Snubby, I think you might be off base on this. Appearances are not always what they seem, and what might look like a sorry excuse for a camping experience could very possibly be just the opposite.
I am an Eagle Scout and formerly an adult volunteer with a couple of different troops, and I'm aware that there are many different types of camping expeditions. Some are meant intentionally to "rough it," such as the Philmont Scout Ranch expeditions for backpacking in the wilderness, or many of the other challenging outdoor treks offered by the program. Others are weekend "camporees" or "jamborees" where Scouts practice their craft and learn skills in camping, cooking, knot-tying, and inter-troop competitions. These are probably the type of events people "expect" to see from Scouts.
Other expeditions, though, are designed to expose the boys to areas of historical or ecological interest, and not as a time for them to necessarily do their own cooking, or have planned hikes, and so forth. Carrying their own water to these might have been an intentional decision to keep the boys from potential gastric distress from water they're not accustomed to drinking. Having adults cook the meals is a way to free up time when the boys can be focused on the purpose of the outing, whatever and wherever off-site it might be. In those instances, having dads and other adults along to smooth the logistics is not only appropriate, it's helpful and contributes to the enjoyment and efficient use of time of everyone.
The important thing in any expedition is that the kids are with their troop; that they are enjoying the outdoors (as we used to say 2/3 of "scouting" is "outing", and that's a good percentage for how much time to be spent outside in troop activities), and making memories and learning values that will last them for many years. I'm tickled to hear that there are so many troops using the camps near you -- it tells me these are active units, with good leaders and involved adults and boys running their program and learning leadership. In this day and age, that's something to celebrate.
Scouting is still the finest program of its kind for American youth, in my opinion, and I for one am glad that the organization is making itself available to as many boys as possible. When I think that some kids, because of institutional policies, have in years past either not been able to enjoy and learn from a program that did so much for me and my friends, or have even been thrown out when they were "discovered", it's discouraging and even heartbreaking.
Scouting has changed as times have changed, usually lagging by a few years, but still catching up eventually. I think the program is doing fine, and is a national treasure.
God Bless the Boy Scouts of America.
