COUNCIL EMBLEM
A council shoulder patch (CSP) emblem is worn by all Cub Scout Leaders directly below the shoulder seam on left sleeve. This emblem is unique to the BSA council hosting your Cub Scout Pack. (click here for placement diagram.)

U.S. FLAG EMBLEM
A red, white, and blue embroidered American Flag emblem for all Cub Scout members. Worn on the right sleeve, centered directly below the shoulder seam. It is typically pre-sewn on to all new Scouting uniforms. (click here for placement diagram.)

UNIT NUMERALS
A white numeral embroidered on red background. Worn by all boys and pack leaders directly below council patch. When the veteran unit bar is worn, the Unit Numerals are worn just below, and touching it. (click here for placement diagram.)

INTERPRETER STRIPS
Worn above the "Boy Scouts of America" strip, which is above the wearer's right pocket. May be worn by qualified Scouts and Scouters as an instant identification tool for individuals needing assistance with language (or 'signing') translations. Qualifications are enumerated in our BSA Interpreter Program pages, and in the Scout's (and Scoutmaster's) Handbook. If qualified, the Scouter may wear multiple Interpreter strips, one just above, and touching the next. The original patches were red with white text. Some newer strips retain this coloring, and some of these are 'limited' production strips that BSA refers to as "Cryptic Character" strips. Most newer strips are tan with red characters. While the BSA Supply Division keeps a stock of the most commonly requested Interpreter Strips, the number of 'available' strips is limited only by the number of languages and dialects on the planet. If they don't have it, they will make it for you. Our Interpreter Strips are presented here in two sets. Strip Set 1 includes: Cantonese, Traditional Mandarin, Simplified Mandarin, Arabic, Vietnamese, Russian, and the "Cryptic Character" Armenian & Korean strips.  Strip Set 2 includes: German, Italian, Dutch, French, Spanish, Greek, Portugese, 'Signing,' Suomea (Finnish,) and Japanese strips.

VETERANS PIN
Lapel pins for Scouters that have earned "veteran status." Worn with civilian dress. Pin indicates active, registered service to Scouting. Available in 5 year increments from year five through year eighty. Year seventy-five is available in 'gold-tone' finish with embedded cubic zirconia. To request this pin, qualifying Scouters must complete the BSA Veteran Application and forward it to their local Council Scout executive for approval. For awards of twenty-five years or greater, approval is at the National level. (Acrobat Plug-in Required)

VETERAN UNIT BAR - 25 YEARS
A silver embroidered bar worn by boys and adult leaders in packs that have been chartered twenty-five years. Worn directly below council patch, above and touching the pack numeral.

VETERAN UNIT BAR - 50 YEARS
A gold embroidered bar worn by boys and adult leaders of packs that have been chartered fifty years. Worn directly below the council patch, above and touching the pack numeral.

VETERAN UNIT BAR - 75 YEARS
A maroon embroidered bar with silver numerals worn by boys and adult leaders of packs that have been chartered seventy-five years. Worn directly below the council patch, above and touching the pack numeral.

DEN NUMERAL
A gold numeral embroidered on navy blue background. Worn by Cub Scout den leaders and Webelos den leaders centered and touching the bottom of the U.S. flag on the right uniform sleeve. (click here for placement diagram.)

SERVICE STARS
Gold metallic numbered star worn with colored background to indicate years of service in Scouting. Adult leaders wear a service star with a light blue background to indicate years of service as an adult leader in the Scouting program. Adults who were members as youth may wear multiple stars with different backings (orange for Tiger Cubs, gold for Cub Scouts, green for Boy Scouts, red for Explorers, brown for Varsity) or may combine all BSA tenure in a single star with a blue background. Click here for placement diagram. (Note: For more information on Service Stars, visit Mike Walton's definitive source... Year Pins & How to Wear 'em!)

WORLD CREST
May be whom as an expression of the world brotherhood of Scouting. May be worn by all BSA members centered above left pocket midway between the pocket-top and the shoulder seam. (click here for placement diagram.)

NAMEPLATES
Leaders may wear a nameplate, if desired. These are worn either above the BSA strip, above the Interpreter strip, or centered on the right breast-pocket flap. May also be worn at the top edge of the left breast pocket lapel on the male dress uniform or on the right lapel of the female dress uniform. (click here for placement diagram.)

CHARTERED ORGANIZATION REPRESENTATIVE EMBLEM
Worn on the left sleeve directly below, but touching, the Unit Numeral(s) If worn. For more information, see our Cub Leader Roles pages. (click here for placement diagram.)

PACK COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN EMBLEM
Worn on the left sleeve directly below, but touching, the Unit Numeral(s.) For more information, see our Cub Leader Roles pages. (click here for placement diagram.)

