Life to Eagle: Info & Forms

This page will tell you how to complete the path from Life Scout to Eagle. If you have questions, please contact Mr. Uchitel. He has helped many Troop 175 boys earn their Eagle rank.

Contact Info

Assistant Scoutmaster for Life to Eagle: Jason Uchitel | 404-219-9247 | [email protected]

Scoutmaster: Kevin Wyatt | [email protected]

Troop Committee Chair: Renato Dell’Osso | [email protected]

Eagle Requirements

Here are the basic requirements for becoming an Eagle Scout. All of the work to become an Eagle must be completed before you turn 18 (except for the Eagle Board of Review).

Spend 6 months as a Life Scout.
Demonstrate Scout Spirit by living the Scout Oath and Scout Law, and by participating in Troop meetings and outings.
Earn 21 merit badges, including 13 specific required Eagle merit badges (see below).
While a Life Scout, actively serve in a Troop 175 position of responsibility for 6 months.
Complete an Eagle Service Project to benefit a religious institution, school, or your community.
The project must be presented to the Troop Committee before you begin and after you finish your project.
After completing your Eagle project, participate in a Scoutmaster conference.
Complete an Eagle Board of Review.

Get an Early Start

Don’t wait until the last minute. Several of the Eagle-required merit badges are complicated and some of them take 3 months to finish. When planning your Eagle project, build some extra months into your schedule because you must get approvals from several different people/groups before and after the project.

Earn the Eagle-Required Merit Badges

Eagle Rank Requirements: This tells you the specific requirements you must meet to become an Eagle Scout.

You’ll need a total of 21 total merit badges. They can be earned at any point since you became a Boy Scout–before, during or after your Eagle project. You must earn the 13 Eagle-required MB listed below. Choose only one of the MB listed in categories h, i, and k. Any additional MB earned in those categories can count as one of your eight optional merit badges.

Note: Beginning July 1, 2022, the Citizenship in Society merit badge will be required for any youth seeking to achieve the prestigious Eagle Scout rank.

(a) First Aid

(b) Citizenship in the Community

(d) Citizenship in the World

(e) Communication

(f) Cooking: this MB has a lot of requirements

(g) Personal Fitness: this MB takes at least 3 months to earn

(h) Emergency Preparedness OR Lifesaving

(i) Environmental Science OR Sustainability

(j) Personal Management: this MB takes at least 3 months to earn

(k) Swimming OR Hiking OR Cycling

(l) Camping: this MB requires at least 20 nights of camping at designated Scouting activities or events

(m) Family Life: This is the only MB you must earn with your family

(n) Citizenship in Society (new requirement beginning 7/1/2022)

+ Plus

8 additional merit badges of your choice

I’m ready to think about my Eagle Project

Many Eagle projects involve building something, but that isn’t a requirement. Take a look at some of the past Troop 175 Eagle projects or search the web if you need ideas.

Austin-eagle-project-1 You will plan, develop, and give leadership to others in a service project for a religious institution, school, or your community. This organization is called the Project Beneficiary (the project can’t benefit Troop 175 or BSA). The idea of the Eagle project is for you to do the planning and preparation, then guide other Troop 175 Scouts as they do the hands-on work of the project.

Once you have an idea for your project, contact Mr. Uchitel and get his feedback before you begin the paperwork for your proposal.

1. Download the Eagle Service Project Workbook

You will use the Eagle Scout Service Project Proposal (BSA publication Eagle Project Workbook 2021c-v2) to describe your project and make a plan to successfully complete the project. We call it the workbook.

Important Note:
You must save this file to your computer, then use Adobe Reader 9 (or later) to open and edit the file. This allows you to save your info, import images and use expandable text boxes. Don’t open this pdf workbook in a browser (Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer, Safari, etc.).

Troop 175 prefilled Eagle workbook

The Troop has created a workbook prefilled with the names and contact info for the adult leaders.

Right click this workbook link (don’t click to open the file):
Troop 175 Prefilled Eagle Project Workbook 512-927 2021c-v2
Once the dialog box appears, click “Save target [or link] as:”
Another dialog box will appear. Name your “save as” file and choose where to save it.
Once you’ve saved the workbook to your computer, open Adobe Reader (version 9 or later) and click “File,” click “Open,” and open the file you just saved to your computer. Now you can type directly in the form, add pictures and save your changes as you work.

2. Fill Out the Project Proposal

The workbook contains 3 sections: 1) Proposal, 2) Project Plan and 3) Project Report. You’ll begin by filling out the Project Proposal Pages of the workbook with some basic info about your project. It’s helpful to include drawings, photos and other visual aids to explain the project. Don’t worry about small details…you’ll provide these later in the Project Plan. Mr. Uchitel will help you if you have questions about the project or workbook.

3. Present your Project Proposal

Before you begin your Eagle project, you must present your Project Proposal for review. When Mr. Uchitel says you’re ready you will:

Get approval from the Project Beneficiary (his or her signature)
Present your Project Proposal to the Troop 175 Committee (see details at the end of this page)
Get approval from the Scoutmaster (his signature)
Get approval from the The Troop 175 Committee Chair (his or her signature)
Get approval from the District (Mr. Uchitel will send it)

Make sure you keep the Project Proposal page H with the original signatures. You will need these signed pages later.

4. Complete the Eagle Project Plan

The next step is to fill out the Project Plan section of the workbook. This will help you think through the details and specifics of how your project will be accomplished: materials, hours of work needed, safety, tools, supplies, food, etc.

