Bronze Star Recipient Grateful for Assistance when Budget Got Tight
As a child, Adam Lewis wanted to be a fighter pilot and even considered surgery to correct poor eyesight to make his long-held dream a reality. Instead, he joined the Army reserves in 2002 at age 17.
That put him on the road to becoming a combat engineer and Bronze Star recipient. He is currently a staff sergeant serving with an infantry unit of the Pennsylvania Army National Guard.
Adam and his wife, Courtney, and their four sons – ages 3, 10, 12, and 18 – live in Indiana, Pennsylvania.
He was a member of his hometown’s police force for seven years before serving a nine-month stint as a National Guard recruiter.
“If it wasn’t for (Operation Homefront), we wouldn’t be where we are today. We’re very blessed.” – Army Staff Sgt. Adam Lewis
Most of Adam’s active-duty work involved clearing improvised explosive devices from routes to ensure safe passage for troops. He served deployments to Iraq in 2004 and to Afghanistan in 2012.
Adam separated from the service after 13 years in the Army, but it was brief. He joined the Pennsylvania Army National Guard in 2020 because he missed military life. Courtney, a former nurse who put her career on hold to stay home with their children, home-schools one of their sons, who has autism.
When Adam’s active-duty recruiting job ended and he wasn’t rehired on the police force, he began pursuing other job opportunities. Without his full-time income, though, finances became tight, particularly with costs of food and utilities rising.
He remembered learning about Operation Homefront and its Critical Financial Assistance (CFA) program when he was deployed to Afghanistan in 2012 and the family struggled to make ends meet.
Since 2002, Operation Homefront has served military families such as the Lewises as part of its mission to build strong, stable, and secure military families so they can thrive – not simply struggle to get by – in the communities they have worked so hard to protect. The CFA program has provided more than $37 million in emergency funds since 2008.
The Lewis family was relieved when they learned they had been approved for assistance with food, utilities, auto insurance, and critical baby items.
“If it wasn’t for (Operation Homefront), we wouldn’t be where we are today,” said Adam, who feared the family’s utilities would be disconnected and their auto insurance canceled. “We’re very blessed.”
