# Military Lodges



## mrpierce17

I have never visited a military lodge and I'm curious to know exactly how they work ? 
1: are they on military bases 
2: are civilian Mason's allowed to visit 
3: do you have to be military or ex military to join


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## Ripcord22A

1)some are 2) yes 3)no

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## Ripcord22A

3) it depends really.  In OR there was a military lodge up near portland that only allowed active and vets to join but all MMs were welcome.  Mil lodges like those charted by the MWPHGLoOK are for all MMs serving in austre invironments

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## mrpierce17

jdmadsenCraterlake211 said:


> 3) it depends really.  In OR there was a military lodge up near portland that only allowed active and vets to join but all MMs were welcome.  Mil lodges like those charted by the MWPHGLoOK are for all MMs serving in austre invironments
> 
> Sent from my LG-H811 using My Freemasonry Pro mobile app


Thank you we had a military lodge preform the opening this year at grand session I and I think  all of the officers where either active duty or retired military


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## Dontrell Stroman

Is it true that over seas, GL brothers can sit in PHA military lodges even if their GL is not in Amity with their counterparts in State ?

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## Ripcord22A

I have no idea but i doubt it

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## Bloke

jdmadsenCraterlake211 said:


> 1)some are 2) yes 3)no
> 
> Sent from my LG-H811 using My Freemasonry Pro mobile app



Same.. although in the Victorian Const, there is no lodge on a military base.. not aware of one in Australia...


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## Ripcord22A

Stateside i dont know of any either.  But overseas(kuwait, Qatar, iraq, Afghanistan) ive heard of a few

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## Dontrell Stroman

jdmadsenCraterlake211 said:


> I have no idea but i doubt it
> 
> Sent from my LG-H811 using My Freemasonry Pro mobile app


Well I was told this by PM in my lodge that also serves in the military. He said that over seas(Meaning Deployed) all regular masons sit in the same lodge.

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## dfreybur

mrpierce17 said:


> Thank you we had a military lodge preform the opening this year at grand session I and I think  all of the officers where either active duty or retired military



There are lodges that are sponsored by the military and operate with the military.  Such lodges move with their units.  Prince Hall took his degrees in such a lodge.  PHA jurisdictions tend to sponsor this type of lodge on military bases overseas.  It's a nice symmetry of history.  When the bases close these lodges tend to fold as the base is their sponsoring unit.

There are lodges that ask all of their members to be military, police, musicians and so on.  You name the profession there may well be a lodge that specializes in it.

You'd have to know which type is meant.


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## acjohnson53

Okay, good subject, I was raised in a military lodge
1. You don't have to be in the military to join


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## MarkR

dfreybur said:


> Prince Hall took his degrees in such a lodge.


Interestingly, I just finished reading "Landmarks of our Fathers" by John Hairston, in which he goes through the primary source documents regarding the beginnings of Prince Hall Masonry.  It seems that almost nothing that we have always believed is true, including the Irish military lodge aspect.  I recommend the book.


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## Go49ersuk

Our grand daughter lodge in the Uk is Per Mare Per Terram 9355 a Royal Marine Lodge, there are other service lodges in the UK but to the best of my knowledge they don't meet on active Military Bases but are normally either sister, daughter or even grand daughter lodges to civilian lodges in nearby towns, this is I believe historical but  obviously for security reasons it works well, although you don't have to have served in the military to join a military lodge some sort of affiliation is preferred.


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## Bloke

Go49ersuk said:


> ....., although you don't have to have served in the military to join a military lodge some sort of affiliation is preferred.



Not really true. Each lodge generally decides its membership criteria  (within land marks) and military lodges are no different. One military lodge here I'm trying to encourage to "market" itself to historians.

Sadly, I recently discovered the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Lodge here is handing its warrant back


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## Dontrell Stroman

MarkR said:


> Interestingly, I just finished reading "Landmarks of our Fathers" by John Hairston, in which he goes through the primary source documents regarding the beginnings of Prince Hall Masonry.  It seems that almost nothing that we have always believed is true, including the Irish military lodge aspect.  I recommend the book.


Question : I've heard so much about "what we believe and what we were taught isn't real" without going into great depts, does the book venture out to say Prince Hall was never a freemason ?


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## MarkR

Travelling Man91 said:


> Question : I've heard so much about "what we believe and what we were taught isn't real" without going into great depts, does the book venture out to say Prince Hall was never a freemason ?


No, not quite.  There were a lot of irregularities in his making, but of course, in the 18th Century there were lots of irregular things happening (The lodge that George Washington was raised in was a "self-starter," operating without authority from any Grand Lodge for a number of years until they got a warrant from the Grand Lodge of Scotland in 1758, five years after Brother George was raised.)  The irregularities involving Prince Hall and his compatriots was certainly "healed" when the Grand Lodge of England warranted them.


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## Bloke

MarkR said:


> No, not quite.  There were a lot of irregularities in his making, but of course, in the 18th Century there were lots of irregular things happening (The lodge that George Washington was raised in was a "self-starter," operating without authority from any Grand Lodge for a number of years until they got a warrant from the Grand Lodge of Scotland in 1758, five years after Brother George was raised.)  The irregularities involving Prince Hall and his compatriots was certainly "healed" when the Grand Lodge of England warranted them.


