Space A travel woes

I'm climbing on my soapbox for a bit this morning. Please bear with me and allow me to get this off my chest. Really, it won't take long.

I think I've mentioned that we are an Air Force family living on a Navy base, which has been a first for us. We've enjoyed our time here over the last 22 months. There's one thing, however, that has bothered me (and continues to bother me), and it's the way in which some folks feel it necessary to openly complain about their negative experiences with space available travel.

First of all, I don't wear a military uniform; my husband does. Why do people complain to me? Is there something I'm supposed to be able to do about their grievances? I wouldn't dream of walking up to the spouse of the base exchange manager, for example, and proceed to complain about the lack of customer service. This is just an example, mind you; I have no complaints about the base exchange.

Space available travel isn't a right in my opinion; it's a privilege. The main objective of the military aircraft that fly in and out of here is (GASP) not to cater to the needs and wants of family members, but to the war fighters, those military men and women who are serving our nation, particularly those downrange, in harm's way, who are counting on those planes to deliver necessary supplies to and from their locations.

Sometimes our military planes are delayed; sometimes they have maintenance issues. I truly believe the crew members, as well as the maintenance teams, do the very best they can to ensure planes fly safely and efficiently. I'm sorry passengers on these planes are inconvenienced from time to time. Our family has encountered these same inconveniences, so I understand the waiting, wondering and disappointment when our plans fall through. What we have to remind ourselves though, besides the fact that civilian passengers aren't top priority, is that there is no cost to us. If there's space available on one of these planes, and we are lucky enough to get on, we don't pay a ticket fee. It's FREE! Seriously, folks, if you can't deal with the possibility of space available snafus, you have another option... fly commercial.

It's not the fault of every person who wears the Air Force uniform that a flight was delayed. There are often situations behind the scene that we don't know or fully understand that cause delays. And these folks are doing their jobs. They have rules and regulations that must be followed. Frankly, I don't want any maintenance team rushing through a maintenance fix for the plane on which I'm a passenger. Quite the contrary, I prefer they take the necessary amount of time needed to actually correct the issue before we get airborne.

I don't expect people to be happy whenever they've endured multiple plane delays, but I do expect them to behave more respectfully of the process, and to keep their Air Force bashing to themselves. Military spouses do not deserve to be cornered and forced to listen to complaints about something over which they have no control. No one likes feeling as if they've been personally attacked, and when people speak unfavorably about a particular branch of service, it can be very offensive. We're all entitled to our own opinions, of course, but please don't confront me with your grievances; it's uncalled for, and unkind, not to mention unfair. I'm just asking for a little tact and common courtesy.