1 of 3 | Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is planning to cut ties with Scouting America, according to documents published Tuesday. File Photo Kevin Dietsch/UPI | License Photo
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is planning to cut ties with Scouting America for attacking what he called “boy-friendly spaces,” according to leaked documents made public Tuesday.
In the documents, first reported by NPR, Hegseth criticizes Scouting America, formerly known as the Boy Scouts, for straying far from what he characterized as its original mission and promoting “gender confusion.”
Since taking office, Hegseth has opened a new front in the culture war as he’s tried to weed out initiatives he’s argued have prioritized political correctness at the expense of military readiness. Now, Hegseth appears to be coming for the military’s century-old relationship with the organizations.
“The organization once endorsed by President Theodore Roosevelt no longer supports the future of American boys,” Hegseth reportedly wrote.
The documents are draft memos to Congress arguing the Pentagon should ban Scout troops from meeting at military bases while severing congressionally mandated support to the National Jamboree, an event that attracts as many as 20,000 scouts to a location in West Virginia, according to NPR.
Scouting America responded with a statement expressing surprise and sadness over the documents, saying that scouts still “swear a duty to God and country.”
The organization noted that “an enormous percentage of those in our military academies” come from scouting programs and many go on to serve in the armed forces. It also pushed back on Hegseth’s assertion that Scouting America is “no longer a meritocracy,” saying that badges and ranks are earned.
“Scouting will never turn its back on the children of our military families,” the organization said in the statement. “Just as we always have, 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 abroad.”
Scouting America has seen significant changes since it was first founded in 1910 with the aim of instilling good citizenship in boys with outdoor-oriented activities and community service projects. In 2013, it allowed gay members, followed by allowing girls to join years later and adopting its gender neutral name last year.
The Pentagon declined to comment to NPR on the memos, describing them as “leaked documents that we cannot authenticate and that may be pre-decisional.”
