PURPOSES OF THE OA, SCOUTING'S NATIONAL HONOR SOCIETY

-To recognize those scout campers who best exemplify the Scout Oath & Law in their daily lives
-To develop and maintain camping traditions and spirit
-To Promote Scout Camping
-To Crystalize the Scout habit of helpfulness into a life purpose of leadership in cheerful service to others

History Of  the 0/A

The  Order Of The Arrow (OA) was founded by Dr. E Urner Goodman and Carroll A. Edson in 1915 at the Treasure Island Camp of the Philadelphia Council, Boy Scouts of America. It became an official program experiment in 1922 and was approved as part of the Scouting Program in 1934. In 1948, the O/A was recognized as the BSA'S national brotherhood of honor campers and became an official part of the national camping program of the Boy Scouts of America. Today , the O/A is recognized as Scouting's National Honor Society


WHY JOIN THE O/A?

Membership into the O/A is something that is not to be taken lightly. It is a huge responsibility and honor. As a member, you must live up to the full ideals of the O/A. You must be the perfect example of the Scout Oath and Law, during scout activities and in your daily lives. You must seek to preserve a cheerful spirit, even in the midst of irksome tasks and weighty responsibilities. It can be a lot of work, and not everyone could uphold those beliefs and become an O/A member, but with work, it is possible for those elected.

HOW TO ELECT AN O/A MEMBER:

Just as becoming and O/A member is a tough task, electing the members also requires great responsibility. You need to take seriously the importance of your task, in picking a candidate, you need to think back on their entire history as a Scout. Are they a good leader? can they perform tasks when asked? Do they listen to authority ? are they perfect examples of the Scout Law and Oath in their daily lives ? These and many other are the questions you must ask yourself.

MEMBERSHIP"

To become eligible for election into the O/A, a scout must be a First Class Scout and have experienced 15 days and nights of camping in the 2 years before his election. An election is  held within the Troop in which the Troop's Scouts vote to elect the next O/A candidate from their Troop. The results are kept secret.

During Summer Camps every year , a callout ceremony is performed. In this ceremony, the election results are revealed.  The ceremony depends on the Summer Camp you are attending.  All this is done in the dark with complete silence until the ceremony has been completed.

After the ceremony, the elected scouts are not O/A members yet. They are referred to as candidates. from here ,they must complete the ordeal. The ordeal is fairly secret, as to allow the candidates to be surprised when they participate. I can say, however that is is difficult. You must pay for your membership into the O/A.

Upon completion of the ordeal, the candidates are partial members of the O/A, they are referred to as Ordeal Members. They are allowed to wear a sash with only the arrow.

The next year, the Ordeal members are asked to participate in the Ordeal again. Should they complete this successfully, they are official members in the O/A, know as Brotherhood Members. Now they wear the sash with the arrow and a red band above and below it. They now have full membership in the O/A.

After two years as a Brotherhood member, scouts can recieve the Vigil Honor for outstanding service to scouting, his lodge, and his community. This honor is bestowed by special selection and is limited to one person for every 50 members with the lodge each year.