John,

I believe you are correct, but it is up to the Emergency Preparedness Merit Badge Councilor to decide if he/she will allow that.

Man, I've been trying to resist open commenting on this thread, but EPMB practices mash a lot of my buttons...

I have the hots for this particular merit badge and feel that it is so much more to the point than Lifesaving that Lifesaving should be moved to an alternate category and Emerg Prep made a stand-alone Eagle-required badge. Look at the total skill sets of both badges and then ask "What is the likelyhood that Scout X will ever need any of these skills in life" for each MB - then answer is a resounding "almost certainly" for EPMB and almost "nil" for Lifesaving.

If the badge is properly trained for, it is a rare 13-14 year old who can honestly accomplish it. Unfortunately, in my neck of the woods, it is an even rarer Merit Badge Councilor who 1) trains it properly 2) is capable of training it properly. One of my rants is that this MB cannot possibly be earned in a week at summer camp - someone is being dishonest.

And the Councilor MUST be a grizzled veteran who has actually experienced/lived the subject matter AND walks-the-talk all the time. While that certainly means that many folks here would be qualified IMHO, it also disqualifies the vast majority of the population, including, sadly, most adult leaders in BSA. Frankly, I'm a little weak on a few of the scenarios in terms of first-hand experience - this is one MB where a team of councilors could do a far better job (sounds like Pete will be working with some folks who have reached that conclusion)

It takes at least a year (4 seasons) for anyone I work with to earn this MB, but when they are finished, they REALLY know it. I don't hold to the "must finish within X time" on this one for that reason, and no one at District or Council objects to that.

You can instantly spot any of my EPMB "graduates" in a group of Scouts at our local camp - they really stick out.

Eh, rant off - I need to finish my second cup of coffee before I post anymore.

How did y'all finish out the fire season? Been out camping/hiking in or near any of the burn areas? I've found mental time lapse "photography" of bad burn area to be fascinating - walking a burn area over a course of several years (20+ in some cases) is fascinating to me as various flora re-colonize and various fauna decline and flourish along with the changing flora. Your kids have an opportunity to learn some really cool stuff if they are interested.

Good to hear from you.

Tom