Pete Hegseth is poised to sever the long-standing relationship between the Pentagon and the Boy Scouts, citing concerns over the organization’s focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion, as well as its decision to drop “boy” from its name.
Last year, the organization rebranded itself as Scouting America, a move that drew criticism from Hegseth, who described it in leaked documents as a “genderless” assault on male-oriented spaces.
Hegseth remarked, “The group once championed by President Theodore Roosevelt no longer represents the interests of American boys,” as reported by NPR.
If the decision proceeds, the military will discontinue its century-old support, which includes providing medical and logistical assistance for the Scouts’ National Jamboree, and Scouts will no longer be permitted to hold meetings on military bases.
The military currently offers a range of support, including aviation and skydiving exhibitions, as well as trucks, ambulances, and medical personnel, all free of charge, which serve both training purposes and as a recruitment tool.
The Pentagon is in the midst of preparing the necessary documents for Hegseth to present to Congress, as the Department of Defense is legally obligated to provide support until any changes are formalized.
However, Hegseth may be looking to exploit a loophole in the law which allows him to terminate that support if he determines that helping the Scouts would be ‘detrimental to national security.’
A memo suggests that providing those resources to the Jamboree while managing the border would do so.
Pete Hegseth is spotted at the White House Thanksgiving ceremony amid reports that he’s set to cut ties with the Boy Scouts
The organization changed its name to Scouting America last year, which was criticized by with Hegseth calling it a ‘genderless’ attack on ‘boy-friendly spaces’ in leaked documents
However, he is also reportedly angry that the Scouts have gotten away from a mission to ‘cultivate masculine values.’
Donald Trump addressed the Jamboree in West Virginia in 2017.
‘The Department will not comment on leaked documents that we cannot authenticate and that may be pre-decisional,’ a Pentagon spokesperson told The Daily Mail.
‘Scouting is and has always been a nonpartisan organization,’ a spokesperson for Scouting America said.
‘Over more than a century, we’ve worked constructively with every US presidential administration — Democratic and Republican — focusing on our common goal of building future leaders grounded in integrity, responsibility, and community service.’
In 2024, the Scouts announced they were changing their name for the first time in its 114-year history in a bid to ‘boost inclusion’.
The Texas-based organization is set to become Scouting America as it hopes to improve participation amid flagging membership.
The historic change is the latest in a series designed to take the troop into the 21st century, including allowing gay youth and welcoming girls throughout its ranks.
Donald Trump addressed the then-Boy Scouts’ National Jamboree in West Virginia in 2017
It comes as the organization is emerging from bankruptcy following a flood of sexual abuse claims.
‘In the next 100 years we want any youth in America to feel very, very welcome to come into our programs,’ Roger Krone, who took over last fall as president and chief executive officer, said in an interview before the announcement.
The announcement came at its annual meeting in Florida on the fifth anniversary of the organization welcoming girls into Cub Scouting.
Boy Scouts of America began allowing gay youth in 2013 and ended a blanket ban on gay adult leaders in 2015.
In 2017, it made the historic announcement that girls would be accepted as Cub Scouts as of 2018 and into the flagship Boy Scout program – renamed Scouts BSA – in 2019.
After a highpoint over the last decade of over 2 million members in 2018, the organization currently services just over 1 million youths, including more than 176,000 girls and young women. Membership peaked in 1972 at almost 5 million.
The move by the Boy Scouts to accept girls throughout their ranks strained a bond with the Girl Scouts of the USA, which sued, saying it created marketplace confusion and damaged their recruitment efforts.
They reached a settlement agreement after a judge rejected those claims, saying both groups are free to use words like ‘scouts’ and ‘scouting.’
While camping remains an integral activity for the Boy Scouts, the organization offers something for everyone today, from high adventures to merit badges for robotics and digital technology.
‘About anything kids want to do today, they can do in a structured way within the scouting program,’ Krone said.
The Boy Scouts´ $2.4 billion bankruptcy reorganization plan took effect in 2023, allowing the organization to keep operating while compensating the more than 80,000 men who say they were sexually abused as children while scouting.
The organization won’t officially become Scouting America on February 8, 2025, the organization’s 115th birthday.
