Hello,  I am completely new to all of this  as I am now starting to research and gain more interest and insight  on real estate investment. 

Its a capital gain market not cash-flow. unless you can invest in Commercial or develop to hold. 

I also do a lot of taxable investing in addition to my little RE ventures.I'm stuck on what else can be done to maximize my REI for reduced tax gains. 

First thing that caught my attention was the combined 16% for CapEx and Repairs even after you put 67k worth of repairs.

As of now I will continue to save for my transition out of the USMC which will be in March an hopefully by then I'm able to gain as much knowledge and funds to start my path, so please continue to give advice and insight I will take anything I can get.

I will say that once you find a lender and terms you are happy with I always encourage people to move on as you have a number of other things to worry about with these types of transactions that will need your attention. 

Sell and pay taxes on realized gains.

I want to do a few fix & flips to gain some knowledge and experience, but my overall goal is to get into multifamily.

Aside from gaining an educational foundation for real estate, what else would I need to do before investing in my first house?

Keep us updated when you finally gain access.