Life to Eagle

(Updated June 2024)

Contact Eagle Project Coach or Scoutmaster with any questions, any time.

First things first ... Do these few steps before you do anything else
  1. Visit the Life to Eagle page on the District website and review all the documentation starting with the guidelines and working your way down
  2. Specifically, make sure you completely read these two documents before doing or asking anything else:

Scoutmaster: Michael Daniel

Troop Committee Chair: Ron Brooke

Troop Eagle Project Coach: Mike Park

Advancement Coordinator: James Mobley

Advancement Records Coordinator: Karen Mankin

Eagle Scout Service Project Process:
  1. Solidify your project idea
  2. Contact our Troop Eagle Project Coach to discuss your idea and confirm it qualifies for an Eagle project
  3. Contact your beneficiary to confirm that the project meets with their approval
  4. When you and Troop Eagle Project Coach think you have enough substance to your project, document your proposal in the Eagle Scout Service Project Workbook starting on page 8. Send copies of this to both Project Coach and Scoutmaster. Fill out all but Contact Info Page and signature page (see below, steps 5.1 and 7).
  5. Review this with Scoutmaster and get his agreement that your project concept is good and your project write-up is good
  6. After Scoutmaster's review and agreement, send a PDF copy of your workbook to Project Coach so he can make sure it meets all the requirements that the District Eagle Board will look for.
    1. You will need the information for the Contact Information page (Proposal Page B). The contact information page has personal information on it so we cannot post it all here. To get the information send the Advancement Coordinator an email and he will send you the necessary information
    2. For starters, here is some of the information:
      1. Unit Leader: Michael Daniel
      2. Unit Committee Chair: Ron Brooke
      3. Unit Advancement Coordinator: James Mobley
      4. Your Council Service Center: Marriott Service Center, 301-530-9360, 9190 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD 20814
      5. Council or District Project Approval Representative: Len Wales
      6. Project Coach: Mike Park
  7. After Project Coach’s review, make any needed updates
  8. Start the signature process for your proposal. All signatures must be on the same physical page--visit the first three people to get those signatures instead of emailing.
    1. Your Sponsor
    2. Scoutmaster
    3. Troop Committee Chair
    4. Len Wales - District Eagle Board Representative. (NOTE: Advancement Coordinator will introduce you via email to Len Wales. Do not contact him on your own. Once you have all three other signatures, contact Advancement Coordinator and he will contact Mr. Wales)
      1. Mr. Wales will likely give you permission to proceed by email. Print and insert a copy of that email after the signature page in the Eagle Scout Service Project Workbook when assembling your binder. Mr. Wales will provide a formal signature at your Eagle Scout Board of Review
  9. After all signatures are attained, Complete the detailed plan in the project workbook and get approval on that from Scoutmaster. A simple email will do for this. Attach it to the back of your detailed plan
  10. After you get the okay on your detailed plan, contact Scoutmaster to schedule the project on the Troop calendar. Write up emails to send to the Troop and create sign-up pages. 
  11. Finish your project.
  12. After your project is complete, complete the Eagle Service Project Report. Send to Scoutmaster for review. Get signatures from your beneficiary and sign it yourself.
  13. Assemble your binder as described below, including the ESRA
Eagle Scout Rank Application (ESRA) Process:
  1. Request a copy of your Advancement Summary from Advancement Records Coordinator. Or, if you have logged on to Scoutbook, you can print it yourself!
  2. IF the name on that Advancement Summary is NOT how you want your Eagle Scout certificate and other documentation to appear, contact Advancement Coordinator IMMEDIATELY to notify them of the change. This can take a while and your ESRA will need to match your name in Advancement Summary
  3. Download a copy of the Eagle Scout Rank Application (ESRA). This is a fillable PDF document that can be saved and updated. OR, if you have logged on to Scoutbook, download it and it's virtually all filled out for you! Check everything below for correctness, though.
  4. Both the NCAC and Chain Bridge Documents referenced above walk you through every step of filling out the ESRA. Use these guides!
  5. Additionally, use the NCAC Pre-certification Requirements document to guide your filling out of the ESRA. It has a simple checklist.
