If you want a ceremony done right, call the Boy Scouts.

For more than a century, Boy Scout Honor Guards have added reverence, dignity and patriotism to events like baseball games, camporees, parades, inaugurations, funerals and more.

And now, for the first time, there’s an official Honor Guard patch to recognize Scouts who take on this important role.

The patch, which goes on the right sleeve, is being shipped out to Scout shops (Supply No. 621029) now. It’s also available for shipment from ScoutStuff.org. Before driving to your Scout shop, be sure to call to make sure it has the patch in stock.

Here’s what else you need to know about this new patch.

It’s worn on the right sleeve (not left).

Unlike position patches (senior patrol leader, scribe, patrol leader, etc.), which are worn on the left sleeve, the Honor Guard patch goes on the right sleeve. It goes in one of two places, depending on which other patches the Scout is wearing:

A half-inch under the patrol emblem (aka “position 3”)

OR

OR Right under (and touching) the Journey to Excellence unit award.

In this way, it’s just like the Musician badge for members of troop bands or drum corps.

Honor Guard members may wear it at any time.

Boy Scouts who are members of an Honor Guard may wear this patch at any time, even if they aren’t serving an Honor Guard role at that exact moment. In other words, there’s no need to remove this patch when attending a troop event that doesn’t require Honor Guard services.

And because the patch goes on the right sleeve, a Boy Scout can wear his Honor Guard patch and his regular position of responsibility patch simultaneously.

The idea started with a troop in Baltimore.

The new patch was created with help from Troop 944 of the Baltimore Area Council. Nice job, guys!

Honor Guard does not count for advancement purposes.

As is the case with the Musician patch/role, serving in the Honor Guard doesn’t count as a position of responsibility needed for advancement. What does count?

For Boy Scout troops, it’s: Patrol leader, assistant senior patrol leader, senior patrol leader, Venture patrol leader, troop guide, Order of the Arrow troop representative, den chief, scribe, librarian, historian, quartermaster, bugler, junior assistant Scoutmaster, chaplain aide, instructor, troop Webmaster, or Leave No Trace trainer.

Hat tip: Thanks to the BSA’s Garfield Murden for the blog post idea.