Scouting (formerly Boy Scouts) America will accurately identify boys and girls, after Pentagon pressure

By THE ALASKA STORY

Feb. 27, 2026 – Scouting America, the organization formerly known as the Boy Scouts of America, is making policy changes following pressure from the US Department of War, but it is not returning to a boys-only model, as some commentators have said.

The youth organization rebranded in February 2025 to reflect what leaders described as a more inclusive approach. Girls have been allowed to participate in Cub Scouts since 2018 and in the flagship Scouts BSA program for ages 11–17 since 2019. That structure remains in place. Girl Scouts of America, on the other hand, does not allow boys to join unless they are transgender.

Recent developments stem from discussions with the Pentagon and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth regarding continued military support and partnerships. Scouting America has longstanding ties to military bases and has historically received support tied to shared values around leadership, citizenship, and service.

As part of the agreement to maintain that relationship, the organization has adopted several policy adjustments:

• Membership applications will require biological sex at birth, with male or female designations only.

• Biological males and females will not share intimate spaces, including tents, showers, and restroom facilities.

• The “Citizenship in Society” merit badge, introduced in recent years and associated with DEI — diversity, equity, and inclusion topics —  has been discontinued.

• A new Military Service merit badge will be added, along with other program changes emphasizing civic duty and national service.

The changes center largely on transgender participation policies, sex-based privacy standards, and the removal of certain DEI-focused program elements.

Despite online claims suggesting a return to a boys-only structure, there is no evidence that girls are being removed from the program. Scouts BSA continues to operate with single-gender troops, which are all-boy or all-girl, but the organization itself is coeducational.

Girls remain eligible to earn all ranks, including Eagle Scout. By mid-2024, more than 6,000 girls had achieved the Eagle Scout rank since becoming eligible.

The organization has faced significant membership losses. In 2018, just before girls were fully integrated into the flagship program, total youth membership stood at approximately 2.15 to 2.3 million. Then came the co-educational change along with the Covid pandemic.

By 2020, membership had dropped to roughly 1.3 million, and estimates during 2020–2022 ranged between about 762,000 and 1 million youth participants.

While some boys left the program following the inclusion of girls, leaders have said that participation by girls has helped offset some of those losses.

The core structure adopted in 2019, with single-gender troops within a broader coeducational organization, remains intact. The latest changes appear aimed at recalibrating certain policies in response to federal concerns while preserving the coeducational framework.