Pentagon says Scouting America will alter policies

WASHINGTON (AP) — Scouting America will alter a number of policies on the urging of the Pentagon, together with one concentrating on transgender youths, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth introduced Friday as he pushes a marketing campaign in opposition to army help for diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.

Some of the adjustments mirror what the group urged to the Defense Department in January, which included discontinuing its Citizenship in Society advantage badge and introducing a Military Service advantage badge in addition to waiving registration charges for the youngsters of army personnel.

Under Hegseth, the Pentagon has taken purpose on the army’s partnership with Scouting America, decrying its historic rebrand in 2024 from the Boy Scouts and different adjustments lately that he sees as a part of “woke culture” efforts that he desires to root out.

Hegseth mentioned in a video posted on X that the Pentagon will “vigorously review” the adjustments the group has made in six months and will stop its help of Scouting America if it fails to conform.

“We hope that doesn’t happen, but it could,” Hegseth mentioned. “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.”

In a press release launched Friday, Scouting America did not point out the coverage change concentrating on transgender youths, but it surely famous its have to adjust to an government order from President Donald Trump that focused variety, fairness and inclusion applications.

Scouting America, which is predicated in Irving, Texas, additionally famous out that it maintained its new Scouting America identify and “preserved our service to the more than 200,000 girls who participate in our programs.”

The group started allowing gay youth in 2013ended a blanket ban on gay adult leaders in 2015 and introduced in 2017 that it might settle for transgender college students. It started accepting girls as Cub Scouts as of 2018 and into the flagship Boy Scout program — renamed Scouts BSA — in 2019. As of May 2024, greater than 6,000 ladies had earned the coveted Eagle Scout rank.

Scouting America mentioned the coverage adjustments deepen the group’s century-old partnership with the army, which has included Scouts assembly on or close to army installations within the US and overseas.

“Scouting America is one of the most reliable pipelines to the United States Armed Forces our country has ever known,” the group added. “Scouts are significantly more likely to serve in uniform than the general population. Eagle Scouts are heavily represented in ROTC programs, service academies and military leadership tracks.”

The Pentagon mentioned in a press release earlier this month that it was reviewing its relationship with Scouting America, claiming it had “lost its way” in some ways and calling the group’s variety, fairness and inclusion efforts “unacceptable.”

“Scouting America’s leadership has made decisions that run counter to the values ​​of this administration,” the Feb. 6 assertion mentioned, “including an embrace of DEL and other social justice, gender-fluid ideological stances.”

The Pentagon beforehand mentioned it and Scouting America have been nearing an settlement to proceed their partnership if the group “rapidly implements the common-sense, core value reforms.”

“Scouting America remains far from perfect, but they have firmly committed to a return to core principles,” the assertion mentioned. “Back to God and country—immediately!”

The US army and the Boy Scouts have had lengthy ties, together with the army offering logistical help for the National Boy Scout Jamboree since its inception in 1937.

The army additionally has an extended historical past of sponsoring Scout troops and actions on US army bases and has maintained a powerful relationship with the Eagle Scouts, whose members usually enlist within the armed forces.

In a press release final 12 months, Scouting America raised considerations following a report from NPR that the Pentagon deliberate to chop help for Scouting applications on army bases in addition to for the National Jamboree and would eradicate will increase in pay grade for Eagle Scouts who enlist.

The Scouts advised Hegseth in January that after listening to his ideas, they’d give you a plan for him to assessment, which included discontinuing their Citizenship in Society advantage badge and introducing a Military Service advantage badge, waiving registration charges for army personnel and holding a ceremony to rededicate themselves to management, obligation to God, obligation to nation and repair, additionally dissolving their DEI board committee.

Founded in 1910, the Boy Scouts of America achieved a vaunted standing within the US over the many years, with pinewood derbies, the Scout Oath and Eagle Scouts changing into a part of the lexicon.

Lore has it that American businessman William Boyce was impressed to begin the group after he turned misplaced within the fog in London and was guided to his vacation spot by a youth who turned down a tip, telling Boyce that as a result of he was a scout (they have been fashioned in Britain in 1907) he could not settle for cash for a very good deed.

Since then, the group has confronted controversies and undergone vital adjustments.

In 1990, the group expelled an Eagle Scout who had develop into an assistant scoutmaster after discovering he was co-president of his college’s homosexual and lesbian group. He sued in 1992 alleging discrimination and misplaced on the US Supreme Court, which dominated that the Scouts might keep membership and management standards that excluded homosexual folks.

Conservative teams rallied across the Boy Scouts, however scores of establishments curtailed help because the ban continued. The ban led to 2013. In 2015, the group ended its blanket ban on gay adult leaders whereas permitting church-sponsored Scout models to take care of the exclusion for non secular causes.

In 2017, the Boy Scouts introduced that they might allow transgender children who establish as boys to enroll of their boys-only applications. That got here after an 8-year-old was requested to depart his Scout troop in New Jersey after dad and mom and leaders discovered he was transgender.

The Boy Scouts additionally confronted a flood of sexual abuse claims and sought chapter safety in 2020, when it had been named in about 275 lawsuits and had advised insurers it was conscious of one other 1,400 claims.

In 2023, a choose upheld the $2.4 billion bankruptcy plan permitting the group to maintain working whereas compensating greater than 80,000 males who filed claims saying they have been sexually abused whereas in scouting.

Last 12 months, Scouting America’s President and CEO Roger Krone acknowledged some backlash to the rebrand however described the general response as a optimistic one which generated wider curiosity.

“The fact that we were going with a more kind of gender-neutral name, a lot of people kind of wanted to know more about it,” Krone mentioned.

The group mentioned it noticed a acquire in membership of about 16,000 new scouts, lower than 2% from the earlier 12 months. The group mentioned on the time that it had simply over 1 million members.

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Stengle reported from Dallas. Associated Press author Konstantin Toropin contributed to this report.