The Pentagon is reportedly considering ending more than a century of military support for Scouting America, the organization formerly known as the Boy Scouts of America.
A draft memo to Congress from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth cites the organization’s promotion in recent years of a diversity, equity and inclusion agenda at the expense of the merit-based policies that defined the iconic youth group for decades.
The Irving, Texas-based organization rebranded in February, dropping “Boy Scouts of America” in favor of the gender-neutral “Scouting America.”
News of the draft Hegseth memo was first reported by NPR. In it, Mr. Hegseth accuses Scouting America of being “genderless” while attacking “boy-friendly spaces.” The Defense Department did not respond to questions about the report.
The U.S. military has supported the organization for more than 100 years. If the proposal is implemented, medical and logistical help will be suspended to the organization’s National Jamboree, which brings in as many as 20,000 scouts to West Virginia. Mr. Hegseth said the organization “no longer supports the future of American boys,” according to the NPR report.
Officials with Scouting America said they were deeply saddened by the news that U.S. military support could be terminated.
“From the tremendous support of the West Virginia National Guard at our National Jamborees, to Scout troops that provide stability for the children of military families deployed around the globe, our nation’s military has walked side-by-side with Scouts for generations,” said Roger Krone, president and CEO of Scouting America.
Mr. Krone said allegations that Scouting is no longer a meritocracy are untrue.
“This view is clearly uninformed. Badges and ranks are not given; they are earned. Just ask any Eagle Scout,” he said in a statement. “Young men and women alike thrive in Scouting. Scouts wear an American flag on their sleeves and swear a duty to God and country.”
Congress mandates that the U.S. military support the National Jamboree, held every three or four years at the organization’s permanent site in West Virginia.
Armed services members typically provide medical and logistics support, along with hosting public events like skydiving demonstrations. But the law gives the defense secretary an option to withdraw support if it becomes detrimental to national security.
Mr. Krone said an “enormous” number of cadets in U.S. military academies are former Scouts and Eagle Scouts. They admire and are often inspired by the nation’s military heroes.
“Many of our Scouts trade their scouting uniform for the uniforms of our nation’s armed forces,” he said. “Scouting will never turn its back on the children of our military families. Scouts will continue to put duty to country above duty to self and will remain focused on serving all American families in the U.S. and beyond.”
Mr. Krone said Scouting America has always been a nonpartisan organization and has worked with every U.S. presidential administration, both Democratic and Republican, for more than a century.
“We will continue our efforts to work with the Pentagon to address this critical issue,” he said.
Membership in the organization has fallen dramatically since the Boy Scouts of America’s heyday in the 1970s, when more than 5 million children participated. That number has dipped to about 1 million since, as the organization has been battered by sexual abuse scandals, financial problems and, more recently, its embrace of pro-LBGTQ policies that led to an exodus of many conservative families.
In 2019, the conservative Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, then one of the organization’s biggest backers, severed ties.
The Pentagon has not responded with a comment about the Defense Department’s new policy regarding Scouting America.
