HMCM(Ret) James E. Lambert
JAMES E. LAMBERT
MASTER CHIEF HOSPITAL CORPSMAN
(SURFACE WARFARE/FLEET MARINE FORCE)
UNITED STATES NAVY, RETIRED
Master Chief James E. Lambert was a native of Baltimore, Maryland. He enlisted in the United States Navy in 1978, and following completion of Basic Recruit Training and Hospital Corps School in Great Lakes, Illinois, he reported to his first duty station at Naval Regional Medical Center Jacksonville, Florida. Advancing to Petty Officer Third Class before detaching in January 1981, he reported to the 1st Marine Division Camp Pendleton, California for a two-year tour. During his Fleet Marine Force (FMF) tour, he was selected for Second Class Petty Officer in 1982.
In January 1983, he reported to Naval Hospital San Diego, California as Leading Petty Officer of the Plastic Surgery clinic. In May 1985, he reported to Marine Corps Inspector Instructor staff Nashville, Tennessee for a 16-month tour prior to attending Surface Independent Duty Corpsman School (IDC) Portsmouth, Virginia in January 1986. After completing IDC School, Master Chief Lambert reported to the USS KITTY HAWK (CV-63) homeported in San Diego. After deploying on an around the world cruise, he reported to USS SAMUEL B. ROBERTS (FFG-58) in Newport, Rhode Island. In January 1988, the SAMUEL B. ROBERTS deployed to the Persian Gulf for duty escorting tanker transports. On 14 April 1988, the ship struck a mine causing considerable damage and injuring many of its crew. Master Chief Lambert was awarded the Navy Commendation Medal with Combat Distinguishing Device (Combat V) for his medical treatment and evacuation of ten seriously injured crew members resulting in no loss of life. In May 1988, he earned the Enlisted Surface Warfare Specialist insignia (SW).
In October 1990, Master Chief Lambert transferred to Naval Hospital Jacksonville, Florida. Shortly after arriving, he was deployed to Operation Desert Shield/Storm for seven months. While stationed in Jacksonville, he again deployed several times overseas to Maritime Interdiction Operations in Egypt and the Red Sea in support of U.N. sanctions against Iraq and to “JTF-160” Guantanamo Bay Cuba for Haitian migrant operations. In June 1994, Master Chief Lambert was transferred to Naval Hospital Guantanamo Bay, Cuba as Leading Chief Petty Officer at Leeward Point Air Station Clinic. While there he was again involved with the Haitian and Cuban migrant operations.
Transferring to 2nd Force Service Support Group, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina as Director of the Group Aid Station, he was selected for Master Chief Hospital Corpsman in April 1996. In July 1997 Master Chief Lambert reported to the Bureau of Medicine and Surgery, Washington, D.C. as the Program Manager, Surface Force Independent Duty Corpsmen. He served as the Operations Officer, Defense Intelligence Agency, Armed Forces Medical Intelligence Center, Fort Detrick, Maryland from June 2000 to February 2002. In February 2002, Master Chief Lambert transferred to Headquarters U.S. Marine Corps (Health Services), Washington D.C. as Staff to the Medical Officer to Marine Corps and as Command Master Chief. After a successful tour in Washington, Master Chief Lambert reported to Naval Branch Health Clinic Brunswick, Maine in March 2004 as the Senior Enlisted Leader.
While there, he volunteered for an individual augmentation tour in Iraq. He deployed as the Senior Enlisted Advisor for Health Affairs, Multi-National Security Transition Command, a coalition command responsible for organizing, training, equipping, and mentoring Iraqi Security Forces, from March to October 2005. Additionally, he was an advisor to the Iraqi Surgeon General. Master Chief Lambert’s leadership influenced the ongoing development of the Iraqi Medical Force and assisted in the day to day operations of forward operating bases. He willingly traveled to remote locations to mentor both Iraqi and Coalition members.
Master Chief Lambert’s awards and citations include the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal (with gold star), Joint Service Commendation Medal, Navy/Marine Corps Commendation Medal with “Combat V” (with four gold stars), Navy/ Marine Corps Achievement Medal, Army Achievement Medal, Combat Action Ribbon, Joint Meritorious Unit Commendation (with one bronze star), Navy Unit Commendation (with two bronze stars), Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation (with two bronze stars), Coast Guard Meritorious Unit Commendation, Navy Battle “E”, Navy Good Conduct Medal (with four bronze stars), Navy Fleet Marine Force Ribbon, Navy Expeditionary Medal (with one bronze star), National Defense Medal, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Southwest Asia Service Medal (with two bronze stars), Humanitarian Service Medal (with one bronze star), Sea Service Deployment Ribbon (with three bronze stars), Navy and Marine Corps Overseas Service Ribbon, Coast Guard Special Operations Service Ribbon, Kuwait Liberation Medal (Saudi Arabia), Kuwait Liberation Medal (Kuwait), Navy Rifleman (Expert), Navy Pistol Shot (Expert), and designation as an Enlisted Surface Warfare Specialist and the Fleet Marine Force Ribbon.
Master Chief Lambert retired after 30 years of honorable active duty service on 01 October 2008. He is survived by his wife Stephanie, his sons, Jimmy and Kyle, and his faithful canine companion, Joey.
