Oorah! First thing I did when I got out of the Corps was to buy my own M14. I bought an Armscorp and have never regretted it. Turned out to be a real shooter.
Fish around the forums and threads here, learn all you can, get educated, and watch the PX and BX for members rifles for sale. I've seen many really good deals around here. The members here on The Firing Line forum strike me as dedicated shooters who value a rifle for its capabilities and accuracy, as opposed to bells and whistles. Plus, the members here have been sharing or at least exposed to plenty of information about working the kinks out of their rifle, so anything you buy around here would probably have any bugs worked out, or at least identified accurately for you.
$1450 for a Scout strikes me as a pretty average price for a Scout. If you decide to wait a little while, you won't be missing out on any great deal. Take your time first. I once asked a guy about buying a 1903A3 rifle, and he said, " First, go buy a book about the 1903A3." Read a lot of the old posts here first. Pay EXTRA attention to the salty ol' veterans who were armorers and who built National Match M14s back in the day.
Doc
MC1EXPRT1