SlowTrekker,
Thank you for giving all of us the details.
For clarification, he was in-active but that does not change the point. The DL agent said his bags were over-weight. She didn't say one bag was over-weight nor did she suggest to move 3 pounds from one bag so she didn't have to charge you more. Every Delta agent should suggest options to all customer active-military or not.
The same reasoning applies in this situation:
Was in McDonald's buying breakfast....I love sausage biscuits......but I digress. In front of me is a gentleman maybe 65 or 70 years old. He asks for a sausage biscuit, hashbrown and small coffee. The cashier says that will be $4.20. Everybody who goes to McDonald's knows the #1 combo costs like $3.00 max. Because of the way the gentleman ordered (he didn't ask for the combo but asked for the individual items) the cashier rang up each item individually. I was like WHAT!!!!!! We got into a shouting match after the cashier told me to mind my own business.
For Delta, McDonald's and any other company - whether company policy or personal ignorance, actions from employees like this are intolerable in my book.