Earlier this month, when Mike Surbaugh, Chief Scout Executive of the Boy Scouts, unveiled the group’s new “Scout Me In” marketing campaign aimed at promoting inclusiveness he said, “As we enter a new era for our organization, it is important that all youth can see themselves Scouting in every way possible.”
Who knew “every way” included sex and alcohol.
The leadership of the Boy Scouts has mandated that condoms be “readily and easily accessible” for next year’s 24th World Scout Jamboree, which is scheduled to be held in the mountains of West Virginia in July of 2019.
A subsection on page 10 of the scout’s 2016 handbook reads, “The Host [Organization] must ensure that condoms are readily and easily accessible for all participants and [International Service Team] at a number of locations on the site.”
The directive adds, “When making this information available onsite, consideration shall be given to the various cultures and beliefs present.”
The World Jamboree Guideline also allows and provides instructions for the consumption of alcohol by adults in “confined areas” at the 12-day camping event.
Boy Scouts of America claims almost 2.3 million members, down from 2.6 million five years ago and considerably lower than the more than 4 million participants it enjoyed in its peak years.