Training and preparedness are key essentials for Boy Scouts. Four local Boy Scouts put their training and preparation to the test when they saved lives recently, and they were rewarded for it in a ceremony on Wednesday.

Michael Brown, Kirk Ring, Tyler Robinson and David Robinson showed the highest and best attributes of the Boy Scouts when they intervened in two different situations to help folks who were in life-threatening situations.

Brown, and Eagle Scout of Boy Scout Troop 30 and senior at Lakeland High School, received a National Certificate of Merit for diving into the waters and saving four or five others after a vessel capsized on a whitewater-rafting trip.

Separately, Kirk Ring, Tyler Robinson and David Robinson, Tyler’s father, were driving back from a Scout retreat when they saw a car billowing smoke. David Robinson pulled over and pulled the driver from the burning vehicle, as Ring and Tyler Robinson contacted emergency services and cared for the injured man.

David Robinson received a Medal of Honor with Crossed Palms, the highest honor given for lifesaving in the Scouts, for putting his life on the line in the burning vehicle. Both younger boys with him received National Certificates of Merit for their efforts.

Boys and young men who participate in Boy Scouts receive training in any number of areas, and all of it is useful both in their Scouting activities and in everyday life, and potentially in their future careers.

However, perhaps none of it is so important as the lifesaving skills they learn. Whether it’s rescuing someone from a burning vehicle, pulling them from raging waters, administering first aid or helping them prevent illness or injury in the first place, the training could pay dividends — whether for themselves, family or friends or even strangers — years down the road.

These young men, however, got the chance to put their training to work early in life. We congratulate them and thank them for their dedication.