USAMRIID and the CDC

(AKA: The United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention)

Before I enrolled at the Ai I had considered joining the Navy. I felt that it would be good for me to travel, to learn perseverance and discipline, and there were some financial benefits. I thought about it pretty seriously but eventually decided to go for my art degree first, and decide on that later.
Well since I've gotten to the Ai I've become interested in the medical field. Specifically infectious diseases and biomedical research. I realize from where I'm at it would be extremely difficult to get a medical degree at this point. I am already in debt from my art degree and the amount of schooling would be ridiculous. Plus, how would I be able to pay off debt from medical school if I don't plan on working in the medical field in the US? The money just isn't there.
But then recently I've learned about the Army's medical research facility in Maryland. They basically do exactly what I want to do: virushunting, biomedical research, developing new vaccines, and attacking hot agents on all fronts. Because they are an Army facility, they have tons of funding, and they have sole access to some of the most dangerous viruses in the world. In short, USAMRIID is the best place for a microbial researcher to be.
This opens up a whole new set of possibilities. If I signed up for the Army with the intention of being stationed at USAMRIID, I could get my medical schooling partially paid for. And job security, with the possibility of ending up in the very place I want to be. Even if I didn't get stationed at USAMRIID, there would be plenty of other research facilities to work at. And if I did get to work there, I'd be set.
The researchers at USAMRIID also get to work closely with the CDC and WHO (The World Health Organization).

I don't know if this is something I am going to do, but it definitely sounds like a good opportunity to look into, especially if I want to pursue a medical degree. The downside is that it could be years before I have the freedom to travel the way I want to and do documentaries. In my mind I see these fields overlapping quite a bit, and the potential there is exciting.

For now I'm just looking into different possibilities. I have a couple of years before I can really pursue anything anyway.