MaddowBlog-Pete Hegseth finds yet another culture war distraction to focus on: Scouting America

[LetMyPeopleVote]

The Pentagon chief is now adding scouting “reforms” to threats like library books and grooming standards.

Pete Hegseth finds yet another culture-war distraction to focus on: Scouting America - MS NOW

apple.news/AMIoKCnu3TGG...

— (@oc88.bsky.social) 2026-02-04T19:17:27.728Z

https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/pete-hegseth-scouting-america-demands

In Trump’s second term, his team is still focused on the Scouts, though in ways that are less fictional. The Washington Post reported:

The Pentagon issued a warning late Monday to Scouting America, formerly known as the Boy Scouts, saying the organization risks losing its long-standing partnership with the U.S. military unless it rapidly implements ‘core value reforms.’

The public warning, delivered on social media by Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell, comes just months before thousands of Scouts are expected in West Virginia for National Jamboree, a once-every-four-years camping summit that relies on hundreds of National Guard and active-duty service members for medical, security and logistical support. A sudden loss of that support could jeopardize the youth gathering.

.....But his culture war crusade has expanded to include Scouting America. In November, the former Fox News host suggested he was prepared to cut all ties between the Defense Department and the organization — a move that generated bipartisan pushback — and almost three months later, the Pentagon is now demanding that Scouting America meet undisclosed demands to make Hegseth happy.

“If Scouting America does not comply with Hegseth’s demands, which have not been made public,” the Post reported, “the group could also lose its access to military facilities — which would have a disproportionate impact on military children who participate in Scouting troops at U.S. bases overseas, people familiar with the matter said.” The Post’s report has not been independently verified by MS NOW.

Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island, the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, isn’t pleased.

“For more than a century, Scouting America has helped shape young Americans who are grounded in duty, leadership, and love of country,” Reed said in a statement. “The Scouts have provided one of the strongest pipelines into military and public service our nation has ever known.”

“Secretary Hegseth’s notion that scouting is weakened because young women are given the chance to participate is shameful and false,” the Democratic senator added. “Every Scout still wears the same flag on their sleeve and lives out the same timeless values, ethics, and morals that have always defined the organization. Scouting America produces exactly the kind of young men and women we need. Any attempt to threaten or politicize that legacy over personal cultural grievances is misguided and undermines a partnership that has long benefitted military families, readiness, and national security. We should be strengthening institutions that prepare young Americans to serve, not using the weight of the Pentagon to wage ideological fights against them.”

Time will tell what becomes of the unnecessary fight, but this year’s jamboree is scheduled for July.

“They are on the clock,” the Pentagon’s Parnell wrote on social media, “and we are watching.” Watch this space.

I have some history here. I was Charter Organization Representative for my temple's troop and my oldest child was the first Eagle Scout for our troop. My oldest want to the National Scout Jamboree back when this event was held as Fort A.P. Hill. Since then, the National Jamboree has been moved to a different military base. I want to know what issues that Hegseth has with Scouting. I am fearful that Hegseth may not be happy with the fact that Scouting is now co-ed and that approximately 1000 female Eagle Scouts were sworn in last year.

The rank of eagle scout is a big deal. I know that this rank helped my oldest when he interviewed for a scholarship. Here is a story about the first class of female Eagle Scouts that made me smile https://www.backpacker.com/stories/people/profiles/the-first-ever-female-eagle-scouts-are-hikers-mentors-and-so-much-more/

I hope that I am wrong about Hegseth.

[QED]

1. What a tough guy pose!

Looking like the clown he is.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

2. U.S. ready to cut support to Scouts, accusing them of attacking 'boy-friendly spaces'

Hegseth is upset that Scouting is no longer all boys.

U.S. ready to cut support to Scouts, accusing them of attacking 'boy-friendly spaces'

www.npr.org/2025/11/25/n...

@karenhunter.bsky.social #KarenRebels

— SiriusXM Urban View (@urbanviewradio.bsky.social) 2025-11-25T22:52:50.980Z

https://www.npr.org/2025/11/25/nx-s1-5615164/pentagon-scouting-hegseth-cut-ties

The century-old partnership between the U.S. military and Scouting could be coming to an end.

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is planning for the military to sever all ties with Scouting America, 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," according to documents reviewed by NPR.

In a draft memo to Congress, which sources shared with NPR but which has not yet been sent, Hegseth criticizes Scouting for being "genderless" and for promoting diversity, equity and inclusion......

Congress requires the Pentagon to support the scouting program's Jamboree, a gathering of thousands of young scouts held every three or four years. The U.S. military lends trucks, ambulances and medical teams, and puts on aviation and skydiving demonstrations, all at no cost to the Scouts. For the military, it's both a training exercise and an opportunity to recruit highly motivated, civic-minded kids.

But the law includes an exemption: the Secretary of Defense can withhold support  if he determines providing it would be "detrimental to national security."

Drafts of a report to Congress obtained by NPR show Hegseth invoking that clause — accusing Scouting America of fostering "gender confusion."

His memo to the House and Senate Armed Services committees argues the Scouts have strayed from their mission to "cultivate masculine values." It also claims that with international conflicts and a tight budget, sending troops, doctors and vehicles to a 10-day youth event would harm national security by diverting resources from border operations and protecting U.S. territory.....

Whether Hegseth's argument — that supporting the Jamboree and allowing Scout troops on military bases harms national security — will pass muster with Congress is unclear. But the statute also requires the report be submitted "in a timely manner." Planning for next summer's Jamboree is already well underway.

My oldest child attended the National Jamboree. I hope that Congress blocks Hegseth from banning Scouting from military bases.

[lame54]

3. Hegseth is a mean drunk

[haele]

4. Kegsbreath is a White Nationalist.

In his worldview, Scouting is basically only good for teaching survival skills, charismatic gawd-based leadership, and physical health. Anything else is a waste. Honor and Truth are words in the scouting oath, but they're conditional based on results, because winning for God is the ultimate virtue.
Thriftiness, charity, and friendliness are also conditional depending on results, while any show of friendliness or sharing empathy - especially to those who are different or weaker - is a sin.
How dare the welfare of anyone who doesn't walk his version of an American Path be considered instead of their destruction?

Kegsbreath is a hard, angry, vain and rather stupid creature. So he sees little value in anything that doesn't create the same sort of limited person that he is.

[murielm99]

5. This seems to be about allowing girls to become scouts.

My son, now in his forties, is an Eagle Scout. He is still active with some local scouts.

His Eagle Scout status has gotten him scholarships, political positions and jobs. I don't think he cares one way of the other about girls being scouts. He was all in favor of gay people in scouting.