They're Asking Airlines To Give Soldiers On Leave A Better Break

Can you imagine anything more heartbreaking than a soldier with time on his hands and no way to get to his loved ones?

That's just what military families in the San Francisco Bay area say they're facing as they try to get some scant face-time with active duty troops.

The issue is worse if the soldier in question has been wounded. Take one Bay area mother who was floored when she found out it would take more than a thousand bucks to get her son, wounded by shrapnel, from his military hospital in Washington (DC) home to San Ramone (CA), then to his duty station at Ft. Benning (GA).

In that case, the "special" military rate was a mere $30 off the regular price of a ticket bought on five-days' notice.

Get Mom to fix it. She can fix anything.

Blue Star Moms got into the act by launching a nationwide campaign aimed at convincing commercial carriers to give soldiers the lowest possible fare with no advance purchase.

The Blue Star Moms not only want the lowest possible air fare for their sons and daughters on active military duty. They want all cancellation fees waived, no change fees and no advanced booking restrictions. They want to see their children -- especially knowing they have been or are going to be in harm's way.

The Blue Star Moms has convinced members of Congress to insert some friendly language into a House aviation bill. It urges -- but doesn't require -- airlines to comply. But leave it to Mom. We both know she'll be ringing the phones off the walls on Capitol Hill.

And by the way, Mom says you're not eating enough...

FMI: www.bluestarmoms.org