First, I'd like to see more than "I read somewhere someone implying they heard something" to substantiate this. US isn't the sharpest tool in the shed, IMHO, but this strains credulity.

Second, while I have upgraded military personnel as companions and would give up my seat, there are reasons we have rules and guidelines, and a FF should have the right to a seat before a non-status flier. We certainly reserve the right to express our disagreement with their decision making, and would hope that many fliers would make what I consider the right decision. But I do have to say that ignoring program rules and making executive decisions on board isn't a good idea. Just think about how FT'ers freak out when a company doesn't follow the program rules when the benefit us.

If someone can provide a link that verifies the story, an email storm raining on Tempe sounds like a good idea. Media included.

I thought one has to be on the same itinerary for upgrade?

Am I wrong? How does that work? One just goes to GA and asks if there are any FC seats still available and if they are ask if s/he can upgrade particular soldier as your companion?

CPRich,
It is the responsibility of the agents to place FF's in FC. They know who is on the list and should always call up any FF up who is seated in coach by the time the door closes. If after the door closes there is a seat, that tells me that no other FF's are on the list. That is the time that those generous f/a's upgrade our military men and women.

I understand what you are saying and I do agree with you. It is not the GA or FA's job to make executive decisions; however, as I said in my earlier post I wait until the flight is closed out and the door is closed before I upgrade military folks. Trust me, if we still have an empty seat and the door is getting ready to close most FF's will let you know without a doubt that they are on the upgrade list and got overlooked.
I will only put military folks in FC under 2 circumstances.
(1) The seat is going to be empty
(2) A FF or any other FC passenger volunteers their seat.
Anything else is out of my hands and I do not play Upgrade God ;)

up 1;)^^^

Since we're playing devil's advocate - where do you think that AF kid is headed after spending a few weeks at home?

Ultimately, as we've heard several times, it's up to the FA's if the door is closed and there are empty F seats and it's up to the individual FFer if he/she wants to give up his/her seat. Kudos to those who do.

Say I want to give up my seat? What's the protocol? Do I tell the FA, and ask him/her to do it?

Yes! You would more than likely get a very warm reception from ALL the f/a's!:):-:

I believe the military is subject to federal government travel policies, which generally provide for exceptions to Y travel only in cases of medical disabilities, direct flights in excess of 14 hours, and some exceptional circumstances.

http://www.defensetravel.dod.mil/Sections/Air_Gov.cfm
http://www.army.mil/usapa/epubs/pdf/ad2007_01.pdf

In before the lock!

If you already have your seat assignment, just telling the FA seems like the right approach.

I've been comfortably seated in an exit row when approached by the gate agent telling me there's a seat up front. I asked if I could give it to someone else...GA says 'who?'...I say the uniformed guy in row 4...she looks and says ok. Military guy seems happy.

I'm squarely on the fence on this issue though.

If those guys/gals are heading for Dallas you can pretty much bet they are heading to combat from leave. And whocares if they are not. Give them the seat its good Karma

What if...
What if the the meal served for the upgraded service member was his last "good" meal? I served in the USMC and found the food to be not "top chef" caliber. Does anyone remember ham and Muthaf#%ers?

I dont mind.

Wow, I didn't think this would get much discussion but thank you flight62 and GalleyWench for your insight. For those interested, here is the post I read. The site that it came off of is password protected so I cannot copy and paste the link:

Post
Does anyone know if it's true that a flight attendant who allowed 4 marines home from Iraq to move into available seats in 1st class was turned in and given 12 days off for breaking policy last week? Have we truly come to be the lowest class carrier when crew aren't allowed to treat returning military personnel to the service they should receive? I've heard that this wasn't allowed under "America West policy". Say it aint so doug!

I mainly fly on UA and have seen this happen before on a few occasions. Once it happened on a redeye and some of the upgraded military personnel were talking loudly all night, which made it hard for me to sleep.

That said, I don't have a problem with it, and think it ends up building employee morale (and, in the long run improving service to everyone) when F/As are allowed to perform random acts of kindness.

If we want to get specific, that AF kid is likely headed right back to Lackland for Tech School. Maybe he'll serve in the back of a C-5, C-17, C-130, C-131 based stateside and never spend more than a few hours in a foreign country.

All karma aside: It's just my viewpoint that a uniform should not instantly open doors for people. Strike up a conversation, learn where the person's headed or where they're coming from. Just a little small talk could solve that and determine whether the individual is deserving of the random generosity.

I refer to this bit of evidence: My best friend served the US Navy from Dec 1997 until Nov 2005. In all that time, she was never stationed anywhere besides Great Lakes, IL; Naples, Italy; and Honolulu, HI. No sea duty. It was simply an electronics maintenance job that she exploited to foster her own travel passions. It may as well have been a private contractor job. She traveled in uniform more than once - should she have been provided automatic upgrades by FA's or GA's?

If we're talking karma, then random conversations with other travelers which reveal traveling public safety providers, Peace Corps volunteers, UNICEF workers and other NGO staff, etc - the same random "op-ups" should happen to them as well.