District Resources

Merit Badge Information

NCAC Policy on Merit Badge Group Instruction
In an effort to give an appropriate amount of oversight to our districts to provide a quality merit badge program for our scouts, the following policy regarding merit badge group instruction is established by the council advancement and recognition committee.

  • A troop or crew can use group instruction of merit badges within their unit without seeking approval from the council or district.
  • If a unit decides to offer a merit badge opportunity to Scouts outside their unit or the district sponsors such an event, they must get district advancement committee approval to conduct the event. This affords the district advancement committee the opportunity to ensure compliance with the GTA guidance on group instruction.
  • Council level groups such a Aquatics, Shooting Sports, the Jewish Committee, and STEM must get approval from either the Council Advancement Chair, Council Merit Badge Dean, or NCAC Program Director for the same reason
  • Outside organizations to the BSA must always receive council approval from one of the aforementioned positions.

Merit Badge Counselor Training
Merit Badge Counselor training is recommended.   It is required in order to wear a “Trained” patch.

“The Essentials of Merit Badge Counseling” is a set of PowerPoint charts found via the NCAC Merit Badge Counselors webpage.  Scroll down the page and under “Useful Links for Merit Badge Counselors”, select “The Essentials of Merit Badge Counseling”. Download the PowerPoint charts and review them.

Send an e-mail to the Potomac Training Chair, pdtrainingchair@gmail.com, indicating that you have reviewed the slides.  The Training Chair will respond and send you a quiz.  Reply with any requested information and answer the questions. The Training Chair now has proof that you reviewed the material so credit for the course can be given. The Training Chair will update your training records in the NCAC database.

Roundtable Information


Who’s Invited: All District Unit Leaders
Where: Rockville Presbyterian Church

215 W Montgomery Ave, Rockville, MD 20850

When: 2nd Tuesday of Each Month, 7:30-9PM.

Contact: David Steinfeld

Potomac OA Chapter Meetings
Meetings are same day and place
When: 7:30 pm to 8:15 pm
OA Chapter Adviser: Contact: Josh Weber

Contact: David Steinfeld

Potomac OA Chapter Meetings
Meetings are same day and place
When: 7:30 pm to 8:15 pm
OA Contact: Josh Weber   (808) 295-8327

joshua_weber15@yahoo.com