Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is planning to end more than a century of ties between the U.S. military and Scouting America because it isn’t macho enough, according to a report.
A draft memo to Congress, seen by NPR, shows Hegseth lashing out at the group formerly known as the Boy Scouts of America for becoming “genderless,” promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), and turning into an organization designed to “attack boy-friendly spaces.”
Hegseth’s memo to the House and Senate Armed Services committees will also argue that the Scouts—who began allowing girls to join in 2018—have strayed from their original mission to “cultivate masculine values.”
As part of the crackdown on Scouting America, the Pentagon is preparing to announce it will no longer support the National Jamboree, a massive multi-day event attended by tens of thousands of scouts every three or four years. For decades, the Pentagon has provided the event with services such as medical aid, military equipment, and flyover demonstrations.
The plans, which require congressional approval, would also prohibit the military from allowing Scout troops to meet at U.S. or overseas military installations.
“The organization once endorsed by President Theodore Roosevelt no longer supports the future of American boys,” Hegseth writes in the memo, according to NPR.
Hegseth and the Trump administration have long railed against what they claim is the “woke” decay of the U.S. military. This includes banning transgender people from serving in the armed forces and removing the name of assassinated gay-rights icon Harvey Milk from a Navy ship.
In an unhinged speech to uninterested military leaders in September, Hegseth declared that the armed forces will no longer feature “division, distraction, or gender delusions.”
“As I’ve said before, and will say again, we are done with that s–t,” he said.
Congress requires the Pentagon to support the National Jamboree—long seen as both a training exercise and a potential recruitment pipeline for eager children, with thousands of Eagle Scouts enlisting in the military every year.
However, Hegseth is hoping to bypass this mandate by citing an exemption that allows the Defense Secretary to withhold support if an event becomes “detrimental to national security.” Hegseth believes he can argue that sending troops, military vehicles, and equipment to a 10-day youth event is an unnecessary diversion of resources during a time of budget cuts and increased demands to protect U.S. territory, NPR reported.
Hegseth also believes he can invoke the exemption by accusing Scouting America of fostering “gender confusion.”
“Scouting America has undergone a significant transformation,” another memo to Pentagon leaders obtained by NPR reads. “It is no longer a meritocracy that holds its members accountable to meet high standards.”
A Pentagon spokesperson told the Daily Beast they would not comment on “leaked documents that we cannot authenticate and that may be pre-decisional.”
In a statement, Scouting America said it was “surprised and disappointed” by the reports of Hegseth’s memo.
“Scouting is and has always been a nonpartisan organization. Over more than a century, we’ve worked constructively with every U.S. presidential administration—Republican and Democrat—focusing on our common goal of building future leaders grounded in integrity, responsibility, and community service.
“While we are disappointed in the potential policy change, we are as committed as ever to America’s youth, their families, and the value of our program.”
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