PACK COMMITTEE MEMBER EMBLEM
Worn on the left sleeve directly below, but touching, the Unit Numeral(s.) For more information, see our Cub Leader Roles pages. (click here for placement diagram.)

CUBMASTER EMBLEM
Worn on the left sleeve directly below, but touching, the Unit Numeral(s.) For more information, see our Cub Leader Roles pages. (click here for placement diagram.)

ASSISTANT CUBMASTER EMBLEM
Worn on the left sleeve directly below, but touching, the Unit Numeral(s.) For more information, see our Cub Leader Roles pages. (click here for placement diagram.)

DEN LEADER EMBLEM
Worn on the left sleeve directly below, but touching, the Unit Numeral(s.) For more information, see our Cub Leader Roles pages. (click here for placement diagram.)

ASSISTANT DEN LEADER EMBLEM
Worn on the left sleeve directly below, but touching, the Unit Numeral(s.) For more information, see our Cub Leader Roles pages. (click here for placement diagram.)

WEBELOS DEN LEADER EMBLEM
Worn on the left sleeve directly below, but touching, the Unit Numeral(s.) For more information, see our Cub Leader Roles pages. (click here for placement diagram.)

ASSISTANT WEBELOS DEN LEADER EMBLEM
Worn on the left sleeve directly below, but touching, the Unit Numeral(s.) For more information, see our Cub Leader Roles pages. (click here for placement diagram.)

PACK TRAINER EMBLEM
Worn on the left sleeve directly below, but touching, the Unit Numeral(s.) This emblem is not yet released by the BSA. For more information, see our Cub Leader Roles pages. (click here for placement diagram.)

TIGER CUB DEN LEADER EMBLEM
Worn on the left sleeve directly below, but touching, the Unit Numeral(s.) This emblem is not yet released by the BSA. For more information, see our Cub Leader Roles pages. (click here for placement diagram.)

TEMPORARY INSIGNIA
Any insignia authorized by the local council for a particular purpose, such as Scoutoramas, Cub Scout day camp, roundup program, pow wow, etc. Worn on the yellow shirt above "Boy Scouts of America." Worn on the tan shirt centered on the right uniform-n shirt pocket. (click here for placement diagram.)

QUALITY UNIT AWARD PATCH
Embroidered cloth strip worn by boys and leaders in packs who meet the criteria. Worn centered on the right sleeve, 4 inches below the shoulder seam. Only the most recent award patch may be worn. (click here for placement diagram.)

Square Knots are always oriented with the loop of the embroidered knot that comes in front of the standing part (known as the 'loop' or 'bight') to the wearer's right. Another clue to correct orientation is that knots are worn with the distinguishing color (not white) towards the wearer's right. If you are still unsure about correct orientation, check out the knot image links below. After trial and tribulation, I think we've got them all rotated correctly.

Square knots are worn centered above the left uniform pocket, in rows of three. There is no particular order in which they should be worn, but it is suggested that the knot deemed most important by the wearer be worn on his or her own right. Click here for placement diagram. For the authoritative Web-treatise on Square Knots, visit Mike Walton's highly recommended Square Knots page.

The following embroidered square knots are available for wear by Cub Scout leaders who have earned special recognition's:

CUBMASTER AWARD KNOT
Blue knot on gold background. Worn on the field uniform to represent the 'dress' medal. This award is available to Scouters that complete the training, tenure, and performance requirements as outlined in our Cub Scout Leader Award pages.

CUB SCOUTER AWARD KNOT
Blue and gold knot on blue background. Worn with blue part of the knot to the wearer's right. Worn on the field uniform to represent the 'dress' medal. This award is available to Scouters that complete the training, tenure, and performance requirements as outlined in our Cub Scout Leader Award pages.

DEN LEADER AWARD KNOT
Gold knot on blue background. Worn on the field uniform to represent the 'dress' medal. This award is available to Scouters that complete the training, tenure, and performance requirements as outlined in our Cub Scout Leader Award pages.

WEBELOS DEN LEADER AWARD KNOT
Gold knot on yellow background. Worn on the field uniform to represent the 'dress' medal. This award is available to Scouters that complete the training, tenure, and performance requirements as outlined in our Cub Scout Leader Award pages.

DEN LEADER COACH AWARD KNOT
Blue knot on blue background. This knot has been discontinued, but will continue to be sold until supplies are exhausted. This award was available to (and can be worn by) Den Leader Coaches that completed the training, tenure, and performance requirements as outlined by the BSA.

TIGER CUB DEN LEADER AWARD
Black knot on orange background. This award is available to Tiger Cub Den Leaders that have completed the training, tenure, and performance requirements as outlined in our Cub Scout Leader Award pages. (Note: This award insignia was originally used for the, now discontinued, Tiger Cub Coach award.)

