by Margaret Downey
.... I patiently listened to the Army recruitment officer's enthusiastic endorsement of the Army lifestyle. It sounded so good I almost wanted to enlist myself. When the discussion turned to pay scales and ranks I fired my arsenal of questions. "Can a young man get a higher rank if he has received an Eagle Badge from the Boy Scouts of America," I asked. "Oh, yes," replied the officer. "I would like to take that information home to share with my son. Can I please have that in writing, sir?" The officer was more than happy to provide me with a copy of his Military Personnel Procurement Manual. The Army manual states that a higher pay grade is available to an application who "...has been awarded the Boy Scout Eagle certificate as a member of the Boy Scouts of America (Form 58-708)."
According to the recruitment officer the pay scale is 1% to 2% higher than that of a non-Eagle Scout. The Army manual also states other ways that a person can be elevated to a higher pay scale. Also listed as a qualification are prior service, ROTC training, two or more years of a Junior Reserve Officer Training Course (JROTC), completion of the junior and senior course of the Platoon Leaders Class or the Officer Candidate Course, one full-time semester in a nationally accredited college, enlistment under the provisions of the Musician Enlistment Option Program, completion of at least 24 months in the Navy Sea Cadet Corps or completion of the Civil Air Patrol program.
Non-religious boys are unable to obtain an Eagle Badge (unless they hide that fact by signing the BSA religious affirmation).... The BSA is the only organization on the list that does not offer equal opportunity in that only the professedly religious can particiapte....
My son devoted over seven years to the BSA in an effort to obtain the rank of Eagle. Had he been religious or dishonest the badge would be his by now.... A recent industry publication directed at CEOs included an article by a personnel director who disclosed that when he receives a resume indicating an applicant is an Eagle Scout that resume will always go to the top of the pile for immediate hiring consideration.
The Air Force Pamphlet 33-2 states that "Applicants who are accepted for enlistment and who provide evidence of successful completion of requirements for Eagle Scout or the Girl Scout Gold Award are entitled to be enlisted in pay grade E-2."
The Navy Recruiting Manual also claims that if an applicant is an Eagle Scout in the Boy Scouts of America or a Cadet Senior Scout with Gold Palm in the Girl Scouts of America then grade upon enlistment will be pay grade E-2 (Seaman Apprentice).
Is it fair for tax dollars to be used to give the religious community (i.e. Eagle Scouts) a higher rank that results in a 1% to 2% increase in pay? Nontheists also pay taxes. Our tax dollars should not be used to reward Eagle Scouts when our children are denied even the opportunity to participate in the BSA. The government is, in effect, punishing honest non-religious boys by paying them less.