Scouting America marks Veterans Day with new merit badge on military service

Scouting America, formerly the Boy Scouts, has introduced a new merit badge on military service designed to connect scouts with the history of the U.S. armed forces and familiarize them with those who have served. The Military Service and Veterans merit badge, rolled out on Veterans Day, has been in the works for months, first proposed by former Secretary of State and Eagle Scout Rex Tillerson, according to Scouting America officials. The lengthy requirements were crafted with input from military personnel and veterans. “The Military Service merit badge gives Scouts a meaningful way to learn about the men and women who serve our country and the sacrifices their families make,” Michael Ramsey, Scouting America’s chief spokesman, said in a statement. “This badge will help Scouts understand what it means to put others before self.” The national organization has had a longstanding relationship with the U.S. military, with those achieving the highest rank, Eagle Scout, qualifying to enter service at higher pay grades when they graduate from recruit training. Eagle Scouts make up roughly 11% to 20% of students at the nation’s service academies, and at least 17% of students at the U.S. Naval Academy, West Point and the U.S. Air Force Academy have some scouting experience. “It’s very obvious to us that a lot of young people in the Scouting program want to trade their Scout uniforms for military uniforms at some point,” Ramsey said in an interview with Military Times. “It’s a great partnership … and we’re excited about it.” Scouting America’s Military Service merit badge. (Scouting America) The new badge has 10 requirements, many with multiple assignments. To earn the patch, scouts must learn about founder Robert Baden-Powell’s military service and study a U.S. military conflict, examine the cost of war and “value of peace,” research the history of a military branch, understand the Medal of Honor and Purple Heart and interview a service member or veteran, among other requirements. Established in 1910 as the Boy Scouts of America in Silver Bay, New York, and modeled after Baden-Powell’s scouting movement in Great Britain, the organization was started to develop young men into upstanding, service-oriented citizens. The organization changed its name to Scouting America in 2024 to reflect its inclusivity after allowing girls to join previously male-only programs, like the Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts, in 2018 and 2019 respectively. Girls have been able to join Venture crews, Sea Scouts and Explorers since the 1970s. The group has struggled with falling membership since at least 2020, when it filed for bankruptcy protection in the wake of claims filed by former scouts over sexual abuse. The group had roughly 908,000 members in 2025 across its programs, including 175,000 girls. In the past six years, the number of scouts has fallen by 29%, down from nearly 1.3 million in 2020. The number of units has also dropped to 39,288 — a decline of 23% since 2020. Shortly after its name change, Scouting America drew criticism from the Defense Department and Secretary Pete Hegseth for what Hegseth said was the group’s violation of an executive order by President Donald Trump that prohibits federal funding for private organizations that have diversity programs. “After 2012 … the Boy Scouts lost their way, and a once-great organization became gravely wounded. [DEI] crept in, the name was changed to ‘Scouting America,’ girls were accepted [and] the focus on God as the ruler of the universe was watered down to include openness to humanism and Earth-centered pagan religions,” Hegseth said in a video posted in February. Scouting America agreed to make some program changes, including eliminating a Citizenship in Society merit badge, introducing the Military and Veterans Service merit badge, waiving registration fees for military children and placing restrictions on transgender youth. Hegseth then agreed that the department would continue supporting the organization, primarily at its national jamboree, held every four years. “Ideally, I believe the Boy Scouts should go back to being the Boy Scouts as originally founded: a group that develops boys into men,” Hegseth said at the time. With the Military Service and Veterans merit badge, Scouts now have 142 merit badges to choose from to advance in rank and learn new skills. Scouts must earn 21 merit badges, including 13 mandatory and eight elective badges to earn the Eagle rank. Scouts have been testing the new badge for months as part of its development. Those who have already earned it as a test badge, which is hexagonal in shape, are the plank holders for the new badge. “Veterans Day reminds us that the freedoms we enjoy every day have been protected by generations of Americans who answered the call to serve,” Roger Krone, president and CEO of Scouting America, said in a statement. “The Military Service & Veterans Badge provides young people with meaningful opportunities to learn from our nation’s veterans, honor their sacrifices, and live out Scouting’s commitment to citizenship, service, and leadership.”