Troop 555

03/10/2026

This week is Virginia’s Severe Weather Awareness Week!

Hanover Fire-EMS encourages all residents, schools, and businesses to participate in Virginia’s annual statewide tornado drill. The tornado drill for 2026 will take place tomorrow, Tuesday, March 10, at 9:45 AM EDT.

Use this drill to practice exactly what you would do if a real tornado warning were issued for Hanover County: move to an interior room on the lowest level, stay away from windows, and protect your head and neck. Take a few minutes today to review your plan with family, coworkers, and classmates so everyone knows where to go when the drill begins.

Thank you for helping keep our community prepared before severe weather strikes.

03/02/2026

Competitive Gaming Overview
Where passion for gaming meets leadership, learning, and the future of technology.



The Competitive Gaming Badge introduces Scouts to one of the fastest-growing industries in the world—esports and modern gaming—while reinforcing the values of the Scout Oath and Law in digital spaces. This badge blends fun, education, personal growth, and real-world career exploration, empowering Scouts to become responsible digital citizens and informed participants in today’s gaming culture.

03/02/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/184U7bdGHL/

Oh, the places that you go in Scouting America are many.

At just 17, Sea Scout John Humphreys took his passion for diving all the way to Antarctica.

A member of Ship 185 “Valhalla” in Apollo Beach, Florida, John joined a scientific scuba mission near the Antarctic Peninsula to study more than 250 icebergs. For his project with SCUBAnauts International, he explored whether iceberg size and shape could reveal clues about climate change.

After completing extensive drysuit and cold-water dive training and raising the funds for the expedition, John traveled to Ushuaia, Argentina, and set sail with scientists and volunteer surveyors. Their findings showed more spire-shaped icebergs in warmer waters, a discovery that could help researchers better understand shifting climate patterns.

Back home, John analyzed the data, presented his findings, and earned the MasterNaut rank with SCUBAnauts International, adding it to his Quartermaster rank in Sea Scouting.

Learn more in today's Aaron on Scouting:

https://blog.scoutingmagazine.org/2026/03/02/sea-scouts-antarctic-mission-helps-shed-light-on-icebergs/

And head here for more information about Sea Scouts:

https://seascout.org/

03/02/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/14aRs4FBkkm/

Citizenship in Society Merit Badge Discontinuance

The Citizenship in Society Merit Badge will be discontinued effective Friday, February 27, 2026. Beginning on February 27, 2026, Scouts will no longer be able to start requirements on the Citizenship in Society Merit Badge. Those Scouts who had already started and completed any requirements for the merit badge will be allowed the rest of 2026 to complete the full merit badge and still utilize it for attaining the rank of Eagle Scout. This will only be allowed for those attaining Eagle Scout; any other Scouts who started requirements for the merit badge will not be allowed to earn the merit badge after the discontinuance date. This has been standard practice for Eagle requirements and other advancement changes in the past.

Effective Feb. 27, 2026, the rank of Eagle Scout will have 13 required merit badges instead of 14. All of the remaining 13 Eagle Required merit badges will still apply, just not Citizenship in Society, but Scouts will have 8 elective merit badges from which to choose instead of 7, and the total for Eagle Scout will remain at 21 merit badges (13 required + 8 elective = 21 merit badges).

Council & District Advancement Chairs as well as Council Registrars (Eagle Scout app processors) will have the ability to allow the Citizenship in Society Merit Badge to count towards Eagle Scout for those few Life Scouts who started the requirements prior to the discontinuance date, and will complete the merit badge before Dec. 31, 2026.

https://www.scouting.org/program-updates/citizenship-in-society-merit-badge-discontinuance/

03/02/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/18B2faK7Ce/

Scouting America issued the following statement today following the Department of War’s announcement.

https://www.scoutingnewsroom.org/press-releases/scouting-america-statement-concerning-department-of-war-announcement/

02/23/2026

02/22/2026

2025 Eagle Scout Class Commencement Ceremony at Randolph Macon College.

02/20/2026

Merit Badge Friday:

Did you know that you can earn the Electricity Merit Badge? This is one of the 140+ merit badge options. Link to the current requirements and merit badge pamphlet:

https://www.scouting.org/merit-badges/electricity/

Here are the original requirements from 1911:

20 February 2026

The Electrician Merit Badge (MB) was one of the first 14 offered by BSA in 1910. The following year, BSA changed the name to the Electricity MB. The image on the patch is still the same over 100 years later with a hand holding bolts of lightning.

In 1911, there were seven requirements to earn the Electricity MB. The most difficult was probably constructing a machine to make static electricity. The requirements were:

1. Illustrate the experiment by which the laws of electrical attraction and repulsion are shown.

2. Name three uses of the direct current and tell how it differs from alternating current.

3. Make a simple electro-magnet.

4. Demonstrate an elementary knowledge of the action of simple battery cells and of the working of electric bells and telephones.

5. Demonstrate how to remedy fused wire and how to repair broken electrical connections.

6. Construct a machine that either makes static electricity or a wire-less apparatus.

7. Demonstrate how to resuscitate and rescue a person who has been shocked by electricity.

Source: The 1911 Boy Scouts Handbook; [www.ussscouts.org/mb/history.asp](http://www.ussscouts.org/mb/history.asp).

If you are interested in learning more about this and other merit badge opportunities please let Mr. Ward know and he can get you connected to a current registered merit badge counselor and make the connection in Scoutbook.

02/20/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1bDcRTEUDj/

Did you know?

Unlike most American kids, 12-year-old Robert Wada participated in Boy Scouts behind a barbed wire fence at the Poston concentration camps in Arizona during World War II.

Wada and his family were among the more than 120,000 Japanese American people, most of them United States citizens, uprooted from West Coast regions during World War II after President Franklin Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066 on February 19, 1942.

Under the constant gaze of armed guards, inmates started schools, newspapers, sports teams, theater groups, and other civic organizations.

When Wada and other boys at Poston decided to establish a Boy Scout troop, they designated themselves as “Troop 100” to honor the 100th Infantry Battalion, a U.S. combat unit comprised of mostly second-generation Japanese Americans. In this Boy Scout uniform in our National Museum of American History, Wada went camping, earned merit badges, and participated in parades honoring American soldiers departing for World War II.

As an adult, Wada enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves and served as a tank crewman during the Korean War. He proudly participated in veterans' organizations until his death in 2023.

02/14/2026

From the national Scouts BSA committee

📣 Important Update: Merit Badge Requirements Moving Online

Great news! Merit badge pamphlets are getting a modern upgrade.

Instead of printed requirement lists inside each pamphlet, you’ll now find a QR code and URL that link directly to the latest requirements in the Merit Badge Hub on scouting.org. This ensures Scouts and counselors always have access to the most current information.

📅 What to Expect

• QR codes are being added to free downloadable pamphlets
• Newly printed pamphlets with QR codes will begin appearing in Scout Shops in 2026
• The transition will continue over the next several years as pamphlets are updated and reprinted

🔎 Why This Change?

Merit badge requirements are continually reviewed and updated to reflect technological advances, best practices, and current events. Most updates take effect annually on January 1, and safety-related updates may occur at any time.

Moving requirements online ensures:
✔ Access to the most up-to-date requirements
✔ Alignment between pamphlet content and current standards
✔ Greater flexibility as badges evolve

Scouts and counselors should always refer to the official Merit Badge Hub for current requirements.

🔗 Visit the Merit Badge Hub here:
https://www.scouting.org/skills/merit-badges/