Dave im so glad to here you want to follow your dream. you said you were prior army, do you still have your G I bill? if you do you can use it to go to dive school. In choosing a dive school i just tell people to look at what they offer and how much and is it close to where u live. A young guy who came too me like you did went to a school in new jersey and he is going to graduate in a couple of weeks. his name is luis hidalgo he is on c diver also . shoot him an email. good luck on your venture. tell me how it goes! take care and dive safe BYE LIZ