War Secretary Pete Hegseth said Friday that Scouting America, formerly the Boy Scouts of America, will change several of its policies related to DEI and gender at the Pentagon‘s request.
Hegseth said the changes made to the organization since 2012, including allowing young girls to participate in the program and changing the name in 2024, have jeopardized its relationship with the War Department and violate President Donald Trump‘s executive order that ended DEI “discrimination.”
The War Department’s renewed support for Scouting America is contingent on the organization making several changes to its practices and policies over the next six months.
After meeting with Scouting America, Hegseth said the organization agreed to comply with Trump’s executive order and end all DEI practices. The secretary said the Citizenship in Society merit badge has been discontinued because it “encouraged scouts to explore diversity, equity, inclusion, and identity” and asks scouts to engage in “activism on those topics.”
“They always mask it under a name that sounds great but assumes something else,” Hegseth said of the merit badge.
While one badge is removed, a military service merit badge will be introduced.
Hegseth said that Scouting America also agreed to limit membership “solely based on biological sex at birth, and not gender identity.” In addition, biological boys and girls will not be allowed to share “intimate” spaces together, such as toilets, showers, or tents.
The registration fee for active duty military, guard, and reserve families will be waived, something Hegseth said is long overdue.
The announcement comes as Scouting America continues efforts to rebuild membership and public trust following years of financial and organizational challenges. The group emerged from bankruptcy in 2023 after reaching a multibillion-dollar settlement tied to decades of sexual abuse claims and later rebranded in an effort to broaden participation and emphasize inclusivity.
Scouting America and the War Department have had a complicated relationship, as the former has evolved over the last two decades.
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For years, military bases frequently chartered Boy Scouts troops and hosted scouting events. But legal and political disputes emerged in the early 2000s over whether federal support for the organization violated policies related to discrimination, particularly when the Boy Scouts maintained restrictions involving LGBT membership and leadership.
Many of those disputes eased after the organization changed its policies, allowing gay youth in 2013, lifting bans on gay adult leaders in 2015, and later opening programs to girls.
