I was googling lutherie classes in Jax and found your post here. Noticed you were also vegan, so had to say hello! I am too old to move fully into lutherie as a profession, but am interested in learning some repair techniques. I am a former math teacher and a bronze sculptor.
Kewl. Army here. Currently an MSC Officer (logistics) in a Reserve Combat Support Hospital. Spent 15 months in Afghanistan 2008-2009 mentoring the Afghan National Army on Medical Operations, Training, Logistics, etc.
There is an Armed Forces Social group, but there's not a lot of traffic, and I don't remember if that part of the board has been fixed.