Soldier Who Lost All Four Limbs Offered Custom 'Smart Home'

If Staff Sgt. Travis Mills will come, they will build it.

That’s the message for the Army soldier who lost his arms and legs to an IED in Afghanistan last week from two charities that build custom homes for injured veterans. John Hodge, director of operations for the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation, said homes built by his group and a foundation run by actor Gary Sinise feature such amenities as geo-thermal heating and cooling systems, iPad-controlled countertops, heated floors to facilitate blood circulation and oversized kitchens and bathrooms.

"Essentially, the houses work off of a computer," Hodge said. "It really is the latest in technology and energy efficiency."

Mills, of Vassar, Mich., was injured on April 10 when he stepped on an IED while serving with the 82nd Airborne in Afghanistan as part of Operation Enduring Freedom. After undergoing surgery in Germany on Monday, Mills is scheduled to arrive at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., Tuesday afternoon.

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