11/26/2025
On Scouting
I’ve seen this story circulating everywhere today, and it’s hard not to take it personally.
As a Scout overseas at Clark Air Base in the Philippines, Scouting was more than a hobby, it was stability, community, and a blueprint for what service should look like. Those lessons carried me through the Air Force, the Army, federal service, and ultimately into becoming a Scoutmaster. I’ve seen up close how hard Scouts work to earn every rank they wear. Nothing about Scouting is handed out. Everything is earned.
That’s why the notion of severing the long-standing relationship between the U.S. military and Scouting gives me real pause.
A Century-Long Partnership
For generations, Scouting and the military have walked side-by-side:
• Scout troops on bases providing continuity for military kids who move every few years.
• Jamboree support from the National Guard and active-duty units.
• Eagle Scouts entering the military already grounded in leadership, ethics, and responsibility.
• Veterans, service members, and military families strengthening Scouting with their time and experience.
This partnership didn’t happen by accident. It grew because both institutions share a belief in service, discipline, and preparing young people to lead.
To suggest that Scouting no longer upholds high standards ignores the lived reality of every Scout who has ever stared down a merit badge requirement or pushed through an Eagle project that tested their limits. Scouting has always been, and remains, one of the last true meritocracies in American life.
What’s Really at Stake
If support is ever pulled from Scouting units on military bases, the people harmed won’t be organizations or institutions, it will be the youth who rely on those programs.
Military kids already face:
• Constant relocations
• Deployments
• Uncertainty
• Interrupted friendships and schooling
• The unique pressure of growing up in a family that serves
Scouting is often the one stable thread running through all of it. A troop on base becomes a second home. A patrol becomes a family. Leadership roles become an anchor during times of upheaval.
Removing that support wouldn’t strengthen military readiness; it would weaken community resilience.
Why I’m Speaking Up
I’ve spent a lifetime in service, in uniform, in government, and in Scouting. I’ve seen what each gives to the country, and I’ve seen what happens when we invest in young people who are taught to serve with integrity and purpose.
That’s why this moment matters.
This isn’t about politics. It’s about values.
It’s about whether we still believe in teaching:
• Duty to country
• Service before self
• Leadership grounded in character
• The courage to step forward when something is wrong
These aren’t partisan ideals. They’re American ones.
A Call to the Scouting Community
If you’re feeling discouraged, remember this: a Scout is brave.
This is a moment to stand up for the programs that shaped so many of us and still shape the next generation. Support your local councils. Encourage your units. Look out for the kids who depend on these programs, especially in military communities.
Our youth need Scouting more than ever, the adventure, the challenge, the camaraderie, and the grounding in values that don’t bend based on circumstance.
Scouting isn’t something we do.
It’s something we are.
- Sean
Troop Committee Chair
