My tenants are interested in buying their rental from me but need time to improve/establish their credit as well as save up a down payment.

Credit, experience and liquidity are the determining factors to be approved.

What I'm looking to do since I am a bit shy to finding an organic mentor is to kinda do what was suggested in Rich Dad Poor Dad when Rich dad said for Robert to play golf because eventually Robert would end up doing it some day and the best time to begin building his skills was when he was young. 

HML pulled our credit and we also submitted proof funds and w2.

We were thinking about fixing our bad credit 1st then once we are at a respectable credit range we wanted to see what we can qualify for?

Ironically, it can be difficult to obtain loans for a property as an agent because lenders are leery of the self-employed with commission income, however, if you finish college, get a good W2 job, and have decent credit, lenders will line up to give you money, assuming that you are going into a field that is in demand.I admire you wanting to start investing at a young age, I wish I would have started investing in real estate in my early twenties instead of misspending my youth on debauchery.

Yes, you will have access to a VA loan with 100% financing, however:This doesn't to you a whole lot of good if you are only in a duty station for a few monthsDepending on your rank, duty station, and other factors, you may be required to live on base at timesVA loans are only for owner occupantsYour purchase price will still be dictated by your credit and income (see first bullet above), andIt can be extremely risky to buy with 100%+ financing at the peak of the market (I say 100%+ because many servicemembers and veterans roll their VA funding fee into their loan, which can leave them leveraged at 102% or more - with negative equity).

Since it would be the first project, hard money might be tough, but we have good relationships with locals contractors and both have solid income and credit. 

I don't care for wholesaling and it's not my ultimate goal but seems to be a necessity at the moment (no money not much credit.)

I feel when you do that your paying more interest on lines of credit or what not?