Sorry about that, Betsy - a few months ago I learned from Shades of Green that you
do need a military sponsor to hold a private event at SOG. I was thinking it was too good to be true, so I checked with them again. However, the sponsor can be anyone in the military/government - it doesn't have to be a relative.
That page was updated with the correct info in the third revision of PassPorter's Disney Weddings & Honeymoons.