I know it's happened to most of us - you go to the airport, getting ready to fly someplace where sunblock is gonna be your biggest worry... and then your bag is too heavy, so you have to pay extra fees. A minor inconvenience for us can turn into a major pain in the ass for our soldiers.
Imagine, if you will, that you're getting deployed to Iraq. You've said goodbye to your sobbing family and made it through security before nearly having a mini-breakdown in the bathroom. You've been told the items that you need to bring with you, and really the only extra things you have are a mini photo album of your family and friends, and drawings by your kids. You're flying on American to get to the base where you'll depart, so you know that, unlike on other airlines, you'll get to check more bags for free. The only problem is you have three bags, and American only lets you check two for free or up to 190 pounds worth of luggage.
Now, if you don't have a voucher from the military, you have to pay anywhere from $15 to $250 before you can board the plane. You might get reimbursed at the end, but that's not a guarantee since not every 'business expense' is refunded.
And what about coming home? The trip is the same, only maybe you lost some stuff while in Iraq, along with picking up some souvenirs for your family in Germany during your time there.
Why not make an exception for our men and women in uniform? Let's make it so that they don't have to have a wavier or pay the extra money for necessities that they'll need going off to war. I don't think that's too much to ask for these people putting their lives on the line, whatever your view on the reasoning behind it may be.
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