U.S. ready to cut support to Scouts, accusing them of attacking 'boy-friendly spaces'
Source: NPR
Exclusive Investigations
U.S. ready to cut support to Scouts, accusing them of attacking 'boy-friendly spaces'
November 25, 2025 5:00 AM ET
By Graham Smith, Tom Bowman

FILE - Merit badges and a rainbow-colored neckerchief slider are affixed on a Boy Scout uniform. The U.S. organization, which now welcomes girls into the program and allows them to work toward the coveted Eagle Scout rank, announced May 7, 2024, that it would change its name to Scouting America as it focuses on inclusion.
Ted S. Warren/AP
The century-old partnership between the U.S. military and Scouting could be coming to an end.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is planning for the military to sever all ties with Scouting America, saying the group once known as the Boy Scouts is no longer a meritocracy and has become an organization designed to "attack boy-friendly spaces," according to documents reviewed by NPR.
In a draft memo to Congress, which sources shared with NPR but which has not yet been sent, Hegseth criticizes Scouting for being "genderless" and for promoting diversity, equity and inclusion.
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Read more: https://www.npr.org/2025/11/25/nx-s1-5615164/pentagon-scouting-hegseth-cut-ties
Hat tip, commenter Ed B at Joe.My.God.
https://www.joemygod.com/2025/11/chatter-away-overnight-open-thread-2792/#comment-6801192096
CHATTER AWAY: Overnight Open Thread
November 24, 2025
sinkingfeeling
(56,877 posts)Next to the "Girls Have Cooties" one?
ananda
(34,118 posts)We all know girls are better anyway, lol.
DBoon
(24,557 posts)Once Kegbreath recovers from his hangover
bucolic_frolic
(53,479 posts)J_William_Ryan
(3,195 posts)obsessive over the stupidest things.
They make issues out of moronic non-issues.
eringer
(508 posts)Scouting provides disciplined recruits to the military. There are Eagle Scouts throughout the military hierarchy.
Javaman
(64,971 posts)jmowreader
(52,806 posts)The "new Scouting organization" is Trail Life USA, and they wear green. Expect all DOD support to move to this club.
Javaman
(64,971 posts)jmowreader
(52,806 posts)Interestingly, the club you are thinking of had a female counterpart, the League of German Girls.
Trail Life USA has a female counterpart, American Heritage Girls. American Heritage Girls actually founded Trail Life USA - they had done so well at getting all the icky parts of the Girl Scouts, like not hating LGBTQ+, out of their organization parents started asking if there could be a club like it for their sons. So, we got Trail Life USA.
Trail Life makes me sorta cringe...they did so well at copying the Boy Scouts I'm surprised they haven't been sued yet. For instance:
Boy Scout Oath:
On my honor I will do my best to do my duty to God and my country and to obey the Scout Law; to help other people at all times; to keep myself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight.
Trail Life Oath:
On my honor, I will do my best to serve God and my country; to respect authority; to be a good steward of creation; and to treat others as I want to be treated.
One club has "Merit Badges" and the other "Trail Badges" - and a lot of them are the same though the newer club has a ton of Christianity-related ones.
Walleye
(43,394 posts)Meritocracy thats a laugh. Where is there a meritocracy?
OldBaldy1701E
(9,682 posts)They do not care about meritocracy, they care about patriarchy.
And, only patriarchy.
Walleye
(43,394 posts)Hey Joe
(333 posts)manhood as a young boy could be.
The childish invective, hatefulness, misogyny ,performative cruelty and extreme ego inflation he demonstrates, fails to obscure his rank incompetence and lack of leadership ,experience or any good will .
He needs to sober up but he wont.
His future will be bleak.
Walleye
(43,394 posts)He is the farthest thing from a diplomat that you can get
buzzycrumbhunger
(1,513 posts)My son decided he wanted to join Cub Scouts and before long, our whole family was sucked in. If they can get you on board as a committee member, they've got you. I quickly went from that to assistant scoutmaster to freakin' unit commission er (i.e. working on a district basis, including teaching skills to other adults).
