EXCLUSIVE — As the Boy Scouts of America struggles to find its identity, a rival organization based on traditional family values is thriving.
Trail Life USA was created in 2013 as a Christian alternative to the Boy Scouts, with the goal of training boys ages 5-17 on basic life skills, something Mark Hancock, the CEO of the organization, says the Boy Scouts has strayed away from. The Scouts has received a growing amount of criticism for attempting to be more inclusive, including allowing girls to join the organization in 2018 and deciding to drop “Boy” from its name last week.
Hancock described the Boy Scout’s rebranding to “Scouting America” as “tragic but not unexpected” and noted how the Boy Scouts, in its 100-plus years of existence, has seen members grow up to become U.S. presidents, astronauts, generals, and other leaders. He called the organization’s rebranding “just another slap in the face” for boys who are looked down upon in the modern world.
“And boys need our attention; they need our help right now,” Hancock told the Washington Examiner. “They’re not any more valuable than girls, but they’re different than girls, and they need a different type of program. So Trail Life is designed for boys, designed to let boys be boys, put them in an environment with men who are leading them, and showing them what it means to be a good man.”
The Boy Scouts’s membership has decreased steadily over the past few years, going from 1.97 million in 2019 to over 1 million, with 176,234 of these scouts being girls. Hancock noted how many leaders in Trail Life USA were previously active in various Boy Scout troops and that Trail Life USA was started in 2013 because they believed “it’s too important to dismiss boys.”
“And so it’s tragic, it’s really sad to see the message that they’re giving to boys when they remove their name from the organization,” he said. “I think it’s only a matter of time before they remove the boys themselves.”
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The organization’s new name will go into effect in February 2025 to tie into its 115th anniversary.
Regarding where Trail Life USA got its name, Hancock explained that it stems from how boys are on the trail of life and navigating it as they grow. This symbolism is present in their ranks, with the lowest level, green, representing the ground below a mountain, the middle level, grey, representing the mountain itself, and the upper level, blue, representing the blue skies, with the organization’s highest level being the Freedom Award.
The Boy Scouts of America declined to comment for this story.
