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WASHINGTON — <\/span>Scouting America will alter several policies at the urging of the Pentagon, including a requirement that members use \u201cbiological sex at birth and not gender identity,\u201d Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth<\/a> announced Friday. <\/p>\n Some of the changes mirror what the organization suggested to the Defense Department in January, which included discontinuing its Citizenship in Society merit badge and introducing a Military Service merit badge as well as waiving registration fees for the children of military personnel. <\/p>\n Under Hegseth, the Pentagon has taken aim at the military\u2019s partnership with Scouting America, decrying its historic rebrand in 2024 from the Boy Scouts and other changes in recent years that he sees as part of \u201cwoke culture\u201d efforts that he wants to root out.<\/p>\n Hegseth said in a video posted on X that the Pentagon will \u201cvigorously review\u201d the changes the organization has made in six months and will cease its support of Scouting America if it fails to comply. <\/p>\n \u201cWe hope that doesn\u2019t happen, but it could,\u201d Hegseth said. \u201cIdeally 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.\u201d <\/p>\n Scouting America, which is based in Irving, Texas, didn\u2019t immediately comment.<\/p>\n The organization began allowing gay youth in 2013<\/a>, ended a blanket ban on gay adult leaders in 2015<\/a> and announced in 2017 that it would accept transgender students. It began accepting girls as Cub Scouts<\/a> as of 2018 and into the flagship Boy Scout program \u2014 renamed Scouts BSA<\/a> \u2014 in 2019. As of May 2024, more than 6,000 girls had earned the coveted Eagle Scout rank.<\/p>\n The Pentagon said in a statement earlier this month that it was reviewing its relationship with Scouting America, claiming it had \u201clost its way\u201d in many ways and calling the organization\u2019s diversity, equity and inclusion efforts \u201cunacceptable.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cScouting America\u2019s leadership has made decisions that run counter to the values of this administration,\u201d the Feb. 6 statement said, \u201dincluding an embrace of DEl and other social justice, gender-fluid ideological stances.\u201d<\/p>\n The Pentagon previously said it and Scouting America were nearing an agreement to continue their partnership if the organization \u201crapidly implements the common-sense, core value reforms.\u201d <\/p>\n \u201cScouting America remains far from perfect, but they have firmly committed to a return to core principles,\u201d the statement said. \u201cBack to God and country\u2014immediately!”<\/p>\n 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. <\/p>\n The military also has a long history of sponsoring Scout troops and activities on U.S. military bases and has maintained a strong relationship with the Eagle Scouts, whose members often enlist in the armed forces.<\/p>\n In a statement last year, Scouting America raised concerns following a report from NPR that the Pentagon planned to cut support for Scouting programs on military bases as well as for the National Jamboree and would eliminate increases in pay grade for Eagle Scouts who enlist.<\/p>\n The Scouts told Hegseth in January that after hearing his suggestions, they had come up with a plan for him to review, which included discontinuing their Citizenship in Society merit badge and introducing a Military Service merit badge, waiving registration fees for military personnel and holding a ceremony to rededicate themselves to leadership, duty to God, duty to country and service, besides dissolving their DEI board committee.<\/p>\n Founded in 1910, the Boy Scouts of America<\/a> achieved a vaunted status in the U.S. over the decades, with pinewood derbies, the Scout Oath and Eagle Scouts becoming part of the lexicon.<\/p>\n Lore has it that American businessman William Boyce was inspired to start the organization after he became lost in the fog in London and was guided to his destination by a youth who turned down a tip, telling Boyce that because he was a scout (they were formed in Britain in 1907) he couldn\u2019t accept money for a good deed.<\/p>\n Since then, the organization has faced controversies and undergone significant changes.<\/p>\n In 1990, the organization expelled an Eagle Scout who had become an assistant scoutmaster after discovering he was co-president of his university\u2019s gay and lesbian organization. He sued in 1992 alleging discrimination and lost at the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled that the Scouts could maintain membership and leadership criteria that excluded gay people.<\/p>\n Conservative groups rallied around the Boy Scouts, but scores of institutions curtailed support as the ban continued. The ban ended in 2013. In 2015, the organization ended its blanket ban on gay adult leaders<\/a> while allowing church-sponsored Scout units to maintain the exclusion for religious reasons.<\/p>\n In 2017, the Boy Scouts announced that they would allow transgender children<\/a> who identify as boys 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 found out he was transgender.<\/p>\n 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 it was aware of another 1,400 claims.<\/p>\n