SrA. Colton Read and his wife Jessica got blind-sided with a pleasant surprise Wednesday when they showed up at a housing community in New Braunfels, Tex., only to discover that they were the recipients of a new, mortgage-free home. Read was serving with the 9th Intelligence Squadron at Beale AFB, Calif., when complications from gall bladder surgery led to the amputation of his legs. He and Jessica have been living at Fort Sam Houston, a part of Joint Base San Antonio, while he rehabs at the base’s Center for the Intrepid. “It’s unbelievable. It means the world to me,” said a grateful Read as he toured his new 1.1-acre lot, reported San Antonio’s KENS TV station. Operation Finally Home donated the home. This non-profit organization honors wounded and disabled servicemen, veterans, and widows of fallen soldiers by giving them new homes.
Air Force leaders are directing unit commanders to conduct four “standards and readiness reviews” of their troops per year starting March 31, part of a recent push for new standards and enforcement.