Scouting America marked Veterans Day by introducing a new merit badge focused on military service, veterans and the history of the U.S. armed forces. The badge is designed to connect scouts with those who served and the sacrifices made by military families.

The Military Service and Veterans merit badge had been under development for months before its Veterans Day rollout. Scouting America officials said former Secretary of State and Eagle Scout Rex Tillerson first proposed the badge.

Military personnel and veterans helped craft the badge’s extensive requirements. The program asks scouts to study service, sacrifice, war, peace and the experiences of those who have worn the nation’s uniform.

“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,” Scouting America chief spokesman Michael Ramsey said in a statement. “This badge will help Scouts understand what it means to put others before self.”

Scouting America has maintained a longstanding relationship with the U.S. military. Eagle Scouts qualify to enter military service at higher pay grades after graduating from recruit training.

Eagle Scouts account for roughly 11% to 20% of students at the nation’s service academies. 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 told Military Times. “It’s a great partnership … and we’re excited about it.”

The badge includes 10 requirements, many containing multiple assignments. Scouts must study founder Robert Baden-Powell’s military service, examine a U.S. military conflict, consider the cost of war and the “value of peace,” and research the history of a military branch.

Other assignments require scouts to understand the Medal of Honor and Purple Heart and interview a service member or veteran. The lengthy checklist puts direct learning from military personnel and veterans at the center of the badge.

The organization began in 1910 as the Boy Scouts of America in Silver Bay, New York. Modeled after Baden-Powell’s scouting movement in Great Britain, it was created to develop young men into upright citizens committed to service.

The organization changed its name to Scouting America in 2024. That followed decisions allowing girls into previously male programs, including Cub Scouts in 2018 and Boy Scouts in 2019, while girls had joined Venture crews, Sea Scouts and Explorers since the 1970s.

Membership has fallen in recent years. Scouting America reported roughly 908,000 members in 2025, including 175,000 girls, representing a 29% decline from nearly 1.3 million scouts in 2020.

The number of units also dropped to 39,288, a 23% decline since 2020. The organization filed for bankruptcy protection in 2020 following sexual abuse claims from former scouts.

Shortly after the name change, Scouting America faced criticism from the War Department and Secretary Pete Hegseth. Hegseth said the organization had violated President Donald Trump’s executive order barring federal funding for private organizations with 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 February video.

Scouting America later agreed to program changes, including eliminating the Citizenship in Society merit badge, adding the military and veterans badge, waiving registration fees for military children and restricting transgender youth. Hegseth then agreed that the department would continue supporting the organization, primarily at its national jamboree held every four years.

Scouts now have 142 merit badges available for building skills and advancing in rank. Earning the Eagle rank requires 21 merit badges, including 13 mandatory badges and eight elective badges.

Scouts tested the new badge for months during its development. Those who earned the hexagonal test badge are considered plank holders for the completed program.

“Veterans Day reminds us that the freedoms we enjoy every day have been protected by generations of Americans who answered the call to serve,” Scouting America President and CEO Roger Krone said. “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.”