Hegseth Says Scouting America Will Change Its DEI Policies to Maintain Military Support

War Secretary Pete Hegseth said Scouting America, formerly known as the Boy Scouts, could keep working with the U.S. military if it continues to exclude diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.

Hegseth said in a video on X that the War Department would “vigorously review” the organization’s changes and would stop supporting Scouting America if it did not comply.

“We hope that doesn’t happen, but it could,” he said, noting that the Pentagon had come to an agreement with the organization.

“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.”

Hegseth said that the review includes whether there is what he called “politicized, divisive and discriminatory language throughout the organization, programs and all publications,” while saying that there needs to be “zero” DEI programs.

The organization began allowing lesbian, gay, and bisexual individuals in 2013 and made a number of similar changes over the coming years. In 2017, it stated that it would accept transgender students and started accepting girls as Cub Scouts as of 2018 and into the Boy Scout program, which was renamed as Scouts BSA, in 2019.

Hegseth said that, after 2012, the organization “lost their way,” saying that the “once-great organization became gravely wounded” with DEI initiatives being introduced as the name was changed from the Boy Scouts to Scouting America.

“Girls were accepted, and the focus on God as the ruler of the universe was watered down to include openness to humanism and Earth-centered pagan religions,” he said in describing what he characterized as a decline in the organization, noting that membership dropped to fewer than 1 million today from 10 million boys being members in 1970.

Founded in 1910, the Boy Scouts of America achieved a vaunted status in the United States over the decades, with pinewood derbies, the Scout Oath, and Eagle Scouts becoming part of the lexicon.

The U.S. military and the Boy Scouts have had longtime ties, including the military providing logistical support for the National Boy Scout Jamboree since its inception in 1937.

The military also has a long history of sponsoring Scout troops and activities on U.S. military bases and maintains a strong relationship with Eagle Scouts, many of whom enlist in the armed forces.

In 2017, the Boy Scouts announced that they would allow transgender individuals to enroll in their boys-only programs. That came after an 8-year-old was asked to leave his Scout troop in New Jersey after parents and leaders said the child was transgender.

The Boy Scouts also faced a flood of sexual abuse claims and sought bankruptcy protection in 2020, when it had been named in about 275 lawsuits and had told insurers that it was aware of another 1,400 claims.

In 2023, a judge upheld the $2.4 billion bankruptcy plan, allowing the organization to keep operating while compensating more than 80,000 men who filed claims saying they were sexually abused while in scouting.

The Epoch Times contacted Scouting America for comment.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.