Mitchell & Eagle Scout presentation

[Walkman]

One of my cadet's mother sent me a message to day regarding a special presentation for her son. This cadet is about to pin on C/1st Lt and will receive his BSA Eagle Scout award at the end of the month. When his older brother (when they lived in MNWG) got his Eagle, someone from a higher than local unit echelon came to the Eager Court of Honor and presented the young man with a plaque and spoke about how rare it is that someone achieves both milestones.

This is an outstanding cadet and I'd like to see what I can do for him in the regard. Has anyone heard of anything like this?

[Panzerbjorn]

When I got mine, the medal was actually pinned on by my parents, but there were also Council and District executives in attendance.

What usually happens in weeks and months before the actual Court of Honor is the Troop Board of Review starts contacting VIPs from the local Mayor all the way up to the White House.  I have a binder full of congratulatory letters from George H Bush (President at the time), Reagan, Carter, Ford, and even Nixon.

As far as VIPs who would actually attend a Court of Honor, invite anyone you can think of who the young Eagle would appreciate being there.  From there, it's up to the VIP's schedule as far as whether they'll attend.  But it's not like a Spaatz Award that requires presentation from a VIP.

Hope that answers your question.

[Walkman]

I guess what I meant was has anyone seen a presentation from a CAP officer about earning both the Mitchell & the Eagle. The rest of the BSA CoH work is already being handled.

[PHall]

The Mitchell is not even remotely "equal" to the Eagle Scout. The Spaatz would be though.
But they're rarely earned at the same time.  Eagle Scout 15-17 years old. Spaatz 18-20 years old.

[Tim Medeiros]

The Mitchell is not even remotely "equal" to the Eagle Scout. The Spaatz would be though.
But they're rarely earned at the same time.  Eagle Scout 15-17 years old. Spaatz 18-20 years old.

Based on the respective populations earning the respective awards, Eagle is more on par with the Earhart Award.  The National Eagle Scout Association states that roughly 5% of all Boy Scouts reach Eagle Scout, which is the same percentage reported by NHQ for cadets earning the Earhart award.


Sources: http://www.nesa.org/trail.html  and http://capnhq.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/702/~/percentage-of-cadets-earning-spaatz,-eaker,-earhart-and-mitchell

[Mitchell 1969]

I think that Eagle presentations have more flexibility and allow for more personalization. There shouldn't be any problem in incorporating a CAP presenter into the ceremony. There is no standardized presentation, but an experienced CAP officer should have no trouble doing justice to both organizations, both awards, as well as to awardees and families.

On the other issue as the "relative equivalence" of Eagle Scout (or GSA Gold Award) to CAP awards - I'm mystified as to the actual need to compare apples to oranges or monkey wrenches to trumpets. It all comes down to personal opinion, often bolstered by slices of irrelevant statistics.

We can compare percentages of cadets vs Boy Scouts who get each award. Or compare ages where awards are typically earned. Or look at which award gets E2 or E3 for whom in each military service. All irrelevant. The focus of each program is different, leadership and mentoring models are different, goals are different. Trying to establish which one equals what other is as futile as trying to compare USMC boot camp circa 1959 to Olympic team tryouts circa 1990's. There is simply no measurable relevance that matters.

[Panzerbjorn]

I guess what I meant was has anyone seen a presentation from a CAP officer about earning both the Mitchell & the Eagle. The rest of the BSA CoH work is already being handled.

I haven't yet seen it, but we have a young man in our squadron is working on his Eagle.  I have no doubt that something will be mentioned at some milestone somewhere.  It certainly wouldn't be a bad thing to mention it. 

But it would probably mean something more to mention it when he gets his Spaatz.  They're the highest awards in their respective organizations.  That's a fact.  Comparing an Eagle to anything besides Spaatz are purely subjective arguments.

I've personally only known one Spaatz Eagle, and he's from Illinois.  Those are extremely rare birds.

[a2capt]

We've had quite a few over the past 15 years, who've done both Mitchell and Eagle, and at least one that comes to mind that completed Spaatz and Eagle Scout at our unit. Looking at what recruiters, the academies and similar entities recognize, Mitchell is on par with Eagle Scout, and while I'm not sure on the bare minimum time that someone could earn the Eagle Scout award, for Mitchell it would be about 18 months in Utopia, however in reality it's more like 30-36 months, for all but the most squared away determined cadets.

The Spaatz Award does not open nearly as many gates as the Mitchell Award, and I'm not cheapening the Spaatz Award in any way there. In 2013 there were 56,841 Eagle Scout awards. 56K of 2.6 million on the rolls, I'd say that aligns more somewhere between Mitchell and Earhart.

[Panzerbjorn]

No, sorry....Mitchell is DEFINITELY NOT on par with Eagle Scout.  I'd be willing to entertain any arguments for anything between Earhart and Spaatz, but not Mitchell.  Eagle is SIGNIFICANTLY more work than that.

The problem of comparing numbers of Eagle Scouts to number of Mitchells/Earharts/Spaatzes lies in the fact that there are so few who are both in the Scouts and in CAP so you don't have a real measure of ability.  Another HUGE difference between the BSA program and CAP program is how You need to pass a PT test to rise in rank in CAP.  There is no such animal in the BSA.  My hunch is that if you took away the PT requirement, the numbers of Spaatz cadets would rise significantly, at least up to the same 2% of participants that rivals 2% of Scouts that become Eagles.

The only real way to know what Eagle compares to is to throw those 56K Eagle Scouts you cited from 2013 into the cadet program and see where the majority of those Eagles rise to assuming they had the time to complete the minimum requirements for each rank.

My own personal desire is for people in this organization to stop these kinds of comparisons.  They're both outstanding leadership programs, and you can't compare them to each other as far as which one is better.  But as an Eagle, and have seen several cadets through their Mitchell, I can very comfortably state that achieving your Mitchell is NOT equivalent to earning Eagle.  Presidents don't send letters to Mitchell cadets congratulating them on their achievement.

[lordmonar]

I agree with the stop comparing the two issue.

I also agree that PT is the number one reason why cadets don't progress beyond a certain point.

I think it is interesting that you want people to stop comparing the two....but you started out your post by comparing the two!

Apples and oranges guys....Eagle Scout in a big deal.    Not harder, not easier, not better or worse then anything in CAP.....it is just a big deal.

[Майор Хаткевич]

Seriously.

Next comparison will be Mitchell = Eagle = Associates Degree because = E3 in certain branches...

[Panzerbjorn]

I agree with the stop comparing the two issue.

I also agree that PT is the number one reason why cadets don't progress beyond a certain point.

I think it is interesting that you want people to stop comparing the two....but you started out your post by comparing the two!

Apples and oranges guys....Eagle Scout in a big deal.    Not harder, not easier, not better or worse then anything in CAP.....it is just a big deal.

I have no problem being a hypocrite from time to time.

[Chappie]

A couple of years ago, I had the honor and privilege of offering the invocation and benediction for the Eagle Scout ceremony for my nephew and a couple of other young men.  A great day and a great experience.

[Offutteer]

Walkman,

Ask your squadron commander to request that someone from wing be present at the ceremony.  So many senior members were in the Boy Scouts or Girl Scouts, that they'd know about the importance of the Eagle award. 

[The14th]

Seriously.

Next comparison will be Mitchell = Eagle = Associates Degree because = E3 in certain branches...

=OCS because why not.