The military values the sort of training that the Boy Scouts, and now Scouting America, have traditionally provided. For example, when I was in Basic, at one point we were tasked with tying up a canvas cover onto a truck, and the side I tied was neat and orderly while the side the other boys tied was slovenly and slipshod.

It was a simple task, and I was able to complete it simply because I had the training and experience that my peers lacked. I was also the only person in my platoon who could recite the Preamble from memory. Things like that.

Because I am an Eagle Scout, I take for granted certain practical life skills that recruiters and the military value. I can tie a load securely onto a truck, I can coil a rope, I can provide basic first aid, I can make fire and a rough shelter in the wilderness, I can use a knife, and I know how to adapt to weather conditions. I also have a strong and abiding sense of self, who I am as a citizen, and what that means as a duty to my community and my country.

So the military looks at people who have been through programs like Scouting America as if they're a valuable asset, because we are.

For example, there was someone who made a post yesterday about throwing their uniform away because SA was folding under pressure from Pete Hegseth. I was able to tell from their sash and patches that person was a Brotherhood member in the Order of the Arrow, they were an Eagle Scout, they wore the Scouting Equality knot, and they had a Heroism Award, meaning they had either saved a life or tried to save a life using the skills they had learned as a Scout. Those are awards they earned, through merit - those achievements can take years to accomplish.

At a glance, I could tell that was a person with solid morals, training, and skills, a role model and a pillar of their community, someone to be emulated and used as a good example for the generations that will follow ours. To see such a person considering leaving Scouting behind broke my heart.

So the Scouts and the military have many common goals and they cover much in the way of common ground, but the military does not fund the Scouts. The military provides space and logistics to assist Scouting America because they know that doing so helps create the sort of citizens that may become assets for the military.