Courtesy Photo | The Lambert familly -- Lt. Col. Ebony, 2-year-old Majour and Command Sgt. Maj. Micheal...... read more read more
FORT LEE, Va. (Jan. 31, 2018) -- In the Army, it is not commonplace to see an enlisted Soldier married to an officer. Most can count on one hand the number of such unions encountered over an entire career.
It also is extraordinary the partners in marriage would receive promotions on the same day.
It happened Friday when Sgt. Maj. Micheal L. Lambert and his wife Maj. Ebony S. Lambert were elevated to command sergeant major and lieutenant colonel, respectively, before a capacity crowd of family, friends and associates at Liberty Chapel.
“It’s amazing everything lined up the way it did,” said CSM Lambert after the ceremony. “I think it’s going to be the highlight of my career.”
It was as memorable for Lt. Col. Lambert.
“We give thanks to God for this day; this opportunity to celebrate such a tremendous accomplishment with family,” she said during her remarks, describing “family” as the extended network of people vital to any Soldier’s success.
Those in attendance for the dual promotion included Brig. Gen. David Wilson, Chief of Ordnance; Lambert family members – including their wandering, playful toddler Majour – and a long list of others from throughout the Fort Lee community.
Lt. Col. Lambert is branch chief, Force Structure, Ordnance Force Development Division, CASCOM. Her husband is the sergeant major of the Logistics Training Department, Quartermaster School. The career logisticians met as privates while each was assigned to Fort Hunter Liggett, Calif., in 1995.
The pair married in 1998, a few years before the Army’s revamped fraternization policies strengthened rules prohibiting enlisted-officer marriages. Their union was grandfathered as a result. Since then, they have endured an Army marriage and careers as challenging as any other, said Lt. Col. Lambert.
“It’s a tremendous accomplishment we both made,” she said. “It’s a special day.”
As many Soldiers would agree with the sentiment that with success often comes sacrifice, Lt. Col. Lambert said the couple’s journey was filled with “struggles, lots of challenges and yet, every time we said we were ‘getting out,’ we never did. And we’re here.
“There was something else; some other purpose for us,” she said.
Difficulty paying bills, separation and other factors were among those poking holes in the Lamberts’ fledgling relationship around the turn of the century.
“He didn’t make much, and I was an ROTC student getting a $200 stipend for books and maybe a total of $700 for the month,” she recalled of the early years. “It didn’t go very far so I lived with my grandmother, commuted and some kind of way it seemed to work itself out.”
More than 20 years later, the Lamberts are basking in the blessings of their career and family life. Col. Brad J. Eungard, speaking on Lt. Col. Lambert’s behalf, said a passionate commitment to people on a daily basis and high standards are Lambert’s hallmarks.
“She has a foundation of character. She takes ownership of everything she’s given responsibility for. She demonstrates respect on a daily basis,” he said, prior to administering the oath of enlistment. “She sets up an organization to be excellent. I think that’s what we all strive to be – not average because you’ve done the basics but because our taxpayers, the great people of America, deserve our very best. The Army doesn’t promote you for average.”
During her speech, Lt. Col. Lambert said her promotion is a cumulative achievement, partly the efforts of faces near and far throughout the course of her career.
“In this field of work, it is not about you,” she said. “It is absolutely about everybody else who’s on your team; it’s the Army.”
CSM Lambert, who deferred his achievement to that of his wife’s during the ceremony, gave a short but memorable speech, thanking attendees and supporters, but in a way that brought to mind his signature forthrightness and offhand humor.
“The good thing about this promotion for you today,” he said to his wife, “is that this will be the last time you wear anything gold on your uniform. From here, it’s all silver because you like shiny stuff.”
On a more serious note, the CSM had this advice for audience members – “Spend more time worrying about your character, not your reputation, because people will always talk about you. Your character is who you are. Your reputation is who they think you are.”
As a result of their promotions, the Lamberts will both take new assignments. CSM Lambert will become the top enlisted Soldier of the 266th QM Bn. Lt. Col. Lambert is projected for deployment to Kuwait in the coming months with a return to Fort Lee following her tour.
The couple has no plans beyond the very near future, said CSM Lambert, other than to “take things one day at a time.”
| Date Taken: | 01.31.2018 |
| Date Posted: | 01.31.2018 15:27 |
| Story ID: | 264140 |
| Location: | AUGUSTA, GEORGIA, US |
| Web Views: | 939 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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