Boy Scouts names Robert Gates volunteer president

DALLAS – Former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates will serve as the next president of the Boy Scouts of America, taking the helm of a national executive board that remains tangled in controversy over the organization’s policies toward gays, BSA announced Wednesday.

Gates’ two-year term to the volunteer position begins next May, once he’s formally approved by the voting members of the Boy Scouts’ National Council.

Gates was an Eagle Scout before he began his decadeslong career in public service, which included leading the Central Intelligence Agency and Defense Department.