Square knot insignia

Square knot insignia are embroidered cloth patches that represent awards of the Scout associations throughout the world.

See also: Advancement and recognition in the Boy Scouts of America
Square knot insignia

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
See also: Scouting § 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
See also: Boy Scouts of America and History of the 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 program of the BSA.

Insignia Title Started Description
Arrow of Light (Cub Scouts)1979 
Eagle Scout (Scouts BSA)1947 
Eagle Scout with Life Membership in NESA2008 
Quartermaster Award (Sea Scouts)1947 
Silver Award / Summit Award (Venturing)1999 

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
Unit Leader Award of Merit2010unit-level quality leader recognition award
District Award of Merit1971district-level distinguished service award
Silver Beaver Award1947council-level distinguished service award
Silver Antelope Award1947regional-level distinguished service award
Silver Buffalo Award1947national-level distinguished service award
Silver World Award1976international-level distinguished service award

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
Medal of Merit1952 
Heroism Award1983discontinued late 2012; reinstated, February 2018
Honor Medal1947 

Leadership and training

These awards are generally earned by the Scouters themselves.

Insignia Title Started Description
Den Leader Training Award1989 
Scouter's Training Award1947 
Scouter's Key1947 
Commissioner Award of Excellence in Unit Service2011 
Doctorate of Commissioner Science2008 
Philmont Training Center Masters Track Award2008 
Professional Training Award1980 

Specialized achievements

These awards are generally earned by the Scouts and Scouters themselves.
In one case (James E. 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
Youth Religious Emblems[5]1971 
Distinguished Conservation Service Award2020 
James E. West Fellowship1993 
International Scouter Award2002 
William D. Boyce New-Unit Organizer Award2005 
Alumni Award2011 

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
Adult Religious Awards[6]1973 
Order of the Arrow Distinguished Service Award1976distinguished service to OA
Distinguished Commissioner Service Award1987unit/district/council distinguished commissioner service
Community Organization Awards[7]2002 
Venturing Leadership Award2004 
Scouting Service Award [8]2017Incorporates - Whitney M. Young Jr. Service Award, Scouting ... Vale la pena! Service Award, Asian American Spirit of Scouting Service Award, American Indian Scouting Association Grey Wolf Award, Special Needs Scouting Service Award

Discontinued

These awards have been completely discontinued or combined and represented by current award knots.

Insignia Title Started Ended Description
William T. Hornaday Medals19912020Superseded by Distinguished Conservation Service Award
Skipper's Key19471949Superseded by Scouter's Key
Exploring Ranger Award19331951Superseded by "Ranger" bar
Air Scout Ace Award19501954
Exploring Silver Award19541958
Exploring Awards Knot[9]19541998
William H. Spurgeon III Award[10]19892007
Scoutmaster Award of Merit19872010Superseded by Unit Leader Award of Merit
Venturing Advisor / Varsity Coach Award of Merit19992010Superseded by Unit Leader Award of Merit
Pack Trainer Award20062011Superseded by Scouter's Training Award[11]
Cubmaster Award19892012Superseded by Scouter's Key
Cub Scouter Award19892012Superseded by Scouter's Training Award
Den Leader Coach Award19892012Superseded by Den Leader Training Award
Webelos Den Leader Award19892012Superseded by Den Leader Training Award
Tiger Cub Den Leader Award19922012Superseded by Den Leader Training Award
George Meany Award19872011Incorporated in Community Organization Award
Sea Badge19892012Superseded by Seabadge Trident pin
Asian American Spirit of Scouting Service Award20032016Incorporated in Scouting Service Award
¡Scouting…Vale la Pena! Service Award20032016Incorporated in Scouting Service Award
Whitney M. Young Jr. Service Award19892016Incorporated in Scouting Service Award
Speakers Bank Award20072011Discontinued

The Scout Association (UK)
See also: The Scout Association

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
Bronze CrossYearDesc
Silver CrossYearDesc
Gilt CrossYearDesc
Cornwell Scout BadgeYearDesc

Meritorious Conduct
Insignia Title Started Description
Medal for Meritorious ConductYearDesc
Chief Scout's Commendation for Meritorious ConductYearDesc

Service
Insignia Title Started Description
Silver WolfYearDesc
Silver AcornYearDesc
Award for MeritYearDesc
Chief Scout's Commendation for Good ServiceYearDesc
Chief Scout's Personal AwardYearDesc
Commissioner's Commendation AwardYearDesc
Length of Service DecorationYearDesc

World Organization of the Scout Movement
Insignia Title Started Description
Bronze Wolf Award1935The 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.
  • "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
  1. "Guide to Awards and Insignia". Boy Scouts of America. Retrieved 10 June 2013.
  2. "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.
  3. Crowl, George (2005). Knot Awards of Non-US Scouting Associations (11 ed.). Jersey Village, TX. p. 5.
  4. "In the Loop: A Guide to Square Knots and How to Wear Them". 20 October 2012. Retrieved 27 Feb 2017.
  5. 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.
  6. "Adult Religious Awards". US Scouting Service Project. 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.
  7. "Community Organization Awards". Boy Scouts of America. 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 organization itself.
  8. "Scouting Service Award Combines Five Awards into One Cool Square Knot". 2017-02-17. Retrieved 2017-02-27. 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.
  9. 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.
  10. "William H. Spurgeon Award" (PDF). Exploring. Retrieved February 3, 2018.
  11. "Update on Training Awards for Adult Unit Leaders". jayhawkcouncil.org.
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