RELIGIOUS EMBLEMS EARNED AS ADULTS KNOT
Adults who receive religious emblems wear the purple knot on silver background. Worn on the field uniform to represent the 'dress' medal. See Religious emblems section for medal images.

RELIGIOUS EMBLEMS EARNED AS YOUTH KNOT
Adults who earned religious emblems as youth wear the silver knot on purple background. Worn on the field uniform to represent attainment of the 'dress' medal.

ARROW OF LIGHT AWARD KNOT
Men who earned the Arrow of Light Award as a boy may wear the red and green knot on tan background, bordered in gold. The green ends of the knot are worn to the wearer's right.

Note: When viewing the graphic for this Knot, you will notice that there are three variants displayed. The first illustrates the "original" Knot with the olive background. The second is what the Knot "should" have looked like when it was re-issued with the current tan background, and is the correct knot to use. Finally, the third image illustrates an "erroneous" patch that was manufactured in 1990 and widely distributed. While there seem to be variants of this Knot out there, any Knot may be worn. Here's the story of how this happened:

"In 1990, two emblem manufacturers made an error when reordering this knot emblem to be worn upon the present tan shirts, and it was too late before the BSA's Supply Division caught the error. As you can see from the two knots above, in getting the new tan backgrounded knots to the field, the two companies reversed the colors of the strands. The BSA's Supply Division says that more than 40,000 of the "reversed" Arrow of Light knots exist out there. The BSA's Insignia and Uniform staff knows about the error, and has made plans to tell Scouters that EITHER knot is acceptable for wear but NOT both. Future orders will return the color combinations back to the original combination shown above to the LEFT."
Settummanque!

EAGLE SCOUT AWARD KNOT
Men who have earned the Eagle Scout rank wear the red, white, and blue knot on tan background.

MEDAL OF MERIT KNOT
Awarded to a youth member or adult leader who has performed some outstanding act of service of a rare or exceptional character that reflects an uncommon degree of concern for the well-being of others. Worn on the field uniform to represent the 'dress' medal. See BSA Medals Of Valor for Lifesaving and Meritorious Action.

HEROISIM AWARD KNOT
Awarded to a youth member or adult leader demonstrating heroism in saving or attempting to save a life at minimum risk to self. Worn on the field uniform to represent the 'dress' medal. See BSA Medals Of Valor for Lifesaving and Meritorious Action.

HONOR MEDAL KNOT
Awarded to a youth member or adult leader who demonstrates unusual heroism and skill in saving or attempting to save a life at considerable risk to his or her own. In cases of exceptional skill or resourcefulness and extreme risk of life, the medal is awarded with crossed palms. Worn on the field uniform to represent the 'dress' medal. See BSA Medals Of Valor for Lifesaving and Meritorious Action.

HORNADAY AWARD KNOT
Men who have earned the Hornaday Award as Boy Scouts wear the red, white, and green knot on tan background. Worn on the field uniform to represent the 'dress' medal. Our thanks to Doug Newsom for the use of this image. Visit Doug's Hornaday Conservation Awards page for an extensive description of the Award history, requirements, application, and FAQ.

AWARDS FOR LIFESAVING
Recognition may be given to a member of the Boy Scouts of America-Cub Scout, Boy Scout, Varsity Scout, Explorer, or leader-where the evidence presented to the National Court of Honor, in accordance with prescribed regulations, shows that he or she saved or attempted to save life under circumstances that indicate heroism and risk to self. The court will give consideration to resourcefulness and to demonstrated skill in rescue methods. In no case shall recognition be given where it appears that the risk involved was merely in the performance of duty, or the meeting of an obligation because of responsibility to supervise and give leadership to the persons whose lives were saved.

It shall be wholly within the discretion of the National Court of Honor to determine from evidence presented which, if any, lifesaving award shall be made. Awards are issued in the name of the Boy Scouts of America. The awards are as follows:

HONOR MEDAL
Awarded to a youth member or adult leader who demonstrates unusual heroism and skill in saving or attempting to save a life at considerable risk to his own. In cases of exceptional skill or resourcefulness and extreme risk of life, the medal is awarded with crossed palms.

HEROISM AWARD
Awarded to a youth member or adult leader demonstrating heroism in saving or attempting to save a life at minimum risk to self.

AWARDS FOR MERITORIOUS ACTION
Recognition may be given to a youth member or adult leader of the Boy Scouts of America where the evidence presented to the National Court of Honor, in accordance with prescribed regulations, shows that a significant or outstanding act of service was performed. The action taken need not involve attempts of rescue or risk to self but must put into practice Scouting skills and/or ideals. Recognition shall not be given where it appears that the action involved was merely in the performance of duty or the meeting of an obligation. The awards are:

MEDAL OF MERIT
Awarded to a youth member or adult leader who has performed some outstanding act of service of a rare or exceptional character that reflects an uncommon degree of concern for the well-being of others.