Dear Adam,
Why is Eric wearing those Gold Epaulette Loops?
Sincerely,
Green over Gold
Dear GG,
According to the official Boy Scout Uniform Insignia Guide, any Scout who is associated through the national, regional, or area level in the Boy Scouts of America is authorized to wear the gold epaulette loops. As an elected youth national officer in the Order of the Arrow, you are part of a group of six other youth who have been chosen to lead the Order of the Arrow. Eric was recently elected at the national officer elections as the Northeast Region Chief. Hence, he is authorized to wear gold epaulette loops. If you have been around for a while, back in 2007 Ken Hager was also the Northeast Region Chief, and he also wore gold loops.
Sincerely,
Adam
______________________
Dear Adam,
What is the difference between an epaulette and the colored loops we wear? Are they called Epaulettes or what?
Sincerely,
Confused in Charleston
Dear CC,
An epaulette “is a type of ornamental shoulder piece or decoration used as insignia by organizations.”
“Epaulettes are fastened to the shoulder by a shoulder strap or “passant”, a small strap parallel to the shoulder seam, and the button near the collar, or by laces on the underside of the epaulette passing through holes in the shoulder of the coat.”
Our shoulder straps on the B.S.A. uniform is sometimes referred to as an epaulette. “The yellow, tan and green shirts have shoulder straps. Colored shoulder loops (often called tabs) are worn on the straps to indicate the program level. Cub Scouting adults at the pack level and Webelos Scouts who choose to wear the tan shirt wear navy blue shoulder loops. Boy Scouts and troop-level adults wear forest green shoulder loops; red was replaced by forest green in 2008 and is not worn (see BSA Insignia Guide 2009-2010). Varsity Scouts and team-level adults use blaze (orange) loops. Dark green shoulder loops identify Venturing youth and adults at the crew level. Adults or youth with a district or council position wear silver loops, while those with area, regional or national positions wear gold loops. Blue, red, forest green or blaze loops may not be worn on the green Venturing shirt and dark green loops may not be worn on the tan shirt.”
Sincerely,
Adam
Sources:
http://scouting.org/scoutsource/Media/InsigniaGuide.aspx
Boy Scouts of America. 2007. ISBN 0-8395-3066-8. #33066. Retrieved 2012-01-22.
Venturer Handbook. Boy Scouts of America. 2005. pp. 6, 93. #33494B.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uniform_and_insignia_of_the_Boy_Scouts_of_America#Shoulder_loops
