Thanks for this thread. I passed the brochure link to my OW instructors and printed it out to take out to Lake Mead last week when I went diving. The guy we dove with out there works with scouts frequently and is excited about letting them earn something directly from the boy scouts.
To answer a question that someone asked, and I didn't see a direct reply, yes a kid can do it alone rather than as a group. Like the BSA Snorkeling, it is signed off on a separate sheet by a scuba instructor (doesn't have to be PADI). My son is 13 and isn't interested in getting the patch right now. I suspect that if we have to do a scuba refresher sometime, though, he'll get it then.
Thank you for the link to the new Scout Board!