cross-posted from: https://lemmy.today/post/42453153
Congress requires the Pentagon to support the scouting program’s Jamboree, a gathering of thousands of young scouts held every three or four years. The U.S. military lends trucks, ambulances and medical teams, and puts on aviation and skydiving demonstrations, all at no cost to the Scouts. For the military, it’s both a training exercise and an opportunity to recruit highly motivated, civic-minded kids.
But the law includes an exemption: the Secretary of Defense can withhold support if he determines providing it would be “detrimental to national security.”
Drafts of a report to Congress obtained by NPR show Hegseth invoking that clause — accusing Scouting America of fostering “gender confusion.”
His memo to the House and Senate Armed Services committees argues the Scouts have strayed from their mission to “cultivate masculine values.” It also claims that with international conflicts and a tight budget, sending troops, doctors and vehicles to a 10-day youth event would harm national security by diverting resources from border operations and protecting U.S. territory.
Scout Troops can be very different and it all really depends on the people and the community.
My experiences haven’t been overly military, though some scouts from the troop have gone on to join the military. Likewise, we don’t push religion hard, but some of our scouts are deeply religious and others are not.
What I see is a program that at its heart is trying to teach youth about being responsible for themselves, being a good citizen, giving back to the community and country through charitable service, and learning some basic principles of leadership. Where else do youth get those experiences?