Frustration trying to plan racing schedule

I'm frustrated and here's why. This is my second year doing triathlons. Last year, I was just dipping my feet into the water to see how it felt and I'm hooked. But now, I'm trying to be serious about training and planning for races. I bought a training book, and a lot of it is difficult to understand, but one thing that stuck out to me was that I should have main races I'm working towards and then other races that get me ready for the main races. I have only done two Sprints ever, so I want to do a few more of those this year, and I want to try at least one Olympic. BUT. I live in Italy and I'm in the Navy. That means that my schedule isn't really up for discussion and it can change a lot, plus, I cannot find races in Italy. I know they have them. I'm willing to travel to go to a race somewhere else in Europe, but money is definitely an issue for how often that can happen. I feel like I'm on my own out here trying to figure out all this stuff by myself. Can anyone give me a suggestion for someplace I can look for races (there aren't any posted for Italy yet on this website)? How many triathlons should I try to be doing this year? I'm also going to do some 5 and 10k's since the base hosts those almost every month. Thanks!