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Royal Rangers is a worldwide movement of the Assemblies Of God designed to provide young people with activities while providing them with religious instruction. A Camping theme is at the heart of most activities, along with a merit award system whereby Royal Rangers must demonstrate specific knowledge and abilities. Since 1962, this program, developed originally by North Texas Youth Director Rev. John Henry "Johnnie" Barnes, has since spread from the Assemblies of God to many other denominations (notably the International Pentecostal Holiness Church ) and from the United States to over 73 countries. Most of the sponsoring churches sponsor Royal Rangers as an alternative to more Secular youth movements such as Scouting . Royal Rangers International and Royal Rangers America do not consider themselves as part of the Scouting movement, although Royal Rangers Germany does. AGE GROUPS In the United States, the boys in Royal Rangers are divided into four groups
A BRIEF HISTORY OF ROYAL RANGERS
THE ROYAL RANGER EMBLEM The Royal Rangers Emblem is a stylized Compass Rose containing points in three different colors: Red, Blue, and Gold. Each color has a different meaning. THE POINTS OF THE ROYAL RANGERS EMBLEM
ROYAL RANGERS FLAG, PLEDGE AND MOTTO Royal Rangers have their own flag, which is the Royal Rangers emblem centered on a white field. There is no pledge to the Royal Rangers ''flag'', but there is a Royal Rangers Pledge: ''With God’s help, I will do my best to serve God, my church, and my fellowman; to live by the Ranger Code; to make the Golden Rule my daily rule.'' Royal Rangers also have a motto, which is: ''Ready! Ready for anything! Ready to work, play, serve, worship, live and obey God's Word!'' THE ROYAL RANGER UNIFORM Like the Boy Scouts, Royal Rangers have their own distinctive uniform. Other nations have variations of the uniform, but in the United States, the Royal Ranger uniform consists of a Khaki shirt and khaki slacks with black or brown shoes. For the oldest group, Expedition Rangers, the classes are divided into subgroups by theme. Each of these subgroups (Air Rangers, Sea Rangers, Trail Rangers, and High Action Rangers) has its own distinctive uniform. (Air Rangers uses a flight suit, Sea Rangers uses a navy style uniform, and High Action and Trail Rangers simply use casual Ranger Wear) The standard Class "A" Uniform is used for formal functions and is worn with a tie in the colour of the age group (Leaders wear Navy Blue) as well as drape medals. The Class "B" Uniform is worn for other functions and is worn with a Bolo Tie . Each age group has a specific color bolo tie to wear; However, many choose to wear one that they have custom made. Rather than drape medals, ribbons (called merits) are worn on the Class "B" uniform. On the shirt is the following items
Different types of headgear are worn on the uniform, depending on the level of training of the boy or leader. For the Class A uniform, a Beret is worn with the default beret being a royal blue beret with the Royal Rangers emblem on it. Other berets can be worn based on the training event attended, such as the navy blue beret worn by leaders for attending the National Training Camp (NTC) or the Maroon beret of the Junior Training Camp (JTC) for boys. A series of different types of headgear is available to boys through the Junior Leadership Training Academy (JLTA) in each district. Although some districts have developed various kinds of headgear for their own specific camps, the camps that are a part of the JLTA are the only nationally recognized hats. Class "B" uniforms can also include the beret, and various types of Royal Rangers ball caps. The brown and navy blue campaign hats are reserved for wear at JLTA camps, and national training events respectively. These are not worn in any other venue in Royal Rangers. Class "C" uniforms are worn in more relaxed settings, such as field day events or campouts. A Class "C" uniform consists of blue jeans or slacks and a Royal Ranger T-shirt. Additionally, an awards vest can be worn on the Class "B" or "C" uniform. The following items can be placed on the awards vest:
Some countries have other emblems than described here. RANGER OF THE YEAR Ranger of the Year is a competition held annually in which each Ranger is tested on his knowledge and skills. A Ranger's ability to qualify is based on the number of points they have earned from completing things such as merits or medals, attending camps, or wearing their uniform. This competition is held in every level (Outpost, Section, District, and Region) and at the lower three levels, every person who gets more than 85% of their testing right gets a medal. At the Regional level, the person who gets the highest score becomes the National Royal Ranger of the Year for that Region. ROYAL RANGERS GOLD MEDAL OF ACHIEVEMENT Royal Rangers Gold Medal of Achievement is the highest honor a boy can earn. It is equivalent of the Eagle Scout award in the Scouting program. The Gold Medal of Achievement (GMA) is a medal of great distinction and honor. It was first offered in 1963 with the first recipient completing its requirements in 1964. In its 40 year history the GMA has been earned by over 5000 boys ages 12 through 17 years of age. The average age of a boy earning the GMA is approximately 16 years of age. This indicates that a boy has been involved in Royal Rangers for at least 4-5 years before earning his GMA. At this time, slightly less than 1% of the boys involved in Royal Rangers each year earn the GMA. As a result of its challenging merit trail, it is truly a coveted award for any Royal Ranger boy. GMA recipients must: •Be at least 12 years (and at least in the 6th grade), but less than 18 years old or high school graduate (whichever is later). •Have been a Silver Medalist for at least 3 months. •Have completed 24 merits, 16 of those chosen from a required list and 8 personal choice. •Have served in a (junior) leadership position for at least 6 months. •Have written a 500 word essay on “The Value of Royal Rangers to Me”. •Have completed a Christian Service Project. The requirements for the GMA can be found here: http://royalrangers.ag.org/gma/bsacomparison.cfm ROYAL RANGERS WORLDWIDE Royal Rangers ministers to young people in the United States and in over 67 countries. The largest organization outside the United States is in Australia , with groups in all areas except Northern Territory and Western Australia . The other countries that have a Royal Rangers program are: The Americas (23 countries)
Europe (24 countries)
Eurasia (4 countries) Africa (4 countries) Asia/Pacific (13 countries)
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