. West, who is said to have chosen it for its use as the knot associated with first aid, thereby reminding Scouts to continue to be of service to others.[2]
The first eight awards with square knot insignia in the BSA were the Eagle Scout Award, Quartermaster Award, Scouter's Training Award, Scouter's Key, Silver Beaver Award, Silver Antelope Award, Silver Buffalo Award, and Honor Medal.
Since the introduction of square knot insignia, over forty new awards have been added, then combined, and some retired. Currently, there are 32 nationally authorized square knot insignia representing various medals, medallions, certificates, plaques, and other awards.
There are a few cases of local Council-approved square knots and various popular unofficial or spoof knots.
In the BSA, Square knot insignia are worn in rows of three across the top of the wearer's left pocket. Though there is no rule limiting the number of such insignia that may be worn, some suggest limiting to three rows of three. When fewer than 3 knots are worn in a particular row, knots are generally centered to the pocket, or the row below them.[4]
Dates indicated in the chart below indicate the use of the square knot insignia for the particular award, and may not correspond to the history of the award itself. For example, the first Eagle Scout Award was presented in 1912, and there was a ribbon bar for it from 1934, and it was among the first eight awards given square knot insignia in 1947, so that later date is indicated.
Achievement Awards
These awards are generally earned by the Scouts themselves.
These represent the highest youth rank or achievement in each respective branch of the BSA.
Insignia | Title | Started | Description |
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Arrow of Light (Cub Scouts) | 1979 | |
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Eagle Scout Award (Boy Scouts) | 1947 | |
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Eagle Scout with Life Membership in NESA | 2008 | |
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Silver Award / Summit Award (Venturing) | 1999 | |
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Quartermaster Award (Sea Scouts) | 1947 |
Distinguished service
These awards are generally granted via nomination and review; they cannot be earned or applied for by Scouts or Scouters directly.
Insignia | Title | Started | Description |
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District Award of Merit | 1971 | |
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Silver Beaver Award | 1947 | |
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Silver Antelope Award | 1947 | |
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Silver Buffalo Award | 1947 | |
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Silver World Award | 1976 |
Heroism
These awards are generally granted via nomination and review; they cannot be earned or applied for by Scouts or Scouters directly.
Insignia | Title | Started | Description |
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Medal of Merit | 1952 | |
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Honor Medal | 1947 |
Leadership and training
These awards are generally earned by the Scouters themselves.
Insignia | Title | Started | Description |
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Den Leader Training Award | 1989 | |
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Unit Leader Award of Merit | 2010 | |
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Scouter's Training Award | 1947 | |
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Scouter's Key | 1947 | |
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Commissioner Award of Excellence in Unit Service | 2011 | |
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Doctorate of Commissioner Science | 2008 | |
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Philmont Training Center Masters Track Award | 2008 | |
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Professional Training Award | 1980 |
Specialized achievements
These awards are generally earned by the Scouts and Scouters themselves.
In one case (James West Fellowships) nomination by others is also possible, and in the case of the Hornaday Gold Medal (as opposed to the Bronze and Silver Medals) nomination is necessary.
Insignia | Title | Started | Description |
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Alumni Award | 2011 | |
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International Scouter Award | 2002 | |
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James E. West Fellowship | 1993 | |
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William D. Boyce New-Unit Organizer Award | 2005 | |
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William T. Hornaday Medals[5] | 1991 | |
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Youth Religious Emblems[6] | 1971 |
Specialized service recognition
These awards are generally granted via nomination and review; they cannot be earned or applied for by Scouts or Scouters directly.
Insignia | Title | Started | Description |
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Adult Religious Awards[7] | 1973 | |
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Community Organization Awards[8] | 2002 | |
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Distinguished Commissioner Service Award | 1987 | |
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Order of the Arrow Distinguished Service Award | 1976 | |
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Scouting Service Awards [9] | 2017 | |
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Venturing Leadership Award | 2004 |
Discontinued
In some cases these awards have been discontinued; in others they have been combined to be represented by a different award knot.
