552 ACW Airman finalist for prestigious award

  • Published
  • By Darren D. Heusel
  • Tinker Public Affairs
TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. --  An Airman with ties to Tinker Air Force Base has been selected as a finalist for the prestigious 2012 Air Force Times Airman of the Year award.

Master Sgt. Brandon Lambert, a digital maintenance supervisor in the 728th Air Control Squadron at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. - a geographically separated unit from the 552nd Air Control Wing at Tinker - said he recently was nominated for the award by the local VFW Post 7674 in Fort Walton Beach, Fla., primarily because of his service last year in Afghanistan and for his involvement in the community.

Air Force Times will make the official announcement on Monday. The results will also be posted online at http://www.militarytimes.com/smoy/.

Lambert, a native of Rome, N.Y., was deployed from July 2011 to January 2012 to Kandahar, Afghanistan, where he served as a maintenance flight chief and oversaw more than 30,000 maintenance actions for six work centers and some $60 million in equipment assets. He also served as the unit travel representative and acting first sergeant.

In addition, Sergeant Lambert aided with the equipment disposition of two closing units in Iraq and Afghanistan and facilitated the transportation needs for 52 deployed members who were leaving the theater of operations early due to a detachment unit closure.

"I'm not sure what was going through my mind when I first found out I had been nominated," he wrote in a recent e-mail.

Sergeant Lambert said he wasn't too familiar with the award and only found out how prestigious it was after he was nominated and started reading up on some of the previous winners.

"To be nominated as one of the best in the Air Force is quite an honor," he said.
While deployed, Sergeant Lambert said he was responsible for the morale and welfare of site personnel and helped plan recreational events for his Airmen.

During and after rocket attacks directed at the base, Sergeant Lambert again displayed tremendous leadership skills by helping to calm his troops, which included two Airmen who happened to be within 10 feet of one of the blasts.

"The leadership and booster club tried to make the best we could out of being deployed through Thanksgiving, Christmas and the New Year's holidays," he said.

As squadron volunteer coordinator, Sergeant Lambert said he and his team provided more than 250 hours of assistance to various organizations including the Contingency Aeromedical Staging Facility, provided security for local bazaars and assisted with implementing various random anti-terrorism measures.

He said he also helped raise money for the Wounded Warrior Project and spent time mentoring younger Airmen and assisting them with their professional development.

"I believe I guided my Airmen in a positive direction, mentored them on how to be good leaders, and recognized their accomplishments," said Sergeant Lambert, whose leadership was instrumental to the Airmen in his work centers earning five "Team of the Month" Awards, several monthly 451st Expeditionary Operations Group awards and one 728 ACS Airman of the Year Award.

The Airmen in his charge were also presented with a number of commander's coins for going above beyond, he said.

For his efforts, Sergeant Lambert also was voted Team Tinker NCO of the fourth quarter and 552nd Air Control Group NCO of the Year.

In his community, Sergeant Lambert dedicated nearly 300 hours to various projects and helped raise more than $10,000 for a number of charitable organizations.

For his selfless act of voluntarism, Sergeant Lambert received the Presidential Volunteer Service Award and the Air Force's prestigious Spirit of Hope Award.

As a finalist for the 2012 Air Force Times Airman of the Year Award, Sergeant Lambert will travel to Washington, D.C. July 17-22 to attend the awards ceremony and various other scheduled awards-related events.

Joining Sergeant Lambert on his trip next week to D.C. will be his mother, Mrs. Joann Lambert.