And what I did was a fly buy program I did a big production in SF Bay Area I rented a big conference room gave out stone tickets and spent probably 60k on marketing to drive traffic to the event..

You would have to train them though, and I'm sure there would be growing pains. 

Say if I have $5,000 to work with, is it possible I can get an Airbnb and if so how ?

It depends on your “ideal tenant” and strategy once you PCS.Would you be looking to rent to single officers going through training, military families with children, medical corps personnel TDY to Ft Sam Houston for several months, maybe even an AirBnB near Lackland, etc.?

big ticket items- sewer.  

In real estate, you do not want to entertain a money train or issues and no profit.

However, for $8,000, I received no live training—just videos—and was left to navigate the deal on my own, despite assurances of a dedicated consultant guiding me through every step.This ordeal has left me devastated.

Maintenance tickets are easily created by tenants.Lots of other tools too. 

Makes no sense....When I was a GC, of course I got huge discounts, plus gifts and game tickets, etc...but we spent sometimes hundreds of thousands of $$ per year at these suppliers.

Maybe, instead of saving for a house, you save for a job change, whether it will cover your expenses for a few months, while you work a much more flexible job, and look for better additional work, or get training for a job that is more stable.