Thanks Mark - I was interested in the response.


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## Dontrell Stroman

MarkR said:


> No, not quite.  There were a lot of irregularities in his making, but of course, in the 18th Century there were lots of irregular things happening (The lodge that George Washington was raised in was a "self-starter," operating without authority from any Grand Lodge for a number of years until they got a warrant from the Grand Lodge of Scotland in 1758, five years after Brother George was raised.)  The irregularities involving Prince Hall and his compatriots was certainly "healed" when the Grand Lodge of England warranted them.


Interesting. Can you explain the irregularities in him being made a freemason ?


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## MarkR

You really need to read the book to understand.  The man who initiated them, although they truly believed that he was a "Grand Master," had no standing to do so, and probably just did it to get money out of them.


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## Bloke

MarkR said:


> You really need to read the book to understand.  The man who initiated them, although they truly believed that he was a "Grand Master," had no standing to do so, and probably just did it to get money out of them.



I've heard that of today's lodges


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## Boomhawr

Travelling Man91 said:


> Well I was told this by PM in my lodge that also serves in the military. He said that over seas(Meaning Deployed) all regular masons sit in the same lodge.
> 
> Sent from my 831C using My Freemasonry Pro mobile app


Last year I was in Afghanistan, and the only lodge there was Oklahoma PH. I emailed my (Texas) Grand Secretary and asked about it (Texas Regular and PH now recognize each other, and allow communication, but last I heard, still require writing a letter to get approval from the lodge you want to vist, and it's routed through both Grand Lodges, and, and, and...... ). He said no, still can't since it isn't Texas PH (the only one we had the agreement with). That was early 2016. I would check with your own Grand Lodge to make sure before going to visit it just to be safe.


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## acjohnson53

There is know difference on the opening and closing of a Lodge. Be it military or civilian. Probably half the Brothers that are Master Masons were in the military at some or another. From my own experience the civilian Lodge gave me more stability, because when you're in the military you're moving in a given moment and you pretty much have to reestablish yourself....I know this is an old post but I like to put what's on my mind...


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## EVG Yumul

Under the Grand Lodge of Ireland:

(Law) 134. No Military Lodge, under the Constitution of the Grand Lodge of Ireland, shall initiate any civilian anywhere if a lawfully constituted Lodge exists within ten miles of the place where such civilian resides, or where such Military Lodge then meets. A Lodge of civilians shall not initiate any military man below the rank of a commissioned officer, where there is a Warranted Lodge in the Regiment or Garrison to which such military man belongs; nor shall a Regimental Lodge initiate any military man not belonging to the Regiment if there is a Garrison Lodge in the locality where the Candidate is stationed, or where such Regimental Lodge then meets. Any Lodge violating this Law shall have its Warrant cancelled or suspended, or shall be fined one hundred euro, as the Grand Lodge may see fit.

TLDR: Civilians cannot be initiated in a Military Lodge. There's even a fine and penalty if a Lodge initiates so.


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## Dontrell Stroman

EVG Yumul said:


> Under the Grand Lodge of Ireland:
> 
> (Law) 134. No Military Lodge, under the Constitution of the Grand Lodge of Ireland, shall initiate any civilian anywhere if a lawfully constituted Lodge exists within ten miles of the place where such civilian resides, or where such Military Lodge then meets. A Lodge of civilians shall not initiate any military man below the rank of a commissioned officer, where there is a Warranted Lodge in the Regiment or Garrison to which such military man belongs; nor shall a Regimental Lodge initiate any military man not belonging to the Regiment if there is a Garrison Lodge in the locality where the Candidate is stationed, or where such Regimental Lodge then meets. Any Lodge violating this Law shall have its Warrant cancelled or suspended, or shall be fined one hundred euro, as the Grand Lodge may see fit.
> 
> TLDR: Civilians cannot be initiated in a Military Lodge. There's even a fine and penalty if a Lodge initiates so.



Do you know the reason why they can only initiate officers ?


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## EVG Yumul

Travelling Man91 said:


> Do you know the reason why they can only initiate officers ?



Mainly for proximity. Enlisted personnel do not have the luxury to fully influence the places where the should be deployed to.


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## acjohnson53

Old stuff, one you you don't have to be in the military to become a Master Mason, two when i was raised it was in the basement at a gasthaus in Regensberg, Germany, then we relocated to Hohenfels...


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## EVG Yumul

acjohnson53 said:


> Old stuff, one you you don't have to be in the military to become a Master Mason, two when i was raised it was in the basement at a gasthaus in Regensberg, Germany, then we relocated to Hohenfels...



No, this is still an active Law within the Grand Lodge of Ireland. Other Grand Lodges might have different rules though.


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## acjohnson53

I know this is an . old topic, but interesting. All Prince Hall Lodges are pretty much the same. What differs is being that Military member transition so much to where their turn around so common. you could be in a seat and the next day you deploy. What most Jurisdiction did (Like MWPHGLOK, MWPHGLTX and so forth) extended their jurisdiction to all parts of the world forming new District and expanding their Grand Lodge...


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