The Order of the Arrow (OA) is a national honor Scouting program founded in 1915 and is run by the Boy Scouts of America (BSA).
The purpose of the Order is to recognize those Scouts and Scouters who best exemplify the Scout Oath and Law in their daily lives and by such recognition causes other Scouts to conduct themselves in such a manner as to warrant recognition.
These Honor Scouting Programs have their own unique criteria for initial membership and future advancement or elevation. They include, among other things:
- Participation Criteria: Troop 412 has set the following guidelines for measuring this criteria:
- You must attend 55% of scheduled Troop Meetings. You must be in full Scout uniform at Troop Meetings, or your attendance may not be counted.
- You must attend at least 5 of the 11 regularly scheduled monthly Troop campouts held during the school year. If you are an older Scout, 3 of the 5 required campouts must be regular Troop campouts and the other 2 campouts may be Troop Venture camping activities or Troop High Adventure camping activities. Order of the Arrow or Mic-O-Say, organized overnight camping activities may be counted towards 1 of these 2 other campouts. (This does not include Ordeal and Brotherhood Candidates going through Ceremony) This should be approved by the Scoutmaster in advance. Bartle Summer Camp and Summer High Adventure activities are not counted towards these attendance criteria.
- You must attend all Troop Courts of Honor and all Eagle Scout Courts of Honor. If you cannot attend a specific Court of Honor, you must have an excused absence from the Scoutmaster in advance of that Court of Honor.
- Subjective Criteria of Scout Spirit:
Troop 412 has set the following guidelines for measuring these criteria, for both past and present. Scouts are taught that they are Scouts 24 hours a day: the values of Scouting are not something to be turned off and the end of the Scout meetings. Because of this, Scouts will be evaluated based on:
- Living the Scout Oath and Law.
- Contributing to the Troop
- Contributing to the Community
- Helping younger Scouts grow and learn
- Showing maturity and respect for others
- There are other criteria that are confidential and are not publicly discussed.
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