āā¦To keep myself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight.ā These are the final words of the Scout Oath, spoken by over one million scouts at their weekly meetings, and it is that motto that motivated me to write this.
Scouting America, originally named Boy Scouts of America, was founded in 1910 to promote morals, values, and survival skills among young men. In 2019, Boy Scouts was opened to girls, and in February of 2025, it was officially rebranded to Scouting America. Scouting America has been getting assistance from the US Military for more than a century.
This includes providing support for the National Jamboree, allowing scout troops to hold meetings at military bases, and sending military personnel to participate in scouting events.
More than 20 percent of military academy members are Eagle Scouts, which demonstrates the strong tie between scouting and service. Recently, however, Defense SecretaryĀ Pete Hegseth has threatened to end military support of scoutingĀ and alleged the scouts are guilty of an āattack on boy-friendly spaces.ā As a Scout, Iām worried about the implications.
According to Secretary Hegseth, Scouting America is no longer the organization that it was when President Roosevelt formally approved military assistance to scouting in 1937.
He says Scouting America has become āgenderlessā and is promoting diversity and inclusion. Why does Pete Hegseth see more people learning how to tie knots and survive in the wilderness as a threat? Who knows. What we do know is that the more than 30,000 Scouts and adult leaders who attend the National Jamboree are now at risk of their yearly big event being defunded. Specifically, Hegseth claimed that sending military assistance to a 10-day Scouting event is a national security risk because it would take resources away from protecting the border. This seems hard to believe, given the recent increases in staffing, budget, and resources for border security.
While I have never been to a National Jamboree, I have been to multiple summer camps and high adventure trips through scouting. I understand just how difficult it can be to plan and run these events. Many of the adult leaders are volunteers who arenāt compensated for the time or work they put in. The government threatening to remove assistance only puts more stress on these leaders who usually work full-time jobs on top of their scouting duties.
Not only is this counterproductive from a scouting perspective, but it also doesnāt make sense from a military one. Not having military exposure at events like the National Jamboree would sever the link between scouting and the military. This will likely have a much more severe impact than the ānational security riskā of sending financial assistance to scouting, because the military would lose a large number of potential recruits.
The scouts themselves would also suffer from the lack of military support. Many Scout troops conduct their meetings and other activities on military bases, both in the US and internationally. If Mr. Hegseth goes through with his plan, these Scouts will lose access to their meeting locations. For Scouts who meet in military bases abroad, this would be a huge problem because they donāt have anywhere else to meet.
Scouts often meet at these military bases around the world because their parents are stationed there on active duty. For those Scouts, the meetings are a social outlet and a great way to integrate themselves into a new, unfamiliar place. Secretary Hegsethās plan would undermine this opportunity for the children of those stationed overseas and would make their transition into a new life that much more difficult.
For all these reasons, Secretary Hegsethās plan makes no sense. While the military would suffer, itās the scouts that Iām most worried about. I was thinking about attending the National Jamboree this summer, but now Iām not sure about how well it will be run. This past summer, I had an amazing experience atĀ Philmont Scout Ranch, which is a high-adventure backpacking experience that gets military assistance to train their staff.
Iām sure that there are many other Scouts like me who have either attended or are planning to experience these programs. I almost certainly speak for most of them when I say that we are worried for the future of these experiences if they are defunded. It really is a lose-lose situation for the military and for the Scouts.
There is some hope, though. This is still a proposal and has to pass through Congress before it becomes official. I hope Congress will see through the irrationality of this needlessly harmful plan and see it for what it really is. For now, though, all we can do is wait and hope that Congress realizes whatās at stake.
Besides being a Scout in Troop 86, Aadi Raval is a sophomore, honors student, and cross-country runner at The Altamont School.
Leave a Reply