Scouts, contractors share need for tech, ethics

Government contractors might not be Boy Scouts, but the successful ones understand the importance of values such as character and strong ethics.

Likewise with the Boy Scouts, who are bringing more technology-driven activities into the organization.

CACI International President and CEO Ken Asbury spoke of these parallels as he received the Boy Scouts of America’s 2014 Technology “Good Scout” Award on Tuesday.

“Technology’s role in our world is impossible to overstate,” Asbury said. Technology makes almost everything society does possible; however, technology is nothing without the people that are needed for it to function.”

Without people who are guided by strong ethics and character, the technology fails. The people are just as important as the technology, he said.

That’s where the Boy Scouts of America are answering the call.

The organization is now offering merit badges for accomplishments in areas such as computer programming, robotics and game design in addition to the classic badges of starting a campfire, Asbury said.

He stressed how “important it is in the United States for the young people to develop an interest in technology from an early part of their lives. There are still many things waiting to be discovered, and it’s today’s youth that will be tomorrow’s scientists.”

Boy Scouts of America is teaching young people how to discover, adapt and innovate, and “it is this combination of skills that will help our country maintain its economic, political and military edge, Asbury said.