Statement from Scouting America Chief Scout Executive, Roger Krone

 

March 1, 2026

The Department of War announced it is reaffirming its partnership with Scouting America. As an organization that has proudly served military families for over 116 years, our primary objective throughout this engagement was to maintain support for the youth and families who depend on Scouting.

While the Department’s announcement references programmatic updates, it is important to understand what this continued partnership means for Scouting.

Scouting America will continue to welcome and serve all youth. That commitment is unwavering. 

What Is Not Changing:

• Scouting America’s name, mission and commitment to the Scout Oath and Scout Law.
• Eligibility requirements – Scouting will continue to welcome and serve all youth.
• Member registration – we are memorializing existing practices for member registration.
• Practices to safeguard youth – we are reinforcing existing practices to safeguard all youth.
• Core commitment to developing leaders of character for service to God, country and community.

What Is New:

• Registration fees will be waived for children of active-duty, Guard and Reserve families, effective June 1, 2026. Additional details to come.
• A new Military Service merit badge will be implemented.
• The Citizenship in Society merit badge has been discontinued to align with Executive Order 14173. Scouts who had already started and completed any requirements for the merit badge will be allowed the rest of 2026 to complete the full merit badge and still utilize it for attaining the rank of Eagle Scout. Click here to learn more.
• Other programmatic updates, such as dissolving the National Scouting DEI committee, to ensure compliance with the Executive Order.

The relationship between Scouting and the Department of War is important to our organization and the military families we serve. Scouting has long been a source of stability — a uniform, a community, a set of values that travel with them wherever they go. Tens of thousands of Scouts participate in units that meet on or near military installations in the U.S. and abroad. This partnership provides the opportunity to continue serving the military families who depend on us.

Importantly and unchanged, every family is welcome in Scouting. Today, Scouting serves nearly one million youth from every corner of American life. We are committed to ensuring the character-building benefits of Scouting – leadership, responsibility, service – are available to all youth who participate in our programs. It is important that our leadership – every one of you – recognize and reinforce Scouting’s unwavering commitment to delivering programs that benefit all youth.

Thank you for your steadfast commitment to Scouting America.