Operation Homefront Relief Eases Stress for Military Family Facing Hurricane Repairs
When Air Force Tech. Sgt. Michael Wolfle and his wife, Brittany, moved into their home in Port Orange, Florida, in August 2024, they were eager to transition to civilian life after 11 years as a military family.
The Wolfles and their children – 14-year-old son Hayden and 13-year-old daughter Quorra – looked forward to stability after two years of struggling with medical concerns, diagnoses, and surgeries for both Michael and Brittany.
Michael, a fourth-generation airman, was going through the medical retirement process because of nerve disease that resulted from combat-related injuries he suffered in Iraq in 2019.
The family’s excitement turned to despair two months later when back-to-back hurricanes struck.
Hurricane Helene’s fierce winds damaged the garage in late September. Two weeks later, rain from Hurricane Milton left a foot of standing water in parts of their new home, despite Michael’s efforts to place sandbags around the house.
Their furniture – including pieces that had survived all four of their permanent change of station moves – was ruined. After water receded, black mold grew on the floors.
Homeowner insurance didn’t cover flood damage, and they were in the process of acquiring flood insurance even though the home sits outside the flood zone.
“It sent us into a lot of depression,” Michael said.
They were grateful for FEMA funding to replace drywall, but they paid $5,200 for mold remediation in the attic and still needed new furniture and flooring to make the home livable.
Because they had invested most of their savings in the home, they began using mortgage funds to cover home repairs.
Michael shared the family’s hardship with the recovery care specialist who has helped him navigate the medical retirement process and the transition to civilian life. Through her, he learned about Operation Homefront’s Critical Financial Assistance Program®, which is designed to help military and veteran families facing financial crisis.
With the help of generous partners such as Wounded Warrior Project, Love’s Travel Stops, CSX, and The Home Depot Foundation, Operation Homefront provides support for military families to prevent short-term struggles from becoming chronic challenges.
An Operation Homefront caseworker called Michael two days before Christmas to share news that his application for mortgage assistance and new flooring was approved. Earlier in the day, the family had been devastated by the death of Brittany’s father in Ohio.
“That call was huge,” Michael said. “Everything from October until Christmas felt like it was going wrong, and Operation Homefront lifted a lot of stress off all of us. That call tipped the scales back to good luck, and I’ve been able to focus on my health.”
“Operation Homefront lifted a lot of stress off all of us.” – Air Force Tech. Sgt. Michael Wolfe
Michael’s desire to make a difference led him to enlist in the Air Force in 2013. He was the father of two toddlers and was working in the IT department for a bank after earning a bachelor’s degree in political science and legal studies.
He was in middle school on 9/11, and he had followed the war on terrorism in the ensuing decade.
“ISIS was forming, and I watched the atrocities in the Middle East,” he remembered. “I didn’t want to sit back and not do anything.”
He thought about the generations before him who had served in the military: his great-grandfather in World War I, his grandfather who was a Marauder Bomber pilot in World War II, and an uncle who served in the Vietnam War.
Although he took a pay cut when he enlisted and is leaving the military with lasting injuries, Michael said his Air Force career as a logistics specialist has been fulfilling.
“I feel like my mission was accomplished,” he said, explaining that he was part of a team in Iraq that airlifted Navy SEALS after the defeat of the ISIS leader in 2019.
Michael suffered ankle injuries while he was part of a convoy in Iraq, and he continued working.
“I didn’t realize I had a broken bone in my leg for over a year,” he said.
He broke the ankle again in training in 2021. Though he had surgery to repair three breaks, the untreated injury had caused irreparable nerve damage and nerve disease.
“My wife and I asked ourselves if when we’re 60 years old we will have any regrets, and I don’t think we will,” Michael said. “Yes, I wouldn’t have seen death, lost friends, and have injuries, but I also wouldn’t have the friends I have and the ability to see things differently.”
Now, after making their home livable again, the Wolfles are looking forward to what the future holds.
Brittany completed her degree in anthropology at the University of Central Florida. Michael looks forward to using his new MBA degree – awarded by the University of Florida in December 2024 – in a civilian career. He will start his job search after the medical board evaluation is complete. That ruling has been delayed because of a backlog from the same storms that damaged his home.
His goal is to become established in a career that aligns with his philosophy of helping others, the same desire that inspired his military service.
