Hi, Jon-
Thank you for your message and your interest in Freemasonry. More importantly, thank you for serving.
Presuming that once your return “home” from your overseas tour, you mean that you will be returning to Massachusetts, you should be able to begin the process of becoming a Mason right away. In fact, you could probably start laying some groundwork before you get back. If you have not visited the “Locate a Lodge” feature on AskaFreemason.org, I would encourage you to check it out. Find a lodge near where you will be settling and let them know of your interest and your time-line. Every lodge has the name and contact information for a Brother listed on its page. Once you have made contact, they will be able to work with you.
If you are not going to be in Massachusetts, but will be stationed in another state, you will need to contact the Grand Lodge that presides over that jurisdiction. Search for “Grand Lodge of <blank>” and the first return should be the organization you will need to contact. After that, the process will be fairly similar to the one outlined above. However, there will usually be a residency requirement that will have to be met so it might take a little longer.
Finally, I am curious about the term “George Washington Mason”. Is there a specific type of Freemasonry you are alluding to? I am not familiar with that description. If you are referring to belonging to the same society George Washington was a member of, then I can assure you that either of the two options above will satisfy that interest.
I hope this helps. Please let us know if you have additional questions or need more information.
-Robert
