Life is the last rank that a scout achieves before Eagle – Once you achieve Life scout, the highest rank in scouting is within your reach. You have been in the troop for a number of years, moving from being led by scouts older and more experienced than you are to being one of those older, more experienced scouts, and leading others. Once you have developed your leadership skills by achieving Star and Life, you will have the chance to put those skills to the test on your trail to Eagle, coordinating an Eagle Scout project or becoming Senior Patrol Leader, while working on more Eagle required merit badges to develop yourself into a mature adult.
Troop 1 interprets the service requirement (requirement 4) as the following:
A Scout must perform 6 hours of service to others. This may be done as an individual project or as a member of a patrol or troop project. Service projects may be approved for Scouts assisting on Eagle service projects. The Scoutmaster approves the project before it is started.
-from USScouts.org
See the current Requirements for Life.
