In 1979, Command Master Chief Lambert became the first woman to be designated an Aviation Structural Mechanic (Structures). She went on to become the first woman to be selected as the U.S. Navy Shore Sailor of the Year in 1988, among the first women to be stationed on board an aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) in 1994 and, ultimately, the first woman command master chief of an aircraft carrier when she was selected to serve on board the USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) in 2003. Lambert retired from the Navy in 2008 after 30 years of service.