Lt. Cmdr. Mark Lambert first saw the Blue Angels when he entered the U.S. Naval Academy in 1992.
This week he returned to Annapolis wearing the blue-and-gold jumpsuit of the renowned flight squad.
“I never thought then that I?d be at this point, with the Blue Angels,” Lambert said.
As the squadron?s flight surgeon, the 33-year-old Richmond native is responsible for the general health of the six pilots who command the acrobatic F/A-18 Hornets. He has had the unenviable task of grounding pilots too ill to fly.
“They?re pretty professional about it,” Lambert said.
His experience watching the Blue Angels, who perform at the academy graduation, fostered Lambert?s desire to join.
After graduating with an oceanography degree, Lambert went to medical school at Georgetown University. He served as a flight surgeon with several units and was stationed throughout Japan as well as Djibouti.
Last year, he joined the Blue Angels after an intensive eight-month interview process.
“The Blue Angels are a critical public image for the Navy, and I?m proud to represent the Navy in the civilian world,” Lambert said.
Because of the ongoing investigation, Lambert said he could not comment on the crash of the jet during a demonstration April 21 in Beaufort, S.C., which killed Lt. Cmdr. Kevin Collins. Lambert was with the squadron that day.
But when the Blue Angels returned to the skies May 12 in North Carolina, the performance was cathartic for the group, Lambert said. The squadron added Lt. Cmdr. Craig Olson to fill the void.
“We have really come together since then,” Lambert said. “Our focus right now is to get back ontrack.”
Wednesday?s Blue Angels? demonstration went off without a hitch, academy spokeswoman Judy Campbell said.
