Hegseth and Scouting

Yep. I was an Eagle Scout. A God and Country Awardee. A member of the Order of the Arrow. It turns out approximately 20% of West Point cadets are Eagle Scouts. I was not surprised, but nonetheless appalled to recently learn Secretary Hegseth plans to sever all military relations with Scouting. 

According to NPR, who broke the story, Secretary Hegseth is calling for the military to sever all ties with scouting, saying the group once known as the Boy Scouts is no longer a meritocracy and has become an organization designed to attack “boy-friendly spaces.” He accuses Scouting of fostering “gender confusion” and argues the Scouts have strayed from their mission to “cultivate masculine values.”  Mind you, Hegseth has never been in the Boy Scouts.

 What would the “severing” involve? Two things. First, the military currently supports Scouting’s National Jamboree (which occurs every 4 years) with medical, and some logistical support. This support has also been approved by Congress. Although Congress has approved it, the Secretary can stop it if he determines providing it would be “detrimental to national security.” Jamboree support has traditionally been considered  a good training exercise for the military, and a recruitment tool.

Secondly, and in my mind, more importantly, the military currently supports Scout troops across the nation and overseas, much in the way churches and other civic organizations support them across America with meeting space. This would also stop.

 Why is the second more important? Our troops, including those with families move every 1-3 years. Scouting is one of those organizations that provides stability for the kids when they arrive at a new location. Whether stationed at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, or in Stuttgart, Germany, there is a Scout Troop nearby. Does it cost any money to support a Scout Troop? Other than providing a meeting location, no. Does it take away from our unit and soldier preparedness? No. The scout leaders volunteer to do this on their own time.

 What is behind his vitriol?  

There have certainly been issues with the Boy Scouts, starting with their horrid sex abuse and pedophilia history, including covering it up. There is also their bankruptcy a couple of years ago BECAUSE of the sex abuse scandal. Given the Boy Scouts history with pedophilia, I can’t help but question Hegseth bemoaning the loss of “boy-friendly spaces.”

Additionally, there are those who question whether Scouting is adjusting enough to a modern world, which has moved away from things like camping and hiking. 

It was none of those reasons. 

It was the admission of girls to Scouting. 

The Cub Scouts admitted girls in 2018, and the Boy Scouts began admitting girls in 2019 (changing their name to Scouting, BSA). Mind you, they did not change the requirements for Eagle Scout. It is also worth noting  their program for older kids called “Explorers,” has been coed since the 1970s.

 There you have it. Headcase Hegseth is pissed about girls in Scouting and has decided to act. 

 Who suffers from this? The kids. Those that attend the Jamboree and the children of our troops. Not the military services. Not the soldiers themselves. It is the families and kids of those soldiers who will suffer.

 I have thought about doing a Blog on Hegseth for much of the last year. Hegseth is an easy target as he has bounced from one issue to another since his recommendation and appointment as Secretary of Defense – his drinking problems; his sexually inappropriate behavior; announcing classified battle plans on an unsecured Signal chat that turned out to include a reporter; sharing classified information with his wife and brother; the disarray and discord among his own staff at the Pentagon; firing or removing numerous General Officers without cause; removing certain “woke” clubs from West Point and returning a painting of Robert E. Lee to a place of prominence there; his ill-conceived gathering of all senior military commanders for an in-person meeting at Quantico; and most recently, his threats to bring Senator Kelly back on active duty to face court martial charges due to his video concerning illegal orders. I am sure there are other issues. The list is long, and it is hard to remember them all. 

 Why do one now, on this seemingly minor issue? It is exactly because it is a minor issue that I decided to act. I may disagree with things he has done at West Point, but it is a military school under him. Firing generals without cause, is something he can do, even though previous SecDefs have not taken the wholesale approach he has. And Senator Mark Kelly? Hegseth can certainly legally “investigate”, but my own view is this is going to blow up in his face.

 The issue with Scouting? This looks for all the world like something done out of spite. A childish act, doing it only because he can. 

Seriously, our military is going to somehow be more combat ready because of this decision? In the meantime, children of our active duty forces are going to suffer, and there will be more family stress for some of our soldiers. Just one more way Hegseth and this administration disrespect our troops.

Addendum: 

• Thanks to my old friend and fellow Eagle Scout, Howard Johnson, for reviewing this blog and providing some thoughts on improving it.
• I’ve written four previous blogs about Scouting. You can read them here:
  • I still remember Mrs Ahrens my Cub Scout leader, who was wonderful: https://mnhallblog.wordpress.com/2021/03/18/mrs-ahrens-den-1-and-pack-50/
  • On Mother’s Day, May 12th, 1968, Howard and Tim, my two best friends, and I were awarded the Boy Scout God and Country award. That minor event took place during one of the most tumultuous years in United States history: https://mnhallblog.wordpress.com/2018/09/12/god-and-country/
  • In June of 1969, I was awarded the Boy Scout’s highest rank, Eagle Scout. I was thinking about this recently when Cath and I were attending the Eagle Court of Honor for the son of good friends of ours. I also thought about Farrell and Don, who were great Scoutmasters and mentors: https://mnhallblog.wordpress.com/2019/07/11/farrell-and-don/
  • A while back, a friend talked about her son, who was either prepubescent or a new teen. In the screed, she spoke about “stinky boy stuff” or something similar. It reminded me of a lecture I received from  mom upon returning home from Boy Scout camp one summer […] Continue here: https://mnhallblog.wordpress.com/2024/07/09/changing-underwear/

• Here are two articles about Hegseth’s plan. The first is from NPR, who broke the story. The second goes into more details about how this will affect the children of our troops
  • https://www.npr.org/2025/11/25/nx-s1-5615164/pentagon-scouting-hegseth-cut-ties
  • https://www.opb.org/article/2025/11/25/documents-show-pentagon-preparing-to-sever-ties-with-scouting/#:~:text=Hegseth%20was%20never%20a%20Boy%20Scout%2C%20and,itself%20for%20quite%20some%20time%2C%E2%80%9D%20Hegseth%20said