Australia — Private Matthew Lambert returns to Queensland

The sol­diers of Men­tor­ing Task Force – Three have qui­et­ly farewelled their mate, Pri­vate Matthew Lam­bert, from Uruz­gan Province in Afghanistan after he was killed in an explo­sion on Mon­day morn­ing 22 August 2011.

Source: Aus­tralian Depart­ment of Defence Click to enlarge

In a sim­ple cer­e­mo­ny at Mul­ti-Nation­al Base Tarin Kot, his mates gave their fall­en col­league a fit­ting farewell. 

The Com­mand­ing Offi­cer of MTF‑3, Lieu­tenant Colonel Chris Smith said Pri­vate Lam­bert was a high­ly pro­fes­sion­al and dis­ci­plined soldier. 

“As his Com­mand­ing Offi­cer, Pri­vate Matthew Lam­bert nev­er failed to impress me with his dri­ve, per­son­al phi­los­o­phy and pro­fes­sion­al­ism. The words which best describe Pri­vate Lam­bert are coura­geous, fit, strong, and disciplined. 

“To all of us who shared this mis­sion with him, his death was sud­den and unex­pect­ed, but sad­ly that is the nature of war. 

“As we farewell Matthew, our thoughts are with his fam­i­ly and his part­ner at this time,” Lieu­tenant Colonel Smith said. 

The Com­man­der of Aus­tralian Defence Force per­son­nel deployed to the Mid­dle East, Major Gen­er­al Angus Camp­bell said Pri­vate Lam­bert was known as a phys­i­cal­ly and men­tal­ly tough soldier. 

“Pri­vate Lam­bert had forged an impres­sive rep­u­ta­tion as deci­sive, depend­able, focused on the mis­sion, and ever pro­tec­tive of his mates. He was known for his even tem­pera­ment and as a qui­et per­former but whose efforts did not go unnoticed. 

“He was the quin­tes­sen­tial sol­dier, a high­ly trained spe­cial­ist who was admired and respected. 

“His loss will not be deeply felt just because of what he did – but because of who he was. Pri­vate Lam­bert rep­re­sents the best aspects of the Aus­tralian Army and our Defence Force,” Major Gen­er­al Camp­bell said. 

Pri­vate Lam­bert will be repa­tri­at­ed through RAAF Base Amber­ley, Queens­land and will be buried with full mil­i­tary honours. 

Press release
Min­is­te­r­i­al Sup­port and Pub­lic Affairs,
Depart­ment of Defence,
Can­ber­ra, Australia 

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