The recent NPR story reporting that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is preparing to end the Pentagon’s century-long partnership with Scouting America has created a lot of confusion about what Scouting is and about the role of our government and military within the organization.

From being an Eagle Scout that’s attended multiple National Jamborees to my current Scouting role serving my son’s Cub Scout Pack as Cubmaster, I wanted to leverage my first-hand Scouting experience to provide some clarity about some of the most common misunderstandings I’ve seen since the NPR story broke.

1. Scouting America Is Chartered by Congress

Scouting America (formerly Boy Scouts of America) is one of several well-known nonprofits, including the American Red Cross and the YMCA, with a congressional charter. These charters formally recognize each organization and include certain federal responsibilities, such as annual reporting to Congress, but do not entail government funding or control.

2. Scouting Is Privately Funded, Not Government-Run

Though Scouts is Congressionally chartered, Congress does not appropriate funds for Scouting. Instead, Scouting is privately funded and governed through donations and membership fees.

3. Military Supports Scouting at Congress’s Direction

As a Congressionally chartered organization, the military supports Scouting at the direction of Congress. This is not too different from how the American Red Cross and the military may work in tandem after a disaster. The relationship between Scouting and the military is currently governed by the Support Our Scouts Act of 2005.

4. The Support Our Scouts Act Mandates This Partnership

The Support Our Scouts Act of 2005 specifically requires Pentagon support for the National Jamboree. The Act states: “Support for youth organization events simulates the preparation, logistics, and leadership required for defending our national security and preparing for combat.”

5. Military Support Focuses on the Jamboree Every Four Years

In accordance with the Support Our Scouts Act, the primary way the US military supports Scouting is at its National Jamboree, held every four years. This support is event-specific and periodic, not ongoing or supervisory.

6. The Jamboree Serves as Military Training

The National Jamboree isn’t just an event the military “helps with”—it’s a full-scale training operation. The Department of Defense establishes Joint Task Force-National Scout Jamboree (JTF-NSJ), deploying over 500 service members from multiple branches who coordinate logistics, emergency medical response, and large-scale event management for tens of thousands of participants over ten days. This real-world, multi-agency operation provides the exact kind of interagency coordination experience that translates directly to disaster response, humanitarian missions, and combat readiness. For the military, the Jamboree is training that happens to support Scouts—not charity work.

7. Scouting Creates a Military Leadership Pipeline

Though not a ROTC program, as a program focused on citizenship and serving others, many Scouts choose to join the military. At the five U.S. military academies, approximately 17-20% of cadets and midshipmen are former Scouts. More broadly, it’s frequently cited in Scouting circles that as many as 85% of FBI agents were Scouts at one time. While no one is enlisting in the military at the National Jamboree, the event provides a unique opportunity for our military to promote itself through service to a group of service-oriented youth.

8. Scouting Emphasizes Citizenship but Is Not a ROTC Program

Scouting is a non-partisan, outdoor-centered program for youth, focused on building leadership skills and helping them grow into civic-minded citizens committed to the Scout Oath’s pledge to “help other people at all times.” While citizenship is a strong focus of Scouting (Scouts must earn four citizenship merit badges to become an Eagle Scout), Scouting is not a ROTC program.

9. Hegseth Is Invoking a National Security Exemption

While the Support Our Scouts Act mandates Pentagon support for the Jamboree, it includes an exemption allowing the Defense Secretary to withhold support if deemed detrimental to national security. This is the provision Secretary Hegseth is reportedly invoking to justify ending the partnership.