5. Do the Project

Dylan-Wyatt-Eagle_0675 Now comes the fun part: actually doing the project. Remember that your main role is to:

Organize the workdays and provide necessary equipment and supplies (and food!).
Recruit scouts to come to your workdays.
Manage other scouts as they do the work.
Have someone take pictures of the work in progress and of the completed project.
Keep a log of the scouts’ names and record how many hours they worked on your project.
Turn in the log to the Scoutmaster so the volunteers get credit for service hours.

6. Complete the Eagle Project Report & Get it Approved

Your completed project must also be approved. Fill out the Project Report Pages A, B and C of the workbook and explain how your project turned out. Eagle projects are evaluated primarily on impact—the extent of benefit to the religious institution, school, or community, and on the leadership provided by the candidate. There must also be evidence of planning and development. Once you’ve filled out the Project Report and Mr. Uchitel says you’re ready, you will:

Get approval from the Project Beneficiary (his or her signature)
Present your Project Report to the Troop 175 Committee (see details at the end of this page)
Get approval from the Scoutmaster (his signature)

Make sure you keep the Project Proposal page H and Project Report page C with the original signatures. You will need these signatures for your Eagle Application.

Eagle Application Process

Once all the requirements for the Eagle rank are completed, you will submit an Eagle Application.

1. Download the Eagle Application

You must use the official Eagle Scout Rank Application, No. 512-728. No other form or application method is permitted. The latest revision is February 2022.

Important Note:
You must save this file to your computer, then use Adobe Reader 9 (or later) to open and edit the file. Don’t open this pdf form in a browser (Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer, Safari, etc.).

Right click this link:
Troop 175 Prefilled Eagle Scout Rank Application 512-728 Feb. 2022
Once the dialog box appears, click “Save target [or link] as:”
Another dialog box will appear. Name your “save as” file and choose where to save it.
Once you’ve saved the workbook to your computer, open Adobe Reader (version 9 or later) and click “File,” click “Open,” and open the file you just saved to your computer. Now you can type directly in the form and save your changes as you work.

2. Complete the Eagle Application

It’s easier to fill out the PDF form on a computer, but you may also print the PDF form and fill it out by hand.

3. Request Letters of Recommendation

The Eagle Application requires references from people who can talk about your character, leadership, faith, etc. You must references for all 5 categories (except employer if you don’t have a job). They can be relatives or even other Scouts. The application asks for references from:

Parents
Religious leader
Educator
Employer (if any)
Plus two additional references: friend, neighbor, coach, etc.

To make it easier to get the info from the references, Troop 175 requests that you ask for letters of recommendation from the people you list as references.

Right click the Eagle Scout Letter of Recommendation form. Click “Save target [or link] as:” and save the file to your computer.
Send a copy of this form to each person you listed in your Eagle Application requirement 2, and request that he/she write a confidential Letter of Recommendation.
The letter writer should email the completed letter to Jason Uchitel: [email protected] (not to you).
If the person doesn’t use email, you may print the form and send it to the person along with an empty stamped envelope so he/she can mail the letter. The empty envelope should be addressed to Mr. Uchitel. You can ask him the correct address to put on it.

4. Request a Scoutmaster Conference

Once you have your Eagle Application completed and Mr. Uchitel says you’re ready, you will request a Scoutmaster conference and get the approvals you need from:

The Scoutmaster (his signature)
The Troop 175 Committee Chair (his/her signature)

5. Submit the Eagle Application for Council Approval

Mr. Uchitel will send the signed project workbook and Eagle Application to the Council (including the attached Statement of Ambitions). They will verify all the information is complete and send the documents back. The Council will tell the District Eagle chair that the scout is eligible for an Eagle Board of Review.

6. Eagle Board of Review

The final step in the process is to schedule an Eagle Board of Review. This typically happens at a regular Troop 175 Tuesday meeting with a representative from the District. They will review the entire packet of Eagle info:

Completed Project Workbook (Proposal, Plan & Report). Especially important: the 2 Project Workbook pages with original signatures (Proposal Page H and Project Report Page C)
Eagle Application (including Statement of Ambitions)
Letters of recommendation

Presenting your project to the Troop 175 Committee (before and after)

Each Eagle candidate presents his Eagle Project Proposal at a Troop 175 Committee meeting before submitting it to the District. This is to help give the scout guidance toward the successful completion of his project, and for scouts and parents to understand what an Eagle project is like. We also require the scout to present a recap of his completed project at a Troop 175 Committee meeting before the Scoutmaster signs off on the completed project.

The committee likes to see photos, drawings and other info that helps explain your project. Please bring several copies of your proposal or report to the meeting so the committee can follow along. Make sure you bring any pages that require signatures. The Scoutmaster and Committee Chair must sign the same copy that was signed by the Project Beneficiary.

A good presentation will explain:

How the project work was (will) be done
How you led (will lead) other scouts
How the project is (will be) useful
What you learned from the project

Don’t want until the last minute! When thinking about the timing of your project and completion of your merit badges, make sure you leave time in your schedule to attend these two meetings. The Troop Committee meets once a month, typically on the first Monday of the month. Check the Troop calendar for meeting dates.

Requesting a slot on the Meeting Agenda

To present your Project Proposal (before) and Project Report (after), you must:

Get clearance from Mr. Uchitel.
Email the Troop Committee Chair, Renato Dell’Osso ([email protected]) and ask Mr. Dell’Osso to be put on the agenda. Please also copy (cc) Mr. U. ([email protected]) in this email.
Please make your request at least 2 days before the meeting date.