https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2026/02/27/hegseth-scouting-america/

Archive: https://archive.ph/ZNmLY



Scouting America, the organization formerly known as the Boy Scouts, will make several concessions to the Pentagon — including getting rid of diversity, equity and inclusion programs and limiting participation to those who join in their biological gender — to retain its longtime relationship with the U.S. military, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Friday.

In exchange, the group for now will be able to keep its name and girls will still be able to join. However, Hegseth said that Scouting America will remain under a Defense Department review.

“Ideally, I believe the Boy Scouts should go back to being the Boy Scouts, as originally founded, a group that develops boys into men. Maybe someday,” Hegseth said in a social media post announcing the agreement.

Hegseth had used the threat of pulling all military support from the group — including kicking Scout troops off military bases — to force it to make changes that better align with his personal views and those of the Trump administration.

Hegseth’s demands for change were made months before Scouting America was to celebrate Jamboree, a 10-day summit scheduled for July that is expected to draw more than 15,000 Scouts from throughout the country to West Virginia. It’s held every four years, and Scout troops hold popcorn sales and other fundraisers to be able to attend.

In the past, upward of 500 National Guard personnel, military reservists and active-duty service members have provided equipment and logistical support for Jamboree. The loss of that support could have put the event in jeopardy.