Note: It is not necessary to establish a Scabbard and Blade Company/Chapter on your campus in order to become a member. The commander of the R.O.T.C. cadre at your school may nominate you by verifying that you meet the requirements necessary for membership. Maintaining a company will provide leadership experience and life-long friends, but will also require a good deal of effort. We recommend that you first meet with your R.O.T.C. unit commander to discuss the potential of an active company/chapter on your campus. Next, we recommend the unit commander nominate all qualified cadets and midshipmen for recognition through membership in the Society using the member nomination form. A member base will then exist on your campus through which an active company may be formed, and when you take this step, you school will be designated as a provisional company in the national company database.

If you desire to activate a company of this Society on your campus, check the active company roster page to verify that one does not already exist near you. If no active company is close enough to allow your participation in it, download the petition to charter a new company and follow the instructions on the form in addition to those below.

Procedures: The following process describes how to start a new Scabbard and Blade company at your school. If you have questions regarding any of the steps, please contact the National Executive Director at 405-377-4279.

1. Understand what Scabbard and Blade represents. Become familiar with the concepts, ideals, and requirements of the Society as well as its goals to a degree that you can present the idea of starting a new company to your cadre.                       

2. Find a company adviser. Your company advisor should be an interested cadre member of the Army, Air Force, Marine Corps or Navy unit at your school. If you are able to identify S&B alumni at or near your school, they would ideally serve as the alumni adviser. If not, try to find an officer or NCO who will be supportive of your company. Keep in mind your company will be cadet run, and only advised by cadre members, and hopefully by various Society alumni.

3. Identify potential company members. Work with the cadre to select other cadets/midshipmen to go through the pledge process and establish the company. The recommended number to start a company is 10 – though this is not an absolute number. Membership is limited to the top 20% of cadets or midshipmen in any R.O.T.C. program (see Joining for exact qualifications).

4. Get all R.O.T.C. departments on campus involved. Contact other cadets or midshipmen in your sister services to seek support for establishing a new company on your campus. Scabbard and Blade is a "joint" U.S. military honor society.

5. Report your plans to the national office. If you have not already done so, email the national executive director a brief report of your progress, identifying your prospective members if possible. This is vital, and notifies National HQ that you are ready to go and are moving along with the process.

6. Start the four week (recommended) pledge process. A pledge program is recommended to build cohesion in your new company. During this time, you must meet as a class at least once a week (as schedules permit). To build teamwork among the new group, it is suggested that you do coordinate social events, group PT, professional development, etc.; and, your efforts must be closely reviewed by an Active member of S&B and/or your R.O.T.C. cadre. The Pledge Manual should form the basis of your program and may also be downloaded from this site, as well as the test that should be administered at the end of the pledge period.

7. Develop company bylaws. If you have someone well versed in parliamentary procedure, it would be appropriate for them to handle this step. If not, sample bylaws provided from Georgia Tech University or a generic set, can be utilized for your reference.

8. Administer the pledge test. A pledge test is optional, but it is recommended that all pledges who take it should achieve a score of 75% or better to pass. (Retakes are allowed, as deemed appropriate).

9. Nominate the new members. Ask the ranking cadre member of your R.O.T.C. unit list you and other qualified cadets and midshipmen on your campus on the official Member Nomination Form and submit it to the national office. Your new member packet will be shipped to the nominating cadre member for presentation to you at an appropriate ceremony. There is a $5.00 processing fee, which must be included for each nominee.

10. Order uniform and clothing items. The S&B member ribbon, citation cord, and other uniform items may be purchased on the Society's FiveStarNet Web site online store. Shortly after presentation of the member packets, all new members should receive an email invitation to join the site. If for some reason the email is not received, an invitation may be requested through the FiveStarNet@ScabbardAndBlade.org address. Each new member's name and email address must be included since members are invited to the network individually. Only Scabbard and Blade active members or alumni will be invited to join the network.

11. Conduct the initiation ceremony. With the new member packets, you will receive the confidential Rituals publication to aid in conducting the initiation ceremony, at which time the secrets of the Five Stars are revealed to the new members. A national officer or an Active member or alumnus, should supervise the initiation for a new or reactivated company.

12. Complete the process. Submit your application following steps in the form provided by the National Office. Your application will be reviewed by the national officers who will either submit it for vote by the active Society companies, or request additional information. Upon approval, a printed Charter will be sent to you, and you should contact the national office to list your company profile on the national web site. Note that your new company must exist and function satisfactorily for at least eight weeks before a charter will be issued and new member applications approved through your company. If your new company is not chartered for some reason, all members will still be initiated through the National Headquarters Company.

Forms and Files:

All of the files you need to start and run your Scabbard and Blade company are available on this web site:

• The Constitution 2007 offers a lengthy glimpse into how the society operates – it is included in the Manual for Leaders.

• The current Manual for Leaders describes how company level operations should occur and describes the particulars of the role each company officer should perform.

• The Pledge Manual introduces new members to the fundamentals of the Society.

• The Sample Bylaws serve as a guideline. Also listed are the GT S&B Bylaws written for M Company, 2nd Regiment at Georgia Tech (which were then ratified by the company). One of the requirements for charting is to have a set of bylaws established.

Contact Information:

If you have questions regarding any of the steps of forming a new Scabbard and Blade company, please contact the National Executive Officer, phone 405-377-4279.