First Class Rank
All requirements for the First Class rank must be completed as a member of a troop or as a Lone Scout.
The requirements for Scout, Tenderfoot, Second Class, and First Class ranks may be worked on simultaneously; however, these ranks must be earned in sequence.
Alternate requirements for the First Class rank are available for Scouts with physical or mental disabilities if they meet the criteria listed in the Scouts BSA Requirements book.
First Class Rank Requirements
CAMPING AND OUTDOOR ETHICS
1.
Do the following:
a.
Since joining Scouts BSA, participate in 10 separate troop/patrol
activities, at least six of which must be held outdoors. Of the
outdoor activities, at least three must include overnight camping.
These activities do not include troop or patrol meetings. On
campouts, spend the night in a tent that you pitch or other
structure that you help erect, such as a lean-to, snow cave, or
tepee.
b.
Explain the potential impacts of camping, both on the environment
and on other outdoor users. Explain why the Outdoor Code and Leave
No Trace principles are important for protecting the outdoors.
COOKING
2.
Do the following:
a.
Help plan a menu for one of the above campouts that includes at
least one breakfast, one lunch, and one dinner, and that requires
cooking at least two of the meals. Tell how the menu includes the
foods from MyPlate or the current USDA nutritional model and how it
meets nutritional needs for the planned activity or campout.
b.
Using the menu planned in First Class requirement 2a, make a list
showing a budget and the food amounts needed to feed three or more
youth. Secure the ingredients.
c.
Show which pans, utensils, and other gear will be needed to cook
and serve these meals.
d.
Demonstrate the procedures to follow in the safe handling and
storage of fresh meats, dairy products, eggs, vegetables, and other
perishable food products. Show how to properly dispose of camp
garbage, cans, plastic containers, waste water, and other rubbish.
e.
On one campout, serve as cook. Supervise your assistant(s) in using
a stove or building a cooking fire. Prepare the breakfast, lunch,
and dinner planned in First Class requirement 2a. Supervise the
cleanup.
TOOLS
3.
Do the following:
a.
Discuss when you should and should not use lashings.
b.
Demonstrate tying the timber hitch and clove hitch.
c.
Demonstrate tying the square, shear, and diagonal lashings by
joining two or more poles or staves together.
d.
Use lashings to make a useful camp gadget or structure.
NAVIGATION
4.
Do the following:
a.
Using a map and compass, complete an orienteering course that
covers at least one mile and requires measuring the height and/or
width of designated items (tree, tower, canyon, ditch, etc.).
b.
Demonstrate how to use a handheld GPS unit, GPS app on a
smartphone, or other electronic navigation system. Use GPS to find
your current location, a destination of your choice, and the route
you will take to get there. Follow that route to arrive at your
destination.
NATURE
5.
Do the following:
a.
Identify or show evidence of at least 10 kinds of native plants
found in your local area or campsite location. You may show
evidence by identifying fallen leaves or fallen fruit that you find
in the field, or as part of a collection you have made, or by
photographs you have taken.
b.
Identify two ways to obtain a weather forecast for an upcoming
activity. Explain why weather forecasts are important when
planning for an event.
c.
Describe at least three natural indicators of impending hazardous
weather, the potential dangerous events that might result from such
weather conditions, and the appropriate actions to take.
d.
Describe extreme weather conditions you might encounter in the
outdoors in your local geographic area. Discuss how you would
determine ahead of time the potential risk of these types of
weather dangers, alternative planning considerations to avoid such
risks, and how you would prepare for and respond to those weather
conditions.
AQUATICS
6.
Do the following:
a.
Successfully complete the BSA swimmer test.*
**
* See the Swimming merit
badge requirements for details about the BSA swimmer test.
b.
Tell what precautions must be taken for a safe trip afloat.
c.
Identify the basic parts of a canoe, kayak, or other boat. Identify
the parts of a paddle or an oar.
d.
Describe proper body positioning in a watercraft, depending on the
type and size of the vessel. Explain the importance of proper body
position in the boat.
e.
With a helper and a practice victim, show a line rescue both as
tender and as rescuer. (The practice victim should be approximately
30 feet from shore in deep water.) **
** Under certain exceptional conditions, where the climate
keeps the outdoor water temperature below safe levels year-round,
or where there are no suitably safe and accessible places (outdoors
or indoors) within a reasonable traveling distance to swim at any
time during the year, the council Scout executive and advancement
committee may, on an individual Scout basis, authorize an
alternative for requirements 6a and 6e. The local council may
establish appropriate procedures for submitting and processing
these types of requests. All the other requirements, none of which
necessitate entry in the water or entry in a watercraft on the
water, must be completed as written.
FIRST AID AND EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS
7.
Do the following:
a.
Demonstrate bandages for a sprained ankle and for injuries on the
head, the upper arm, and the collarbone.
b.
By yourself and with a partner, show how to:
- Transport a person from a smoke-filled room.
c.
Tell the five most common signals of a heart attack. Explain the
steps (procedures) in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).
d.
Tell what utility services exist in your home or meeting place.
Describe potential hazards associated with these utilities and tell
how to respond in emergency situations.
e.
Develop an emergency action plan for your home that includes what
to do in case of fire, storm, power outage, and water outage.
f.
Explain how to obtain potable water in an emergency.
FITNESS
8.
Do the following:
a.
After completing Second Class requirement 7a, be physically active
at least 30 minutes each day for five days a week for four weeks.
Keep track of your activities.
b.
Share your challenges and successes in completing First Class
requirement 8a. Set a goal for continuing to include physical
activity as part of your daily life.
CITIZENSHIP
9.
Do the following:
a.
Visit and discuss with a selected individual approved by your
leader (for example, an elected official, judge, attorney, civil
servant, principal, or teacher) the constitutional rights and
obligations of a U.S. citizen.
b.
Investigate an environmental issue affecting your community. Share
what you learned about that issue with your patrol or troop. Tell
what, if anything, could be done by you or your community to
address the concern.
c.
On a Scouting or family outing, take note of the trash and garbage
you produce. Before your next similar outing, decide how you can
reduce, recycle, or repurpose what you take on that outing, and
then put those plans into action. Compare your results.
d.
Participate in three hours of service through one or more service
projects approved by your Scoutmaster. The project(s) must not be
the same service project(s) used for Tenderfoot requirement 7b and
Second Class requirement 8e. Explain how your service to others
relates to the Scout Law.
LEADERSHIP
10.
Tell someone who is eligible to join Scouts BSA, or an inactive Scout,
about your Scouting activities. Invite this person to an outing,
activity, service project, or meeting. Provide information on how to
join, or encourage the inactive Scout to become active. Share your
efforts with your Scoutmaster or other adult leader.
SCOUT SPIRIT
11.
Demonstrate Scout spirit by living the Scout Oath and Scout Law. Tell how
you have done your duty to God and how you have lived four different
points of the Scout Law (different from those points used for previous
ranks) in your everyday life.
12.
While working toward the First Class rank, and after completing Second
Class requirement 11, participate in a Scoutmaster conference.
13.
Successfully complete your board of review for the First Class rank.
