U.S. Dept of War: Scouting America must reverse DEI initiatives or risk losing long-standing federal partnership

A person representing Scouting America rides a bicycle with children during the WorldPride 2025 parade in support of LGBTQ+ rights in Washington, D.C. on June 7, 2025.

The U.S. Department of War issued a formal warning to Scouting America, formerly known as the Boy Scouts of America, on Monday warning that the organization must reverse its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives or risk losing its long-standing federal partnership.

 On his first full day in office in his second term, President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order (EO) titled “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity.” This directive effectively abolished “DEI preferencing” within federal contracting, requiring all government-affiliated organizations to shift back to merit-based standards.

In light of this mandate, Sean Parnell, who is currently serving as the assistant to Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, announced via X that the department is actively “reviewing its relationship” with Scouting America. While Parnell acknowledged the organization’s “great” history, he warned that it has recently “lost its way” by prioritizing far-left ideologies over its founding mission.

Parnell’s message was clear: if the Scouts wish to maintain their decades-long partnership with the military, they must align their internal policies with federal standards and dismantle their DEI initiatives.

 

“From Day One at the War Department, we have made it very clear: No more DEI at DoW. Zero tolerance,” Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell shared in a statement posted to X.

“As a result, over the past several months, the Department of War has been reviewing its relationship with Scouting America—formerly known as the Boy Scouts of America. A great organization, that has — in many ways — lost its way,” he continued. “But, for more than a decade now, Scouting America’s leadership has made decisions that run counter to the values of this administration and this Department of War, including an embrace of DEI and other social justice, gender-fluid ideological stances. This is unacceptable.”

 

Since its founding in 1910, Scouting America, which was previously named the Boy Scouts of America, has undergone a series of rapid structural changes. This evolution accelerated in 2018 when the organization opened its Cub Scout program to girls, followed by the 2019 decision to allow girls to earn the prestigious rank of Eagle Scout.

Alongside these progressive “gender-inclusive” shifts, the organization has expanded its membership to include openly gay adult scout leaders, as well as transgender-identifying youth.

Historically, Scouting America has maintained an often controversial relationship with LGBTQ+ inclusion and child safety. For decades, the organization explicitly banned gay individuals from leadership, a policy the Supreme Court upheld in 2000, before eventually reversing the ban on gay youth in 2013 and gay adult leaders in 2015.

 

Distinct from this debate over membership was a pervasive and long-standing crisis of sexual misconduct. The organization kept internal “Ineligible Volunteer Files” to track leaders accused of sexual abuse but was often criticized for failing to prevent those individuals from simply moving to other troops. This systemic failure eventually led to a 2020 bankruptcy filing and a historic $2.46 billion settlement to compensate over 82,000 survivors of abuse.

During CNN’s New Year’s Eve broadcast in January 2025, comedian Whitney Cummings notably delivered a sharp-edged joke regarding the organization’s rebranding to Scouting America.

The comedian suggested that the name change was a strategic move common among those facing widespread allegations of sexual assault, implying that the organization was attempting to distance itself from its history of litigation and misconduct.

 

“Boy Scouts of America, they renamed themselves Scouting America. You know who else changed their name? Sean Combs. Just saying… let’s learn something in 2025,” Cummings said at the time.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration has exerted sustained pressure on public and federally supported organizations to realign with traditional, science-based views on gender and sex. Last year, Hegseth cracked down on DEI and other “progressive” initiatives in the military as well, banning gender-dysphoric service members and reimplementing certain physical fitness and grooming standards.

During the previous Biden administration, the Army, through the first female Secretary of the Army, Christine Wormuth, introduced the Army Combat Fitness Test (ACFT). It was originally intended to be “gender-neutral” but was eventually modified with “gender-normed” scoring, allowing different passing benchmarks for men and women, to address high failure rates among female and older soldiers.

Critics, including Hegseth, who was a political commentator at the time, argued these adjustments weakened the force’s overall readiness. Upon becoming the new Secretary of War, Hegseth replaced the ACFT with the Army Fitness Test (AFT) and reinstated strict “sex-neutral” standards for 21 combat-specific roles, such as Infantry and Special Forces. The policy mandates that all soldiers in these high-stakes positions meet the same rigorous physical benchmarks, prioritizing uniform combat lethality over inclusivity.

Meanwhile, regarding Parnell’s “warning” to Scouting America, he later noted that the organization appeared to be receptive to the Trump administration’s request, and that he was in discussions with officials.

“Scouting America remains far from perfect, but they have firmly committed to a return to core principles. Back to God and country—immediately!” Parnell added, concluding the X post with “we have more to announce soon,” indicating a certain yet unclear shift coming to the organization.

The Boy Scouts emerged as a deeply embedded American institution, closely aligned with military values and service. As early as 1937, the Pentagon actively supported the organization, supplying vehicles, medical staff, instructional resources, and aviation programs at National Jamborees. This relationship translated into tangible outcomes: Eagle Scouts often entered the armed forces at higher ranks, and roughly 20 percent of cadets trace their early leadership experience back to scouting.