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A crisp unique uniform goes a long way in establishing a culture and creating identity within an organization. A Trailman is proud to display is uniform and achievements.
An official Trail Life USA uniform is required for all troop meetings and regional meetings (Active wear is appropriate for Hit the Trail activities and Camping Trips). Below are the Trail Life USA guidelines for uniform wear, as well as insignia and badge placement.
Uniform Requirements:
As a Local troop, we require a Trailman to wear the following as part of the troop uniform: a Troop Uniform Shirt, Olive Green Shorts or Pants, & Uniform Shoulder Loops. Optionally boys may wear a Troop Uniform belt, socks, and Hat...but these are optional accessories.
For pants and shorts, several options exist, and you must be aware that the Troop Uniforms offered through TLUSA come un-hemmed and will require hemming before usage. The below referenced links are for reference only, and may break as TLUSA updates the store or items in it, feel free to search directly on the Trail Life USA Store if these links appear broken.
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- New Trailman Entire Uniform Package | TLUSA Page with Chino Pants OR Convertible Short/Pants Ripstop
- INDIVIDUAL ITEMS:
- Trail Life Uniform Shirt - Ala-Carte | Order Here»
- Troop Uniform Shoulder Loops | Order Here »
- Troop Number Patch | (Provided by the Troop)
- Uniform Pant/ Shorts Options
- Official Troop Light-Weight Ripstop Cargo Pants | Order Here» (Or similar color replacement)
- Troop Chino Pants | Order Here»
- 3rd Party Alternative: Wrangler Cargo Pants in Olive (Trailman sizes) | Order Here from Amazon»
- 3rd Party Alternative: 5.11 Defender-Flex Slim Pants in Oil Green (Teen /Adult Sizes) | Order Here from Amazon»
- 3rd Party Alternative: LA Police Gear men's Core Cargo Pants in OD Green (Teen /Adult Sizes) | Order Here from LA Police Gear»
- Optional Items
- Web Belt with Embossed Logo Buckle | Order Here »
- Troop Uniform Performance Socks | Order Here »
- Tri-Color Hat | Order Here »
- New Trailman Entire Uniform Package | TLUSA Page with Chino Pants OR Convertible Short/Pants Ripstop
NOTE: For Hit the Trail Events, and campouts, we do not require Trailmen to wear a troop uniform. Trail Life does have Official Travel Polo Shirts and T-Shirts for Woodlands Trail, Navigators and Adventurers that can be worn, but are not required. For a full list of Official Troop Merchandise and shirts visit the Uniform page.
UNIFORM BADGE PLACEMENT:
Click Photo to Enlarge
Trailman's Right pocket (From the front it's the left side under the Trail Life Logo—see photo above)— hang the patches from the Right Front Pocket flap button:
- Woodlands Trail: Current Level Branch Patch (Fox, Hawk, ML) OR Forest Award (once earned)
- Branch Pins are pinned to the Branch Patch, Sylvan Stars pinned to the Forest award
- Navigator Rank (Recruit, Able, Ready)
- Adventurers Rank/Awards (Journey, Horizon, Freedom)
Trailman's Left pocket— If desired, hang these patches from the left pocket flap button:
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- Previous woodlands trail branch patches or forest award
- Navigators/Adventures Discipleship Program Participation Patches
- Trail Life Activity or Collected Patch
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Pin the following to the left pocket flap:
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- Worthy Life Award
- Religious Recognition
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If earned, the Mountain Lion Timberline Award is sewn (or pinned -if so equipped) above the left pocket (on the side opposite the Trail Life Logo)
Right Sleeve— sew the Troop Numeral and State patch (Provided by the troop) on the sleeve, 1/4" below the shoulder seam. (This location is at the same height, on the opposite sleeve as the American Flag)
Shoulder Loops— Slide the appropriate Shoulder loops for your program /leadership position on the shirt sleeve epaulette bars.
Above left pocket— If earned- sew the Mountain Lion Timberline Patch centered above the left pocket
Leadership Rank Insignia— for all youth leadership positions, pin the appropriate rank insignia onto the Collar to designate rank (1st Officer, 2nd Officer, Patrol Leader, etc).
NOTE: Additional Patches or awards received during Hit the Trails, Camps or Events are not part of the official uniform guidelines, and should not be worn on the uniform, or attached to the uniform or standard. They can be sewn onto a Bag, or other garment for the Trailman to carry.
