One of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s top advisers has recommended that the Defense Department cut ties with Scouting America, known for decades as the Boy Scouts, saying it is too “woke” to support, according to multiple people familiar with the discussions.
Tami Radabaugh, the deputy assistant to the secretary of defense for strategic engagement and a direct adviser to Hegseth, has been lobbying other senior officials to suspend the Pentagon’s decades-old relationship with the group, including arguing that when Hegseth was a host on Fox News, he decried Scouting America as an organization that had “lost what they stand for,” the people familiar said. It is not clear where Hegseth and the people around him stand on the issue.
Though the Pentagon has not yet decided whether to cut off that relationship and whether it would be a total severing of ties or something more limited, such as Hegseth’s not being involved, Radabaugh recommended that Hegseth not participate in a video for the group because of the concern, and he has not so far, according to the people familiar with the discussions.
In a statement, Sean Parnell, the Pentagon’s chief spokesman, said, “Secretary Hegseth and his Public Affairs team thoroughly review partnerships and engagements to ensure they align with the President’s agenda and advance our mission.”
In May, when Boy Scouts of America announced it would officially change its name to Scouting America, Hegseth denounced the organization on Fox News, blaming “the left” for supposedly wanting to destroy it.
“This is an institution the left didn’t control. They didn’t want to improve it. They wanted to destroy it or dilute it into something that stood for nothing. So, five years ago, the Boy Scouts let in girls, which was basically the end of Boy Scouts,” he said at the time.
Hegseth said government gets more powerful when organizations and youth groups like the Boy Scouts lose what they stand for.
“This is a tragedy,” he said. “Young kids won’t have the opportunity to learn these skills, but more importantly, the values. And they did it to themselves.”
The U.S. military has supported scouting for decades, according to Gordon Shattles, Scouting America’s national director for corporate communications. That includes allowing the organization to hold all of its National Jamborees at Fort A.P. Hill, now known as Fort Walker, from 1981 until 2010, after which the event was moved to Bechtel Reserve, a new facility owned by Scouting America.
Shattles said the group has “a long and celebrated history of collaboration with the United States military” and added that the “enduring relationship spans decades.”
Scouts attend U.S. military academies every year, including more than 3,516 Eagle Scouts who have enrolled at the U.S. Military Academy West Point since 2003, according to statistics provided by Scouting America. About 20% of this year’s graduating class at the U.S. Air Force Academy were in the Boy Scouts or the Girls Scouts, and about 10% of the cadets had earned the prestigious Eagle Scout Gold Award, for extraordinary contributions to their communities, according to Scouting America.
Shattles said the military supports scouting every year by allowing its units to conduct meetings, campouts and other activities on bases, by having military color guards participate in scouting ceremonies and events, and by participating in or supporting national scouting events like the jamborees. He said many active-duty and retired military personnel serve as scout leaders and as merit badge counselors, particularly for badges related to outdoor skills, citizenship and emergency preparedness.
Shattles also reinforced that Scouting America does not receive funding from the Defense Department or any other federal agency.
The scouts have also helped with military recruiting, according to two defense officials.
While U.S. Army Recruiting Command does not have an official affiliation with Scouting America, recruits who enlist with certain awards from scouting, like Eagle Scout Certificates or Girl Scout Gold Awards, can enter the Army with higher ranks upon enlistment, according to a spokesperson for the command.
And U.S. Army Cadet Command “conducts marketing and recruiting activities with Scouting America to educate Scouts and their parents on opportunities available in Army ROTC,” the spokesperson said in an email.
The West Virginia National Guard has supported the Jamboree in recent years and is expected to provide a military band and colors for the next gathering in 2026 at Bechtel Reserve, according to a defense official and Scouting America.
Chartered by Congress, the organization was known as Boy Scouts of America for more than 100 years until February, the month of its 115th anniversary, when the name officially became Scouting America. The name change is part of a larger effort to make the organization more inclusive that also included permitting girls to join. The organization had filed for bankruptcy protection in 2020 after it faced lawsuits from tens of thousands of sexual abuse survivors, which led to a nearly $2.5 billion trust to compensate victims.
President Donald Trump spoke at the Jamboree on July 25, 2017, saying, “You are the young people of character, integrity who will serve as leaders of our communities and uphold the sacred values of our nation.”
“The United States has no better citizens than its Boy Scouts,” he told the crowd, adding, “The scouts believe in putting America first.” He also pointed out that 10 members of his Cabinet had been scouts.
Radabaugh, who advises Hegseth on Defense Department engagement with outside groups, is a former producer at Fox News Channel and Fox Business Channel, according to her LinkedIn profile, including a stint at “Fox & Friends,” the morning show whose weekend edition Hegseth co-hosted before he became defense secretary.
