Cambrielle Sanders grew up in a military family. Her father, Larry, enlisted shortly before she was born, and she recalls a childhood filled with stories of her father’s service, and stories from other relatives as well.
“I think it’s really cool that I get to hear a variety of perspectives from being in the military, especially since we have family members in all different branches,” Cambrielle said. “I love hearing about that, especially from my great-grandfather.”
Cambrielle’s great-grandfather, Retired Sgt. Maj. Joe Sanders, volunteered for enlistment during the Vietnam War and served in the U.S. Army for 30 years. But it's her father’s almost 20 years of service that's had the biggest impact.
Cambrielle made the decision to serve in the military in 2023, following in her father and great-grandfather’s footsteps. But she not living in their shadow – she’s making a name for herself that is uniquely her own.
Cambrielle, now a Private First Class, serves as an intelligence analyst with the 510th Regional Support Group, a subordinate unit to 7th Mission Support Command (MSC), in Kaiserslautern Germany. Her father, Master Sgt. Larry Sanders, is a senior career counselor with the 7th MSC, where he works full time to support Reserve Soldiers. He helped guide Cambrielle when she came to him with questions about enlisting during her senior year of high school. After discussing her options with her father and a recruiter, Cambrielle decide the Army Reserve was the best fit for her.
“I wanted to be close to my family. If I would have joined any other component, I wouldn’t have been able to still be with them before I go off to college,” she said. “I wanted to be a full-time student, but also still be able to serve.”
Seeing his daughter do things that he did many years ago, Larry is drawn to the parallels of his grandfather's time in service, who was also stationed in Germany during his enlistment. Larry said that he is proud to see his daughter following the path that he and his grandfather walked before her, especially since she is the first woman in their family to enlist in the Army.
Being an Army Reserve Soldier, Cambrielle trains one weekend each month. She enjoys being in the same unit as her father, saying she is inspired by her father’s example as a leader in his role as a non-commissioned officer (NCO), and the way he interacts with other Soldiers.
“He’s really there to answer all my questions because he has so much experience, and I get to learn so much from that,” Cambrielle said. “Also, us being specifically in the same command, even though we’re not in the same building, sometimes I do see him in my building randomly and I’m just like, ‘hi dad!’”
Larry acknowledged the uniqueness of his position and said that he strives to balance his roles as a father and NCO when it comes to his daughter.
“I’m able to do both for the most part, but I definitely have the ‘dad’ hat,” Larry said. “I remember one time a few months ago, she painted her fingernails, and I was like, ‘man, it looks nice’ – well, I was like, ‘wait, that’s out of regulation!’ So, you have to balance it.”
Cambrielle said she is often asked how their relationship works when they’re in uniform. She noted that while he is “dad” a lot of the time, there are times when the senior NCO comes out.
“Like whenever he tells me I’m out of regs,” she said. “And he’s like, ‘that’s such a [junior enlisted] thing to do!’”
Though early in her career, Cambrielle has already received accolades from her peers and leaders. For her annual training this year, Cambrielle traveled to Sweden for two weeks in support of DEFENDER 24, the largest U.S. Army exercise in Europe. This year’s exercise included more than 17,000 U.S. and 23,000 multinational service members from more than 20 Allied and partner nations.
In her role as an intelligence analyst, Cambrielle helped gather data and brief her leadership on the changing conditions that could affect their ongoing operations.
U.S. Army Reserve Brig. Gen. Karen Monday-Gresham, Commanding General of 7th MSC, presented Cambrielle with a coin in appreciation of her hard work.
“But then I was also recognized for something else,” Cambrielle said about her encounter with the general. “I was recognized for being the daughter of my dad… He’s a member of her staff.”
The familiar name caught the attention of Brig. Gen. Monday-Gresham, who posed for a photo with Cambrielle.
“We did get to take a little picture together, and she’s like, ‘I’m definitely showing this to your dad’” Cambrielle said.
Larry said he’s proud of his daughter’s hard work and achievements, and that she’s making a name for herself.
“I’m happy for her to be able to get that [award],” said Larry. “Especially since she’s such a young age and early in her career.”
Cambrielle said that she tries to follow her father’s example as a leader, even as a junior enlisted Soldier. She also strives to be a role model for her three younger sisters, hoping to help guide them, while paving her own path.
Looking to the future, Cambrielle said she has high hopes. In August, she will begin classes as a full-time student at Arizona State University, where she will study pre-law. Her aspiration is to become a lawyer, and whether that’s as a commissioned officer or warrant officer is something Cambrielle is still considering.
“Legacy wise, it really shows that my dad did it – I can do it,” she said.
While she will continue serving in the Army Reserve, Larry’s greatest hope for his daughter is that she has fun and enjoys whatever she chooses to pursue.
“I really want her to have the best career she can,” he said. “But I don’t want to push her into things I think would be best.”
He shares the same sentiment for his three other younger daughters.
“I look at my daughters as a girl dad, and I say, ‘man, they can make it as far as they want to go,’” Larry said. “It gives me a lot of joy that they don’t have to be like me. They won’t be like me. They’re going to make their own pathways, and it’s wide open for them. I’m really looking forward to seeing what they do.”
| Date Taken: | 08.21.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 08.27.2024 09:51 |
| Story ID: | 479483 |
| Location: | KAISERSLAUTERN, RHEINLAND-PFALZ, DE |
| Web Views: | 22 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, A Legacy of Service, by SSG Logan Swift, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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