IS THIS TRIP NECESSARY? Citizen Smash reports on civilians at airports volunteering to be bumped in order that troops on home leave from Iraq can board the next plane out. (I have seen some other reports of this phenomenon and will link to them as I turn them up in my history files.)

SECOND SECTION: Found this CNN transcript involving a different airport and a different airline, this story and related commentary noted by Magic in the Baghdad Cafe, and Intel Dump links to Washington Post coverage of a welcoming committee of older veterans helping shepherd the troops through Baltimore-Washington (evidently a major port of entry) and onward to home.