I figure at the very least I can start supplementing my income and move to a place where I am less reliant on my full time work for all of my income. 

And when the kids are out of school, instead of having a depleted account, I'll have house in Silicon Valley earning me a decent supplement to my income.

As I will continue to seek out deals, I was curious of other creative ways to put my license to good use rather than compete against the big sharks and still have a profitable side career to supplement my day job.  

To supplement your current business, and the BP podcast and network/forum, I'd suggest other additional podcasts like Mark Ferguson's invest four more, and Joe Fairless' podcast Best Real Estate Investing Advice Ever Show, and I enjoy listening to Engelo Rumora on the various podcasts.Looking into other niches would be a good use of time.

I'm looking at retiring from my current job in a few years, so looking for what's "next" and for supplemental income.

Is there any kind of gov't assistance he or I can get to supplement his rent during his deployment?

A typical buyer will be a Baby Boomer with some cash who needs both a place to live and some supplemental income.In any event, don't get locked into a single RE investment track by simply following crowd.

Flipping, to me, does not seem to be the way to build long term wealth, it's more of a supplement.

I am interested in getting involved in real estate investing with little or no money down with the ultimate objective of creating passive income to supplement my W-2 job. 

I would bet you have to replace your hvac system due the volume increase or provide supplemental system.