You might try the USAF Palace Acquire Program (Score 1)

I was part of the USAF Palace Acquire Program. It is a civilian program that pays a salary and expenses to pursue graduate work. Overall, I was happy with my experience. There are exceptions, but I discovered that most "real work" (i.e. new technology, development) is done by contractors. The AF personel are mostly program managers or budget managers.

These are the pros and cons of my experience

Pros

• Don't have to be a poor graduate student
• Because you're being paid, you can concentrate on your studies/research and don't have to teach classes or work for a professor
• Lots of freedom and responsiblity -- my group was incredibly under staffed
• The AF typically has boat-loads of money to spend on technology and training
• You're serving your country
• Job security
• Slow pace

Cons

• Low salaries compared to the industry
• Bureaucracy
• Because of a 12 year hiring freeze, your coworkers may not be well educated on the latest advances in technology
• Because of job security, your coworkers may be apathetic
• Slow pace