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The Pentagon issued a warning late Monday to Scouting America, formerly known as the Boy Scouts, saying the organization risks losing its long-standing partnership with the U.S. military unless it rapidly implements "core value reforms."
The public warning, delivered on social media by Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell, comes just months before thousands of Scouts are expected in West Virginia for National Jamboree, a once-every-four-years camping summit that relies on hundreds of National Guard and active-duty service members for medical, security and logistical support. A sudden loss of that support could jeopardize the youth gathering.
The organization has been in Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's crosshairs for years, ever since the group allowed girls to join and in 2024 said it would rebrand as Scouting America to project its inclusiveness. Hegseth is an avowed critic of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and has worked aggressively during his tenure atop the Pentagon to purge what he calls "woke" programs - and people - from the institution.
The Pentagon in recent days had begun finalizing plans to end all support for the Scouts, seeking input from the National Guard and the military's active-duty components on the potential impact of such a move, said multiple people familiar with a draft memo detailing the plans.
If Scouting America does not comply with Hegseth's demands, which have not been made public, the group could also lose its access to military facilities - which would have a disproportionate impact on military children who participate in Scouting troops at U.S. bases overseas, people familiar with the matter said. Like some others interviewed for this report, they spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the Pentagon's deliberations.
In his post to social media, Parnell said that after a review of the organization, the Pentagon is near a final agreement whereby it would continue supporting the organization because Scouting America has "firmly committed to a return to core principles."
"Back to G od and country - immediately!" Parnell wrote, assailing what he called Scouting America's "unacceptable" decisions in recent years "that run counter to the values of this administration," including "an embrace of DEI and other social justice, gender-fluid ideological stances."
It was not immediately clear what changes the Scouts might agree to, including whether the organization would return to being for boys only. Neither the Pentagon nor Scouting America addressed questions seeking details on the scope of what it would require of the group.
"For nearly 116 years Scouting has stood as a cornerstone of American ideals, good citizenship, service and adventure for American youth. We are encouraged by tonight's social media post by the Pentagon and we look forward to providing more details as we move ahead," Scouting America said in a statement to The Washington Post late Monday.
Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson said the Pentagon "would have more to announce soon."
Left uncertain is the fate of this year's Jamboree, a massive 10-day summit scheduled for July and expected to draw more than 15,000 Scouts from throughout the country to West Virginia. In the past, upward of 500 National Guard personnel, military reservists and active-duty service members have provided a range of equipment and logistical support for the event - all now in doubt if the organization does not meet the Pentagon's demands.
"They are on the clock," Parnell wrote on social media, "and we are watching."
Scout troops spend years planning and raising money - through popcorn sales and other fundraisers - to travel to the Summit Bechtel Reserve for Jamboree. A spokesperson for Scouting America did not answer questions about what would happen to the summit if military support is pulled, saying in a statement that the West Virginia National Guard, which leads the Defense Department's involvement in Jamboree, "has indicated that they are fully prepared to support" the event.
In a statement, the West Virginia National Guard said that "no official communication has been disseminated to us that would contradict or cease ongoing preparations" and that, for now, military officials are planning to support Jamboree.
Since becoming defense secretary a year ago, Hegseth has moved aggressively to purge the military of DEI programs and to fire senior leaders whom he accused of being overly focused on them. He pushed out transgender service members, too, referring to them as "dudes in dresses," and directed the military's service academies to get rid of books, student organizations and courses that in his estimation were "woke."
Threats to sever the Defense Department's ties with the Scouts appear to be the latest evolution in this broader, highly politicized campaign.
NBC News and NPR have previously reported that the Pentagon was considering cutting ties with the Scouts. In November, when NPR disclosed the draft memo's existence, Scouting America released a statement emphasizing that it has "always" been nonpartisan.
"Over more than a century," it continues, "we've worked constructively with every U.S. presidential administration - Democratic and Republican - focusing on our common goal of building future leaders grounded in integrity, responsibility, and community service."
A dissolution of the two entities' partnership would end what for many decades has been a mutually beneficial relationship, as a significant portion of the nation's military officers have Scouting backgrounds, according to the organization.
It would mark a shift for Hegseth's boss, too. During his first term in office, in 2017, President Donald Trump appeared at Jamboree and told the thousands of assembled Scouts how proud he was to be there - and that 10 of his Cabinet members at the time had been Scouts.
"The Scouts," Trump said at the time, "believe in putting America first."
A year later, the organization began admitting girls.
The rebrand of Scouting America was announced in 2024, as the organization worked to move beyond decades of scandals involving sexual abuse allegations made by thousands of Scouts who say they were abused by Scout leaders or volunteers.
As a Fox News commentator then, Hegseth said allowing girls to join and then renaming the Scouts was "basically the end" of the group, and he blamed "the left" for the change.
"They didn't want to improve it. They wanted to destroy it or dilute it into something that stood for nothing," Hegseth said on "Fox & Friends."
The Scouts' interconnectedness with the military is reflected in Army and Air Force policy, which says that the services' most junior enlisted members, known as an E-1, can be automatically bumped up to the next higher pay grade if they join having previously earned the rank of Eagle Scout. In the Navy, attaining Eagle Scout allows an enlisted member to jump from the rank of E-1 to E-3.
The Scouts have served as a sort of feeder program for the military's service academies, too. According to Scouting magazine, in 2017 about 20 percent of cadets at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point had attained the rank of Eagle Scout. At the U.S. Naval Academy for the Class of 2020, about 17 percent of male midshipmen had participated in Scouting.
It was not immediately clear how many current cadets or midshipmen have Scouting backgrounds. Spokespeople for the academies referred questions to the Pentagon.
The relationship between Scouting and the Pentagon is codified in law, too. Title 10 Section 2554 of the U.S. Code authorizes the defense secretary to provide all the support the Scouts might need at Jamboree - such as cots, flags and refrigerators - to the extent that it "will not interfere with the requirements of military operations." It also states that the Pentagon must seek a waiver from Congress if the military intends to cut its support, and explain why giving that assistance "would be detrimental to the national security of the United States."
Sen. Jack Reed (Rhode Island), the ranking Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, called the threat to the Scouts "shameful."
"The Scouts have provided one of the strongest pipelines into military and public service our nation has ever known," Reed said. "We should be strengthening institutions that prepare young Americans to serve, not using the weight of the Pentagon to wage ideological fights against them."
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