Don't forget that you will become eligible for a VA loan during your service.  

I highly recommend going fha on a duplex to put 3.5% down and house hack or going VA if you can and do 0% down to purchase a 2-4 unit.

@Douglas McqueenIn Virginia we don’t HAVE TO sub meter so why go through the expense?

I will be using a VA loan and living in it for a year.

I am located on the Northern Neck in Virginia.

@Shankar Sridhar one other factor that you’d have to consider is the location of the property (what area of San Diego) and type of financing/down payment (fha, VA, conventional).

When using a VA Home Loan how long must you reside in the property before you can move out and rent it?

@Aseel YerunkarThanks for the response Aseel, I agree you should always have a plan B to shift to.

@Joaquin Camarasa has been organizing one in Northern Virginia. 

I'd also weight the liquidity of the investment in considering your potential return.... if you lock yourself in for a year and there is a favourable shift in the RE market or in your financial situation, you won't be able to act...