There will be a memorial service at Arlington Cemetery for Master Chief Jim Lambert on Wednesday, August 12, 2009 at 1100. The requested uniform for active duty is Service Dress Blues. Stephanie asked to share this with everyone who knew and loved Jim, and offer the opportunity for us to pay our respects to Jim, give Stephanie a warm hug, and hopefully find a calm sense of closure within our own personal thoughts.
HMCM(Ret) James E. Lambert
I served with Jim Lambert at Branch Medical Clinic NAS Brunswick. I guess some of my fondest memories of Jim are sitting in his office telling sea stories or talking about mutual friends or knuckle heads that we both knew. This even carried on after I retired, I would stop in the clinic for something or another and end up sitting in Jims office shooting the shit. Good times!
While Jim was taken from this world much to soon the only consolation I can think of is the countless sailors, Chiefs, and Officers who benefited from Jims leadership while he was on active duty.
If theres a Big Goat Locker in the sky I'm sure Jim is sitting in the mess with a cup of coffee reminescing about deployments past or ports visited. He will be missed.
John Bastin PA-C LT USN Retired
Former HMC(SW)SFIDC
USS Goldsborough DDG-20
From "No Higher Honor," my
From "No Higher Honor," my 2006 book about the mining of the USS Samuel B. Roberts:
When the mine went off, Doc Lambert picked himself off the sickbay floor and considered his options. The frigate had two spaces intended as emergency treatment wards: one was far aft under the flight deck; the other was farther forward but surrounded by racks of DC gear. Neither was usable in the current circumstance, thanks to passageways full of smoke and hoses and equipment. So Lambert consulted with Rinn and Eckelberry about setting up a triage area atop the deckhouse, just behind the signal bridge.
It was hardly an ideal location for a makeshift infirmary — two levels up from the main deck and only a few dozen yards from the hose teams that were pouring water on the smoke-belching exhaust fire. But at least it wasn’t inside the ship, which looked as if it might sink at any moment. It was also close to the whaleboat. If Matthews and his mechanics couldn’t get their helo running, the Roberts might have to send its most severely wounded out by motorboat.
So the exec got on the 1MC and told anyone with an injury to make his way to top of the deckhouse. Privately, he thought, We’re going to lose some of these guys.
Lambert had already begun treating several of the hurt men belowdecks. In engineering’s Central Control, he applied burn salve to Wayne Smith and Dave Burbine, who was shivering uncontrollably despite the blanket wrapped around him.
He sent others up to the triage area behind the signal bridge. They were met by Lambert’s phone talker, Master-at-Arms 1st Class Stanley Bauman, and Ens. Steven Giannone, a disbursing officer who had arrived aboard during the deployment and become Lambert’s medical assistant. Giannone and Bauman took in the new arrivals and tried to make them comfortable.
Forty minutes after the blast, Lambert joined them. He checked on Bobby Gibson, who had been tied to a stretcher and carried up to the aid station. The boatswain’s mate had tried to join a repair party after the mine blast had flipped him from his lookout’s chair, but the pain had soon debilitated him. The corpsman bent over Gibson, sweat dripping from his brow.
Chewing ice chips to keep himself hydrated, Lambert moved from patient to patient, applying Silvadine antibacterial cream, pushing IV needles into their arms, starting drips of Ringer’s lactate to replenish their fluids. As his supply of bandages dwindled, the corpsman sent a junior personnelman, Charles Morin, and a seaman named Richard Klemme down to his sick bay for more. Just cut the lock off the medical supplies, he told them.
Several of the burned engineers eventually arrived. Lambert worked to stabilize them. Severely burned patients are at great risk of shock. The corpsmen knew that their chances for survival depended on better care than he could provide on the frigate.
But Lambert took hope in the news that the ship’s Seahawk might become available for an evacuation flight. Leaving Lt. (j.g.) Robert Chambers, the ship’s electronic readiness officer, in charge of the IVs, he headed down to the hangar to establish a medevac station.
The supply officer, Lt. Bradley Gutcher, had beaten him to it. Anticipating the need, Gutcher had raided the aft battle-dressing station, gathered up all the first-aid supplies he could carry, and hauled them in a blanket to the hangar.
Eckelberry passed the word over the 1MC, and injured men began to show up at the hangar. Several dozen had wrenched their backs and limbs, either in the initial blast or by slipping on the various liquids that were being tracked around the ship: water, fuel, AFFF. Some had gotten oil and smoke particles in their eyes, yet had been unable to bear to use the ship’s eyewashes to clear the gunk out. Lambert slit open saline bags and gently cleansed their faces.
Thank you for your service, Jim. Rest in peace. Brad Peniston
Thank you Stephanie and
Thank you Stephanie and boys, for sharing your husband and father with us for so many years. He excelled as a professional Master Chief, Sailor and mentor and a counselor. ...and I know he was so much more to so many more in and around the US Navy. He is missed.
God bless each of you as Jim's memory causes us all to pause, and to smile.
C. Ecker
HMCM(SS/SW/FMF) (Ret)
HMCM(Ret) James E. Lambert
Jim left us all too soon, my thoughts and prayers with Stephanie, his children and his dog. Jim and I knew each other for many years and he relievedme in Brunswick when I retired in 2004. He had a huge impact on countless Sailors and will be missed by all he touched.
If someone has contact information for his family, please let me know.
Thank you
Lee Morissette, HMCM(SW), USN Ret
shipdoc [at] tidewater [dot] net