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.

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

I'd recommend the Obsession Telescopes 15" f/4.2 UC Dob for $4,995.  From their web site (linked below):

The 15" f/4.2 UC is a revolutionary design. It is a large aperture telescope that collapses into a very small package. The revolutionary Virtual Mirror Box (VMB) is the foundation of the UC design. It is a welded steel framework made from NC laser cut steel. It provides four main functions. It provides the primary mirror cell, the altitude bearings, the connection points for the truss poles, and a retainer for the wheelbarrow handles. To keep it as ultra compact as possible, the side bearing portion is foldable to reduce the height of the VMB by half.

In the transport mode the clearance height is a mere 12 inches. Low eyepiece height means 100% of observing will be done with your feet on the ground.

No compromises. The UC uses premium optics from Galaxy and OMI. Diffraction limited and all figured and tested with interferometry. Ion deposition 96% enhance primary coating. Two inch flex free glass. One tenth wave 98% Diamond brite secondary mirror.

You'll want the optional custom foam lined ATA travel case (Holds everything except the truss poles).  The case dimensions are 24 x 24 x 21 high.

Questar

Well, ..., IMHO a scope with a Maksutov (MAK) design makes an excellent travel scope.  No collimation is ever required and you can get a 6" version which is light enough to carry in foam cloth case for overhead bin storage. With a correcting prism it would be an excellent daytime scope as well as a very decent night time scope and you'd be able to observe all of the Messier objects plus many of the bright NGC objects (including the ones in the southern hemisphere.  The issue for the MAK is would be the mount.  if you got a decent one you could always check the mount as baggage.

You can also build some very decent truss mounted dobsoninan scopes that will fit into a overhead compartment.  See the links below.

BTW, I've given you several links to explore.  Basically, I travel a lot so IMHO, you'd want something that will give you the maximum aperture, maximum number of features, and would fit into an over head bin or under the seat in front of you.  I would never recommend checking any scope as baggage as you would most likely windup with a very nice boat anchor afterwards!

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.

Do your research.  Grinding your own lens? ROFL.  Wait till you retire to get into that.
You will absolutely want clock driven tracking.  Do you want to eye-ball it or get good pictures (and images onto your PC) ?
I strongly suggest you find the local astronomy club (all over the world, all over!) and get some hands on experience before you plop down anything over ~1000 $US.  In point of fact, most of these fans are very very happy to share, and will be willing to give you their opinions.  In fact, many people travel with their scopes, so that is going to be easily addressed.  I am a bit confused about you thinking that you are going to be carrying this around on flights.  That will be super limiting in size, don't you think?
Consider binoculars.
Also, seriously consider buying a used set-up.  The fans are up-grading continually and used systems come on the market all the time.  One real advantage is that what-you-see-is-what-you-get, and you won't have to (wll maybe) keep on buying peices parts that didn't come with the tube from the manufacturer.
I personally would not consider a system without a spotter scope and without really easy switching from eye to ccd capture as well as pc ( I wonder if smart phones have the chops?) control.
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My opinion, buy binocs (and a tripod) (if you're a complete newbie), and research (its all about lenses and mirrors, imho) but most importantly start visiting local clubs and seeing what they got.  Remember diameter = light,so regardless of how the optics treat the light, bigger will be brighter but also much more awkward to travel with.
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I mostly agree with campbel.., but change "totally useless" into "not very satisfactory".

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.