What is a good telescope for a military member who travels.

I recently looked into getting a telescope myself, and I have found it disappointing that due to light pollution, cloudy skies and inclement weather the time that I would be able to use the telescope would be minimal. Another thing that I found out was that if I wanted to photograph celestial images, I would have to install a clock to move the telescope at the same rate as the rotation of the Earth to have clear images. You could obtain a Dobsonian telescope for approximately $1000 to $3000 depending on the mirror size and other features, but many times you have to grind your own lens which is a laborious process. I even attended a class on mirror-making (link attached below).

My conclusion was that although I would really like to have a telescope, it is more practical to get a pair of good binoculars because they are more portable, less sensitive to damage and you can use both eyes instead of only one.

I disagree with the often used "get binoculars" answer. Binoculars are totally useless on the planets which need high magnification.

And I disagree with the large Obsession Dob. Come ON! That is just too big to cart around as much as a military person would need to do.

Questar at 3.5 inches is going to be too small for you I think.

So I agree with the answer that suggests a 6 or 8 inch Celestron or Meade Cassigrain telescope. They are compact and easy to transport but also large enough to give good magnification on the planets. And I think they are more rugged than any large Dob.

I agree with digquickly - go for a Maksutov. They're compact but the image quality is excellent. On the downside they are expensive, but if there's no financial limit.... (Really? None at all?) Questar are a top of the range brand ($10k + for the 7") but Meade's Mak's are pretty good.

Have a look and the celestron and meade 6" and 8" series casagrainians

Questar