Scout Skills

Advancement · Ranks

First Class

First Class is the culmination of the outdoor-skills ranks — historically the point where a scout is considered able to take care of themselves and others in the outdoors. It pulls together and deepens everything from Tenderfoot and Second Class. A First Class scout is the traditional benchmark of a well-rounded, self-reliant Scout.

Rank
Self-reliance benchmark
Cooking
Cook for the patrol
Swim
BSA swimmer test
Ends with
Conference + board of review

What it covers

  1. 1Navigate — use map and compass; complete the orienteering-style requirement.
  2. 2Be the patrol cook — plan a menu and budget, cook the day's meals on a campout, and supervise cleanup.
  3. 3Knots & lashings — timber hitch, clove hitch, and build a camp gadget or structure with lashings.
  4. 4Swim — complete the BSA swimmer test.
  5. 5First aid & nature — perform the required first aid; identify local plants.
  6. 6Citizenship & safety — constitutional rights, invite a friend to Scouting, internet safety.
  7. 7Serve and lead — do a service project, show Scout spirit and leadership.
  8. 8Close out — Scoutmaster conference, then board of review.

Why it matters

  • The benchmark of a self-reliant scout — can navigate, cook for a group, build with lashings, swim, and give first aid.
  • Completes the outdoor-skills foundation before the leadership-and-service ranks (Star, Life, Eagle).
  • The "First Class emphasis" — reaching First Class is widely associated with staying in Scouting (confirm the retention claim against a primary source).

Notes & safety

  • A safety-skill-heavy rank. It requires the BSA swimmer test (under Safe Swim Defense — never swim alone), cooking with stoves and fire, and first aid. No dosages are taught.
  • Lashings and pioneering can bear loads — the rank teaches when NOT to use lashings as much as how; keep structures within safe limits.
  • Cooking safety — safe stove/fire handling and food safety apply to the patrol-cook requirement.
  • Requirements are fixed — nothing added or subtracted.

Going deeper

  • The self-reliance milestone. For over a century "a First Class scout" has meant someone who can look after themselves and others in the outdoors.
  • You cook for everyone. The patrol-cook requirement — plan, budget, cook a full day, clean up — is the moment a scout runs the camp kitchen, not just helps.
  • Know when NOT to lash. First Class explicitly asks scouts to discuss when lashings are and aren't appropriate — judgment, not just technique.

Official source

Advancement and Awards — Scouting America →

Requirement themes are paraphrased, not reprinted — link to the current official First Class requirements. Exact meals, swimmer-test details, and citizenship items change year to year; confirm the current edition.

Related skills

AdvancementSecond Class AdvancementStar Rank CookingMenu Planning PioneeringPioneering AquaticsSwimmer Test KnotsClove Hitch