Troop Standard | For Navigators and Adventurers who have earned their "Troop Standard", all required badges / awards and service stars will be nailed to their standard, while Elective badges will hang from the standard. (Upon earning their troop Standard, Trailmen are given instructions on badge spacing and placement on the Troop Standard.
You can order uniforms directly from the Trail Life USA online store here.
where does the timberline award go on the uniform
Hi Rosa, per the above:
Above left pocket— If earned- sew the Mountain Lion Timberline Patch centered above the left pocket
For all of ours awarded so far, we’ve provided a magnetic bar so it can be attached above the left pocket of the uniform. You can see it in the photo above also in its correct location.
Is there a provision for special additions to the uniform for something like a special honor guard unique to one troop
Is there a provision for special additions to the uniform for something like a special honor guard unique to one troop
Hey Robert… I think that is really up to your local Troop how they’d like to handle special insignias on the uniform. For our Troop, each of our Trailmen in leadership roles (1st and 2nd Officers, Quartermaster, Patrol Leaders, Jr. Patrol leaders and Patrol Sergeants) all wear rank insignias on their collar. While not codified or standardized by TLUSA, we’ve established our own using military rank insignias. Hope that helps ;-).
Looking to purchase 2 Trail Life uniform shirts: Youth XL – Adult M. Thanks.
Hey Sarah, links to purchase each item from Trail Life USA are included in the article…as a local troop, we do not sell uniforms directly.
Where do the “branch pins” go? Thanks!
The branch pins are added to the “joining award” or branch patch that is hung from the uniform shirt pocket. This joining award is typically earned and awarded upon completion of the joining award requirements for their age group (Fox, Hawk or Mountain Lion).
How is the Freedom Award worn after a boy turns 18 and becomes an adult leader (or if an adult who was previously an Eagle Scout completes the additional requirements to earn award?)
Our boys and keaders wear their ball caps in the meetings. We meet in the church. I feel that this is being disrespectful of the church and I was taught ti take my hat iff in the house, specially the church. What is Traillife’s policy on this.
David…thanks for your question. We are a local troop, and not TLUSA, so while I cannot give you official policy from the org, I can tell you what we do. We do allow our Trailmen to wear caps indoors durning our meetings and outings, but ask them to remove their caps during our opening and closing prayer. I think this really depends on your charter organization and their thoughts and feelings on the matter— and I would ask your Charter Representative on the church’s feelings about head coverings indoors.
As for us— and I am speaking as the pastor of our charter church— I see no disrespect with wearing hats indoors, but understand that in many places of worship (and among some people), doing so would be considered disrespectful. As a church in Southern California, we’ve also got individuals who attend our Sunday gatherings in flip flops and casual attire…and this is normative in our region, so this is not disrespectful…but I recognize that in some parts of our country, that might not be received the same. These cultural norms vary from region to region however, so I would recommend you address your concerns with your Charter organization.
In general, as a troop we want to honor and show respect for our “home church.” Our Trailmen do an excellent job of ensuring our facilities are kept clean, and cared for— and we consider this to be vital.
-Pastor Brian (Troop Institutional Head)
How to I affix the branch patch onto the button of the pocket flap and get it to stay on?
Thank you so much for any tips!
Thats a tricky one for some of our boys. The loop on the Branch patch is usually long enough to put a double loop around the button, and for most Trailmen, that is sufficient to keep it from falling off. If that’s not enough for your trailman, than you can certainly try a small safety pin to hold it more firmly in place. (Note: as a local troop we write every Trailman’s name on their Joining Award/Patch for this all too often scenario when one falls off. Additionally, Be sure to write it with a sharpie in several locations, as the finish on the rear of the patch allows it to rub off pretty easily.)
The best way I’ve seen is to loop the patch around the button twice— usually this is enough friction to keep the badge from falling off. (We always recommend writing your Trailmen’s name on the back of the patch too incase it does fall off!)
Where exactly does the troop number and state badge go on the sleeve. The website says 1/4 inch below the shoulder seam, but there is no shoulder seam, and there’s an epaulet on the top of the shoulder. I would like to see a picture to see the exact placement.
Hey Laura….there *is* a seam where the shoulder meets the sleeve, and the patch should be sewed 1/4″ below that. For reference you can see the photo from the most recent Trail Life Handbook (For Navigators/Adventurers) now posted above, or directly here: (As a reference, place it on the sleeve opposite of the American flag—at the same height)
Hi Brian,
Thanks for your reply. This is very helpful!