• Scouting America will modify its policies to align with Pentagon values, including membership requirements based on biological sex.
• Changes include discontinuing certain merit badges and waiving registration fees for military families.
• The Pentagon emphasizes a review of Scouting America's adherence to these new policies.
• Scouting America insists its commitment to serving all youths, including transgender individuals, remains unchanged.
• Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reveals concerns over “woke ideology” impacting the organization.

Scouting America will change several of its policies in response to directives from the Pentagon, a move aimed at maintaining support from the U.S. military. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth indicated that these adjustments are necessary to address what he termed as "radical woke ideology" infiltrating the organization's structure. Key proposed changes include ending the "Citizenship in Society" merit badge, reintroducing a "Military Service" merit badge, and waiving registration fees for children of military personnel, according to CBS News and Los Angeles Times.

Under Hegseth's leadership, the Pentagon has scrutinized its partnership with Scouting America due to its recent changes, which he claims deviate from traditional values. Hegseth's statements reflect a commitment to core military values and a desire to revert the organization back to its origins, stating, "Ideally, I believe the Boy Scouts should go back to being the Boy Scouts as originally founded," according to Reuters.

Scouting America, in turn, contends that they will not exclude transgender individuals from the program despite Pentagon pressures to define membership according to biological sex. President and CEO Roger Krone reassured that the organization's mission to serve all youth remains intact, even as they implement changes to comply with the Pentagon's requirements, according to Reuters and Los Angeles Times.

The ongoing adjustments at Scouting America come in response to broader societal debates around diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs, which Hegseth described as "unacceptable" for an organization aligned with military values. He asserted that the continuation of military support hinges on Scouting America's willingness to align its policies with those values, a sentiment echoed in Pentagon communications, according to CBS News and Los Angeles Times.

Historically, the relationship between the military and the Boy Scouts—now rebranded as Scouting America—has been longstanding, with support for troop activities dating back to 1937. However, recent shifts in membership policies have drawn criticism from various quarters, as seen in Hegseth's comments about the organization's departure from traditional scouting principles, signifying a larger cultural debate occurring within American society regarding gender identity and inclusivity, according to Reuters.