Timing is everything. I don't know how bad your eyes are, but I think corrective surgery may be allowed now. I understand the time issue, but there really isn't a better way to go than the military...especially with student loans like that. I had huge student loans as well, went to OCS after college, and have had an awesome career. I'm 35 now and looking for the airline gig. My point being that you can spend 10-12 years in the service and still have potentially a 30 year career with the airlines (if 65 goes through). Depends on the times though, I guess. The nice thing about the military is that there is always something to fall back on (if you're in the reserves) if the Sh-- hits the fan. After 9/11, everybody came back into the service.