  6. Please note the ESRA has to be 100% perfectly filled out to be accepted for pre-certification by NCAC.
  7. You are now ready to fill out the ESRA.
    1. Important note: leave no blank spaces. Use N/A where appropriate
    2. For name, use the name that appears in your Advancement Summary, even though it asks for full legal name. See ESRA Step 1 above for name changes.
    3. For "Date became a Scout" use one day BEFORE your earned your Scout Rank (after verifying that the date that appears on your Advancement Report is correct and not after you earned your first merit badge). There is no way to verify this day and doing this will always be correct. 
    4. Requirement # 2 - you must have at least 5 references. If you are employed then you must have all 6.
      1. If you are not providing an employer then mark that line with N/A.
      2. If you do not have a Religious reference, a parent or guardian different than the parent/guardian providing the Parent reference can provide this reference.
      3. Contact Unit Advancement Coordinator to find out how to have your references send in their recommendations. It is currently a Word template but may switch to electronic submission.
    5. Requirement #3 - instructions say to enter the merit badge dates from your blue card. Ignore this and use the dates from your advancement report. 
      1. All non-Eagle merit badges should be listed in CHRONOLOGICAL order, not alphabetical
      2. Any Eagle merit badge where you have an option: only use one of the options, and cross out the other options. For example: use the Swimming merit badge, then cross out Hiking and Biking. If you use Adobe Acrobat you can draw a red line through the other options.
      3. If you downloaded it from Scoutbook, this is all done for you!
    6. Requirement #4 - If one position was held for a total of 6 months then mark the 2nd position with an N/A. If you served for longer than 6 months, don't enter a longer time period, enter exactly 6 months from start to end of position.
    7. After Requirement #6, remember to provide the requested statement of your life ambitions AND a listing of positions held in your religious institution, school, camp, or other organizations during which you exhibited leadership. Also include a list of honors and awards you received while a Scout. These can be from Scouting, school or from other things. This is described with examples in the Chain Bridge District Life to Eagle Guidelines
    8. Remember to sign your application
    9. Once you have the entire ESRA filled out and ready to go, send a copy of it to Scoutmaster to review. Remember to include the essay and a copy of your advancement report.
    10. Scoutmaster will insure that everything is 100% correct and ready for pre-certification. Make any changes he tells you to.
    11. Assemble into a 3-ring binder: your ESRA, your essay/list of awards, your Eagle Scout project worksheet (all three sections including emails mentioned above), and your advancement report. Please decorate the cover and spine, making sure you have your name, Troop 149 and your BSA ID on it. Also make sure that you put your BSA ID on the top right corner of every page in the binder in case pages are separated from the binder. (This requirement may no longer be needed if binders are transmitted electronically)
    12. Request a SM Conference from Scoutmaster. Bring your binder and your Scout book. Upon successful completion of the conference, make sure Scoutmaster signs your ESRA, your Project Report (you should sign too) and your Scout Handbook.
    13. Bring binder with all signatures to Committee Chair.
    14. Committee Chair will do a final check of everything, sign your ESRA and then pass it to Advancement Coordinator, who will request pre-certification approval, first from the Chain Bridge District Eagle Board and then from NCAC. These can happen in a day or take a week.
    15. Once pre-certification approval is received on your ESRA, and once at least 3 reference letters are received, your Eagle Scout Board of Review can be scheduled. It can take some time to coordinate everyone's availability.
    16. Upon successful completion of your Board of Review, your ESRA will be signed by the Board of Review Chairman and the Chain Bridge District Eagle Board Representative and your ESRA is complete. Advancement Coordinator will be the Eagle Board Chairman and Mr. Wales is generally the District Eagle Board Representative. Others generally comprise the other Eagle Board members. 
    17. You are now an Eagle Scout!
  8. Your Eagle paperwork will be sent to NCAC electronically. It takes about 3 weeks to get the final approvals and for your awards to be ready. At that time an Eagle Scout Court of Honor may be scheduled if desired.