Pentagon Deal Reshapes the 2026 National Jamboree
Scouting America has eliminated dedicated spaces for gay youth, women and scouts of color at its National Jamboree in West Virginia, the organization confirming the shift as it navigates a formal agreement with the Defense Department signed in February.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had threatened to end the Pentagon's century-old logistical partnership with Scouting America — which includes military support for the jamboree itself and the use of base facilities by scout troops nationwide — unless the organization pulled back from what he called 'woke' policies. A six-page compliance memo, obtained by gay-rights activist James Dale after he filed a lawsuit, spells out monitoring mechanisms including 'periodic touchpoints' between officials of both organizations.
In February, Hegseth posted a video stating his department would 'vigorously review' changes made by Scouting America and would cease military support if the organization failed to comply by late August. The two sides have given conflicting public accounts of the agreement's terms.
About 15,000 scouts, leaders and volunteers are attending the 10-day event. Previous national gatherings had featured dedicated community spaces for girls, scouts of color, LGBTQ+ participants and persons with disabilities, according to assistant scoutmaster Samuel J. Aronson. Aronson and 21-year-old Eagle Scout John Andrew Segebarth — elected by peers as a national officer in 2024 — both said they chose not to attend this year because of the removed spaces.
A Scouting America spokesperson said the organization remains 'fully committed to welcoming and serving all youth' but did not directly address questions about the specific changes to the jamboree program.
James Dale, who was expelled from the Boy Scouts in the early 1990s for being gay and later sued the organization over discrimination, obtained the Pentagon memo and said the arrangement amounts to ongoing coercion. 'They basically have their thumb on the organization, threatening them under constant pressure,' Dale said, according to the Associated Press.
The Pentagon, asked about implementation and monitoring, referred reporters to previous comments by Hegseth.
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The numbers here are straightforward: one federal department, one compliance memo, one deadline — and a 115-year-old civic institution realigned its flagship event accordingly. Whatever one thinks of the specific policy content, the mechanics illustrate a principle this outlet has long argued: when government funding and logistical support flow to a private organization, government priorities follow close behind. The Pentagon's leverage existed precisely because the military partnership was so deeply embedded in scouting's operational model.
For free-enterprise readers, the lesson cuts both ways. Institutions that depend on federal resources surrender a measure of independence to whoever controls those resources — a dynamic that applies whether Washington is pushing DEI mandates or, as here, pushing back against them. The cleanest path to organizational autonomy has always been the same: reduce dependence on the administrative state. Scouting America is learning that lesson the hard way, from whichever direction the pressure happens to be blowing.
