We are almost in the same position. From what I hear, Guard is great (obviously, you're flying the flag) but the training takes years and you can fall behind people who are building seniority numbers at the 121 carriers. So get a flying job first and THEN go guard. I'm not sure about the vision requirements, I think you can get PRK or whatever, I know my friend who flies F-18s had to get that done. But hey do what you will get the most happiness from. I think a lot of people buy into the conventional view that a successful aviation career is ending up in the left seat of an airliners or corporate jet. In the race to get there, they forget that they can have fun in this industry, too.