Insignia | Title | Started | Ended | Description |
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Air Scout Ace Award | 1950 | 1954 | |
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Asian American Spirit of Scouting Award | 2003 | 2016 | |
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Cubmaster Award | 1989 | 2012 | |
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Cub Scouter Award | 1989 | 2012 | |
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Den Leader Coach Award | 1989 | 2012 | |
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Exploring Ranger Award | 1933 | 1951 | |
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Exploring Silver Award | 1954 | 1958 | |
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Exploring Awards Knot[10] | 1954 | 1998 | |
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George Meany AFL-CIO Award | 1987 | 2011 | |
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Heroism Award | 1983 | 2013 | |
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Pack Trainer Award | 2006 | 2011 | |
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Sea Badge | 1989 | 2012 | |
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Tiger Cub Den Leader Award | 1992 | 2012 | |
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Scoutmaster Award of Merit | 1987 | 2010 | |
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Venturing Advisor / Varsity Coach Award of Merit | 1999 | 2010 | |
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¡Scouting…Vale la Pena! Service Award | 2003 | 2016 | |
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Skipper's Key | 1947 | 1949 | |
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Webelos Den Leader Award | 1989 | 2012 | |
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Whitney M. Young Jr. Service Award | 1989 | 2016 | |
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William H. Spurgeon III Award | 1989 | 2007 |
The Scout Association (UK)
The British Scout Association introduced the idea of a cloth 'knot' insignia in 1922, modeled after the military use of ribbons to represent medals and other citations. Many of the Scouting organizations of the Commonwealth of Nations either copy the British system or simply use the British awards and insignia.
Gallantry
Insignia | Title | Started | Description |
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Bronze Cross | Year | Desc |
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Silver Cross | Year | Desc |
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Gilt Cross | Year | Desc |
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Cornwell Scout Badge | Year | Desc |
Meritorious Conduct
Insignia | Title | Started | Description |
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Medal for Meritorious Conduct | Year | Desc |
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Chief Scout's Commendation for Meritorious Conduct | Year | Desc |
Service
Insignia | Title | Started | Description |
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Silver Wolf | Year | Desc |
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Silver Acorn | Year | Desc |
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Award for Merit | Year | Desc |
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Chief Scout's Commendation for Good Service | Year | Desc |
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Chief Scout's Personal Award | Year | Desc |
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Commissioner's Commendation Award | Year | Desc |
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Length of Service Decoration | Year | Desc |
World Organization of the Scout Movement
Insignia | Title | Started | Description |
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Bronze Wolf Award | 1935 | The World Organization of the Scout Movement offers only one award to scouters, the Bronze Wolf Award and it is considered the highest honor that can be bestowed on an adult scout leader throughout the world. There is approximately one award given for every 2,000,000 scouts. |
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- "Awards Central". Scouting.org. Boy Scouts of America.
- "Awards-Knots". U.S. Scouting Service Project, Inc. Retrieved 10 June 2013.
- Crowl, George. "Illustrated History of BSA Square Knot Evolution". BSA Badge History.
- Crowl, George. "Knots, Pins, and Insignia of the Boy Scouts of America". Crowl Family Webpages. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
- Kauffmann, Michael. "Scouter Knots". MeritBadge.org.
- Walton, Mike. "Knot Emblems of the BSA". Badge and Uniform Site.
- Whitman, Gary (2014). Ribbon Bars & Knot Awards of the Boy Scouts of America (7th ed.). CreateSpace. ISBN 978-1499201277.
References
- ^ "Guide to Awards and Insignia". Boy Scouts of America. Retrieved 10 June 2013.
- ^ a b c "Square Knot Insignia used by the Boy Scouts of America". 1 October 1999. Archived from the original on 14 May 2010. Retrieved 10 June 2007.
- ^ Crowl, George (2005). Knot Awards of Non-US Scouting Associations (11 ed.). Jersey Village, TX. p. 5.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ "In the Loop: A Guide to Square Knots and How to Wear Them". 20 October 2012. Retrieved 27 Feb 2017.
- ^ This knot represents the three Hornaday medals (bronze and silver for youth, gold for adults), but is not worn in place of the badges (bronze for youth, gold for adults) or certificates (units and organizations). See "Hornaday Awards". Boy Scouts of America.
- ^ As of March 2018, there were 36 religions and denominations that sponsored religious emblems programs for youth, many with different emblems for different ages of youth. This knot represents any of those.
- ^ As of March 2018, there were 34 religions and churches or denominations which sponsored awards for adult service to scouting in that faith. This knot represents any of those 34 distinct awards, which are not offered by scouting, but by the church or religion itself. See "Adult Religious Awards". US Scouting Service Project.
- ^ As of March 2018, there were 20 secular community orgaanizations which sponsored awards for adult service to scouting in that organization. This knot represents any of those 20 distinct awards, which are not offered by Scouting, but by the community orgnaization itself. See "Community Organization Awards". Boy Scouts of America.
- ^ As of March 2018, there were 5 distinct awards represented by this knot, each focused on service to a particular, traditionally under-served demographic: African-American, Asian-American, Latino-American, Native American, and Special Needs youth. See "Scouting Service Award Combines Five Awards into One Cool Square Knot". 17 Feb 2017. Retrieved 27 Feb 2017.
- ^ This knot has represented several different awards, many overlapping: Silver Award 1954-1986; Ranger 1978-1996; Ace 1978-1996; Explorer Achievement Award 1986-1995; Young American Award 1995-1996; Exploring G.O.L.D. Award 1995-1998.