InquisitiveScouter

Having worked in various joint commands in plans (J5), exercise (J7), and operations shops (J3), I have to tell you these things are FAR from free. Military exercises, deployments, employments, redeployment, and reconstitution (after the fact) are quite expensive, in fact. Literally hundreds of millions of your tax dollars are spent on these each year to maintain unit readiness. Difficult to stage? yes... Scarcity of opportunity? no. Quite the opposite. Military commands at all levels routinely have to cut exercises and practices from their schedules to support various "hobby horses" or "pet projects" the military is tasked to support based on political pressure. The National Jamboree is a good example of such a "pet project." Do the units supporting these get good training? Absolutely. Could the resources spent on the Jamboree be better used supporting other valid military training objectives? Absolutely. Do I support the use of military resources to enable the Jamboree? Absolutely 😜 (Sometimes the troops would rather support something at home like this, rather than flying to a third world country to practice their "wartime" skills there.)

We are potentially making much ado about nothing here. As outlined in another post, this is a leaked draft memo that could amount to a whole lot of nothing. When SECWAR or POTUS comment on it, or you see a memo with a signature on it, then it will mean something.

This, yes... prevent the COR uprising to vote against a merger... gotta remove the potential power struggle with those pesky volunteers, you know.

First, a leaked draft memo does not equal policy. This memo could have been generated by some mid-level staffer with an axe to grind against Scouting America, and may never see the light of day as an official communique. The real ignorance lies in all of the articles already attributing this as coming from the Secretary. I promise you, no Secretary of any department drafts their own memos like this, and these draft memoranda go through numerous revisions and legal review before being issued. Having worked at these levels with the Department of Defense (or so it was called when I was on active duty), I can easily posit this memo was the result of some staff task issued at the request of the National Guard Bureau to 'justify withdrawing support to Joint Task Force - National Scout Jamboree as a drain on resources.' But that is an educated guess on my part. https://www.wv.ng.mil/News/Article/3463243/a-decade-of-diligence-joint-task-force-national-scout-jamboree-kicks-off-10-yea/ In other posts, I have commented that Scouting America, over the past years, has, indeed, lost some credibility as a "meritocracy", (while maintaining the guise of one) as the quality of instruction and program at summer camps has declined, and Scouts are being given badges rather than earning them. Let's have some tactical patience and see what develops with this story. Hopefully, the press will show due diligence and ask the right questions to flesh out what is really going on here. It would not surprise me at all if the burden of logistical support is withdrawn, considering the dwindling attendance at jamboree: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Scout_jamboree_(Scouting_America) Nor would it surprise me if the initial enlistment rank advancement given to Eagle Scouts is withdrawn, given the observed lower quality potential recruits we (collectively) are producing. Giving a rank advancement upon enlistment to Eagle Scout and Gold Award recipients is an endorsement of those programs...

Removing the possibility of the grass roots uprising as a "threat" to power over the organization.

We just had this discussion at a leaders meeting... Our Committee Chair is going to communicate with parents about this and try to tell them something to this effect... "If your son does not want to go to Scouts, please do not force him. This is detrimental to all of us, and your Scout will only wind up resenting you. Let them choose, please."

While I agree with your sentiment, I understand why they do this. It is men, by far, who are statistically more likely to appear in the reports, or be convicted, of sexual abuse (notice how I phrased that...) https://www.ussc.gov/research/quick-facts/sexual-abuse From that page, note that ~92% of offenders were men, and ~72% of offenders had little or no prior criminal history. It is not about you or me, it's about "us." We men appear to be the overwhelming majority of the problem. I do believe there is a lot more adult female to youth male abuse that goes on that is not reported, and that the societal tide is turning on reporting and convicting those women who abuse. (See recent reports, particularly from school settings.) But the numbers will never near parity with men as perpetrators. This is a policy made through the input of actuarials, lawyers, and public relations folks, among others.

That was quick... this just in my inbox: Statement Regarding NPR Story on Scouting and the U.S. Military Scouting Family, This morning NPR aired a story about a supposed leaked Pentagon memo directing the U.S. Military to sever ties with Scouting America. According to the story, the draft memo, which has not been sent to Congress, indicates that the Secretary of War plans to cease support for youth in Scouting programs on military bases in the U.S. and overseas, cut support for the National Jamboree, and eliminate increases in pay grade for Eagle Scouts who enlist in the military. Listen to the story here or you can read the story here. We are surprised and deeply saddened by this news. The Scouting movement has had a strong relationship with our nation’s military going back more than a century. From the tremendous support of the West Virginia National Guard at our National Jamborees to Scout troops that provide stability for the children of military families deployed around the globe, our nation’s military has walked side-by-side with Scouts for generations. An enormous percentage of those in our military academies are Scouts and Eagle Scouts. Our Scouts and leaders admire and are inspired by our military heroes. Many of our Scouts trade their Scouting uniforms for the uniforms of our nation’s armed forces. According to the story, the draft memo purports that the Scouting organization is “no longer a meritocracy” and does not hold members to high standards. This view is clearly uninformed. Badges and ranks are not given, they are earned. Just ask any Eagle Scout. Young men and young women alike thrive in Scouting. Scouts wear an American flag on their sleeves and swear a duty to God and country. Scouting isn’t something we do. It’s something we are. Scouting will never turn its back on the children of our military families. Just as we always have, Scouts will continue to put duty to country above duty to self and will remain focused on serving all American families in the U.S. and abroad. Scouting is and has always been a nonpartisan organization. For more than a century, we’ve worked with every U.S. presidential administration – Republican and Democrat – focusing on our common goal of building future leaders grounded in integrity, responsibility, and service. We will continue our efforts to work with the Pentagon to address this critical issue. At the same time, I encourage each of you to contact your senators and congressional representatives immediately and ask for their support. You can locate contact information for your representative at these links: House and Senate. Some of you may be discouraged by this news, but, just like the service men and women of our military, a Scout is brave. I see this as a clear call to redouble our efforts. All youth are in crisis today. They need the fun, adventure and the challenging, character-building programs of Scouting more than ever. Support your local councils. Lift up your fellow volunteer leaders and Scouting families. Let’s prepare the next generation for lives of purpose and impact. Yours in Scouting, Roger Krone Chief Scout Executive President & CEO Scouting America

If you meet in a military facility, that might end quickly also... https://www.npr.org/2025/11/25/nx-s1-5615164/pentagon-scouting-hegseth-cut-ties Not sure this will gain traction, though...

https://youtu.be/7YBLGOnX3hE A show that could not be made today...

I'd lay odds that BSA is dumb enough to do that

Yes. Made inquiries here. Our Council is putting together our local imminent public release.

Yeah, I saw it posted to the Scouting America page, but from a member, not an "official."

You have an official link for that letter??

And it is just sad to read some of the drivel at this site... https://www.facebook.com/groups/512240731294585/