Especially in Cub Scouts, they have to gear it toward families to retain members. Families were even encouraged to bring their RV to camp, if that made mums happy. Girls were inevitably included in everything.
If anything, women outnumbered men in leadership roles, and girls have had the opportunity to join as Explorers for AGES.
It only makes sense to let them participate completely--especially as Girl Scouts have really suffered since I was one.
Disgusting to see people fighting so hard to indoctrinate boys into the fear and hatred of women because they're so fucking insecure about their penis size. 🤨
Walleye
(43,394 posts)llmart
(17,187 posts)I thought that would be a plus. Boy, was I wrong. And yes, he both hated and feared women, especially strong, intelligent, self-confident ones. He also hated his mother with a white hot passion (his words). A narcissist to the very end.
orangecrush
(27,731 posts)Respectfully, your exes issues sound like they were related to something other than scouting.
llmart
(17,187 posts)about how it's one more way to embolden the patriarchy and continue the white male privilege that has been prevalent in our society.
Not sure what Michael Moore has to do with this, but he seems to have a host of his own issues. Maybe he isn't the best example of an Eagle Scout either.
OldBaldy1701E
(9,682 posts)They were 'den mothers'. But they were our Scout Leaders. We never saw this as an issue.
(We won't go into the whole 'scared of any male who says they want to help kids' thing, we just had females as our Scout leaders and we did not care one way or the other. Besides, they had the perfect thing to get us to hurry up in certain situations. If we were at the pool, or somewhere that required us to change clothes, all she had to do was yell into the changing room, "Alright, I am coming in there if you are all not out here in thirty seconds!" You have never seen so many boys rush to get dressed after goofing around for twenty minutes in the changing room.)
orangecrush
(27,731 posts)Was a WW2 Buffalo Soldier.
The assistant was a young white ex Marine Vietnam veteran.
I know what real leadership looks like.
Trump and company are the antithesis of leadership.
Paladin
(32,109 posts)One more big segment of voters, publicly insulted and alienated by this regime. They're handing the country back to us, if we just seize the initiative and make the most of it...
travelingthrulife
(3,994 posts)Botany
(76,009 posts)Keep digging your own grave. Looking forward to see you extradited to Venezuela to
stand trial for murder. The Scouts are just doing what is right. BTW I still use what I
learned in Scouts such as dont complain about the weather because it is the same as
it for you as is for the next person and how to build a fire.🔥
NBachers
(19,087 posts)Botany
(76,009 posts)
or in the cabins I stay in Western MD you leave a fire that is built in the wood stove so all the
next person has to do is light it.
travelingthrulife
(3,994 posts)I applaud them for including girls. Maybe they will just roll all of it together into one scouting group.
Whiskey Pete, of course, wants to have Hitler Youth all over again.
maxsolomon
(37,944 posts)Oh well.
usonian
(22,767 posts)He bought a merit badge in guzzling bubbly

But many's the woman who can drink that beta male under the table.

Appropriately named for Pete.
CABRON!
LetMyPeopleVote
(173,289 posts)This is a stupid move by Hegseth
DrFunkenstein
(8,884 posts)Why does the nation have to suffer just because this guy can't get a therapist to deal with his deep-seated issues about his masculinity and sexuality? If he would just embrace his shadow self and finally allow himself to stay at the proverbial YMCA, he wouldn't have to bend over backwards trying to act so butch and force the rest of us to deal with his psychological baggage.
Stacey Grove
(156 posts)can get a ramshackle clubhouse and put a shingle out that says "He-Man Woman Haters Club" like the Little Rascals.
DUI Pete is about useful as anal mucus. Pardon me, I'm pretty sure anal mucus has an actual purpose.
Don Wests ghost
(1 post)sentences along side several others. At least he's still with all males, I guess.
NewHendoLib
(61,476 posts)I blew the whistle on what was going on and the scoutmaster was fired. Somehow I had the sense to run.