The notice from National responding to NPR report of DD considering dumping Scouting

[skeptic]

The included link came in an email to me this morning from National, it appears.  How many others may have gotten this?

 

 

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

[DuctTape]

Yep.

[scoutldr]

The values of the DoD and woke Scouting no longer align.  Predictable.

[Tron]

I saw the original email, I read the original NPR story (not helping with their DEI knot and rainbow slide photo btw), and I've now seen nothing much come out throughout the day except the leak/rumor; I mean, we got nothing? Rex Tillerson just did a video for Scouting America on Veterans Day; dudes got the connections at all levels in the Republican Party. None of these muldunes (https://www.scouting.org/about/governance/national-executive-board/) have anything for Scouting America? My council has 3 flag officers on the BOD and no one knows the whole story or has seen the full policy? 

This all smells like some sort of manipulation scheme; at this point all of the rage baiting is going to backfire. Everyone fired up about anti-DEI Hegseth and what happens if national decides to kill the Citizenship in Society MB over this? 

[skeptic]

4 hours ago, scoutldr said:

The values of the DoD and woke Scouting no longer align.  Predictable.

Woke is not a real thing; just a hot button prod.  Simple adherence to the Scout Law, Oath, and so on is not Woke, just civility and basic kindness for others, no matter their beliefs or how they may look, o what their name are.  Ignorance held up by stupidity and sheeple.  

Edited 22 hours ago by skeptic

[RememberSchiff]

According to source below, this proposal calls for the Pentagon do to the following:

• pull medical and logistical aid to the National Jamboree.  (unclear how much this would apply to WV Guard units)
• prohibit Scouting troops from meeting at military installations in the U.S. and abroad.
• Eagle Scouts who decide to enlist also enjoy advanced (E-2 or less frequently these days E-3) military rank with better pay 

NPR reported Navy Secretary John Phelan comments:

“Passive support to Scouting America through access to military installations and educational opportunities ... serve as a crucial recruiting and community engagement tool for the [Navy].”  The Navy Secretary also noted that almost a third of the Navy’s officers in training have some scouting background.

Source:

https://thehill.com/policy/defense/5621952-scouting-america-us-military/

[RememberSchiff]

IMHO, Scouting America should ask well-spoken Robert Gates, former president of the Boy Scouts of America and Secretary of Defense for Presidents Bush and Obama to respond.

[Tron]

1 hour ago, RememberSchiff said:

According to source below, this proposal calls for the Pentagon do to the following:

• pull medical and logistical aid to the National Jamboree.  (unclear how much this would apply to WV Guard units)
• prohibit Scouting troops from meeting at military installations in the U.S. and abroad.
• Eagle Scouts who decide to enlist also enjoy advanced (E-2 or less frequently these days E-3) military rank with better pay 

NPR reported Navy Secretary John Phelan comments:

“Passive support to Scouting America through access to military installations and educational opportunities ... serve as a crucial recruiting and community engagement tool for the [Navy].”  The Navy Secretary also noted that almost a third of the Navy’s officers in training have some scouting background.

Source:

https://thehill.com/policy/defense/5621952-scouting-america-us-military/

So the support for JAMBO is not something the department of war can just withdraw; there is a process and it has to clear congress; the actual law is that the US military has to support JAMBO at least at the level of the previous JAMBOs support. As I understand it the only way out is if we are at war and well ... we just fought 2 wars while also supporting like 10 peacekeeping forces, while also fighting a good 2 dozen "low intensity" engagements; that whole time the military was able to support JAMBO. Not thinking JAMBO support goes away. 

Prohibiting scouts on military installations will go no-where. First of all just plain stupid and no way enforceable considering that the US military lets all kinds of youth groups onto installations. Secondly garrison commanders have an EXTREME amount of authority as to what they allow or do not allow to happen on their bases and there are just too many military facilities out there. Toss in any potential pivot of USO to support the scouts at the troops urging. Just not worried about this at all; it's like a made up micro managing issue. 

In my recruiting days Eagle Scouts came in as E4; it was only 1 extra piece of paperwork and no hair off our backs to get that done for the rare enlistee that was an Eagle Scout. If your Eagle Scout is being offered less than E4 you need to take them to a different recruiter that can be bothered to press print and then sign and date a piece of paper. 

[InquisitiveScouter]

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.  

[skeptic]

We have myriad examples of poor end results when the first notice of overreach and ignornce appeared and we ignored it.  Bringing it to the fore just makes it less of a total surprise when one of the ego meisters in charge gets such poor ideas.  What the nay sayers never note in regard to the Jambo involvments is the almost free training and practice the Military gets in those events.  Dealing with large groups in events and emergencies is difficult to stage, so the Jambo offers one way for that to happen.  In 85 when "Bob" came to visit, the Army made themselves proud in their response and support.  The speed and turn around of drying out thousands of sleeping bags and restoring order in flattened areas was beyond expectations.  And, if our old friend Joe Price's story to me as to how he became a collector is partly true, the Military drew on early Scouting manuals and training to kick start and support the huge training needs.  He was tasked in his position in a part of the support groups in finding as many of those Scouting resources for training support that he could, and so it became a long time hobby after the War.  He told me once that the original Field Book by Hillcourt wa one of the standard resources, as were the early Sea Scout manuals.  

And the continued service to honor Vets on the various National Days is almost expected in many communities.  The service to the Civil War reunion in the thirties or the flag postings in cemeteries we see regularly.  Many instances of horable Flag retirements at Scout camps, and the Eagle projects that focus on respect for the military and its members.  

IF this actually is proposed, I suspect it will NOT be well received by Congress, even in this confused period of our history.  

 

Edited 2 hours ago by skeptic

[InquisitiveScouter]

3 minutes ago, skeptic said:

free training and practice the Military gets in those events.  Dealing with large groups in events and emergencies is difficult to stage, so the Jambo offers one way for that to happen.

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.)

 

[skeptic]

30 minutes ago, InquisitiveScouter said:

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.)

 

Thanks for noting "free" is not a good word here.  Nothing is ever free, but often it can be less expensive.