M*A*S*H Ft Leonard Wood

MAAF welcomes a new M*A*S*H Chapter to the MAAF Network at Fort Leonard Wood, with the first meeting scheduled for March 26th, 2011 (updated). Sign up for the next event on Meetup and Facebook is set up.

Lisa Wilson, a wife of an Army communications technician and mother of 3, has stepped up to create the local group for atheists, humanists, and other nontheists on post. Lisa grew up an Army brat in a predominantly Mormon household and says, “I have always been a skeptical person and this did not fail me growing up in the LDS religion (and) I eventually found the courage to find my way out of religion and into reason.” Lisa wanted to get involved and start this group to find non-religious activities for her and her children.

MAAF has been focused on Ft Leonard Wood for years. An official post program, Free Day Away, ships hundreds of service members to First Tabernacle Baptist Church in Lebanon, MO for fun, food, and Baptist proselytism. The local group may eventually be able to help to mitigate the Free Day Away violation by providing a supportive humanist community for trainees.

The Ft Leonard Wood group adds to the M*A*S*H on-post chapter concept modeled by a thriving Ft Bragg group. Other active groups are at Ft Hood, MacDill AFB, West Point, and the US Air Force Academy. Potential groups are planned all over the world. The MAAF Network also includes more stable local civilian organizations who are allied with American Atheists, American Humanist Association, and other strong national civilian nontheist groups. All together, the local and national, military and civilian connection provides for a strong community.