After months of backlash, including from some Republicans, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth seems to be easing off his effort to sever the Pentagon's century-long relationship with Scouting America, the youth organization formerly known as the Boy Scouts.
Documents reviewed by NPR last fall detailed Hegseth's intention to cut the Scouts off for abandoning what one memo called "masculine virtues" and for attacking "boy-friendly spaces." The proposal would have barred Scout troops from meeting on U.S. bases, ended military assistance for the Scout Jamboree and eliminated a long-standing policy of offering advanced rank to Eagle Scouts who enlist.
About 25,000 children of U.S. servicemembers are currently involved in Scouting America programs, according to the organization.
A new document recently obtained by NPR shows contingency plans to withdraw support are still being developed. But according to a Defense Department source who asked not to be identified for fear of retribution, more effort is now going into negotiating a memorandum of understanding that will allow the partnership to continue.
According to the DoD source, Pentagon demands include requiring new scouts to register under the sex assigned at birth. The current Scouting application form allows only "male" or "female" gender choices, and most troops are single gender. However, their official policy says all youth are welcome, regardless of "gender or orientation."
Whether this concession would satisfy Hegseth — and how it would affect transgender youth — remains unclear. The Pentagon didn't respond to a request for comment on the issue. A spokesman for Scouting America declined to comment.
Hegseth has been a vocal critic of Scouting's 2019 decision to admit girls and later to rebrand as Scouting America. As a Fox News host, he said the Boy Scouts had been "cratering itself for quite some time," arguing that Scouting was diluted by progressive politics. An internal Pentagon memo reviewed by NPR stated "The organization once endorsed by President Theodore Roosevelt no longer supports the future of American boys."
When NPR reported on the memo last year, the Defense Department declined to comment, saying that they could not authenticate the documents and that they may have been "pre-decisional".
Rep. Don Bacon, a Nebraska Republican on the Armed Services Committee, said he confirmed NPR's reporting with the Pentagon, however. He said he'd been hearing from angry constituents.
"Some big-time Trump supporters in Omaha called me, enraged that Hegseth would be picking a fight with the Scouts." Bacon said. "He's got bigger fish to fry. I've heard a lot of dumb stuff, but this is up there."
Rep. Adam Smith of Washington State, the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, criticized the Pentagon's position and said he believes it's inappropriate for the DoD to press a youth organization this way.
"The single biggest problem is that Hegseth is hell bent on driving forward a right-wing cultural revolution that is very divisive," Smith said.
Failure to reach a deal would have major ramifications for this summer's National Scout Jamboree. The campout draws as many as 20,000 youths and adult leaders to a remote site in West Virginia every four years — and requires extensive planning. According to letters between Scouting and the DoD in the documents reviewed by NPR, aid for this summer's gathering was first requested in late 2023. If the Pentagon withdraws support, the Scouts would have to scramble to replace medical care, transportation and other emergency services.
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