A national institution with more than a century of history behind it is charting a deliberate course back to the values that made it one of America’s most enduring youth organizations.
Scouting America, headquartered in Irving, Texas, is taking direct aim at the narrative that it drifted from its founding mission — and the organization is backing its words with action.
The group, originally chartered as the Boy Scouts of America when Lt. Gen. Robert Baden-Powell launched it in February 1910, has spent recent years absorbing criticism from conservatives who argued its leadership had prioritized progressive politics over patriotism.
That era, officials say, is over.
Chief Scout Executive Roger Krone has emerged as the organization’s most vocal defender, traveling to Washington and speaking openly about what scouting is — and what it is not.
Under his leadership, a merit badge widely criticized as ideologically charged has been pulled from the program entirely.
The discontinued badge, focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion, has been replaced with one centered on military service.
The move was part of a broader agreement with the Pentagon, finalized in February 2026, that restored the Department of Defense’s formal partnership with Scouting America after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had threatened to cut ties entirely.
“The Department of War has officially put Scouting America on notice,” the department previously said on YouTube.
Alongside that agreement came a tangible benefit for the families who serve the country in uniform.
Registration fees are now being waived for children of active-duty, National Guard, and Reserve military members — a direct acknowledgment of the bond between scouting and the armed forces that stretches back to the program’s earliest days.
That bond is not incidental. Krone pointed to the very origins of the movement as evidence of its military DNA.
Baden-Powell, a decorated British officer, conceived the program as a structured response to the chaos of post-Industrial Revolution London, where unsupervised children were falling into trouble with little direction and even less purpose.
“There were kids in London that were getting in trouble because they had too much time on their hands,” Krone told Fox News.
“And so we started using these military tactics, learning how to track animals and using compasses and these things, to keep kids occupied.”
That founding philosophy never disappeared.
Scouts have worn the American flag on their Class-A uniforms from the time they enter as Cub Scouts through the moment they earn Eagle.
Every meeting still opens with the Pledge of Allegiance and the Scout Oath — commitments that include pledges to honor God, country, and law.
The numbers connecting scouting to national service are striking.
Fifteen percent of all military academy cadets currently hold the Eagle Scout rank.
More than 130 million Americans have come through the program since 1910.
Krone drew an even sharper line to American achievement when discussing the Apollo program.
“In fact, I think all but one of the men that walked on the moon were Scouts. There is [also] a tendency for a certain percentage of membership to want to trade their Scout uniforms for military uniforms: we have a long tradition with the military,” Krone said.
Fox further noted that the White House itself has reflected that tradition. President John F. Kennedy was the first scout to reach the presidency.
President Gerald Ford remains the only commander-in-chief to have earned the Eagle Scout rank.
President Jimmy Carter, though he never joined the scouts himself, received the BSA’s Silver Buffalo Award for his contributions to the program in Georgia.
Scouting’s own internal honor society, the Order of the Arrow, dates to 1915, when professional scouter E. Urner Goodman founded it at Treasure Island Scout Reservation, situated in the Delaware River, as a way to recognize those scouts who demonstrated an exceptional commitment to a life of service.
On the question of faith, Krone was direct. Approximately 70 percent of all sponsoring organizations behind individual troops are religious institutions.
The Catholic Church holds the largest number of unit charters in the country, while Methodist, Episcopal, and United Church of Christ congregations also sponsor troops in communities across America.
“We are a very faith-based, faith-driven organization, very patriotic, we love God and country and so yeah, we strive very hard to be apolitical these days,” Krone said.
Scouting America has also faced sustained criticism over its decision in recent years to admit girls into programs previously reserved for boys.
Krone addressed that directly, emphasizing that rank requirements have not changed based on gender. “Whether you’re a young man in a program or a young woman in a program, you do the same exact thing,” he said.
