One of the best things about rowing is the friendships that you develop along the way. I am still rowing with one of my friends from high school, Matt Muffelman. I still talk to the guys I rowed with at Navy regularly. One of them was my best man at my wedding. My wife was a coxswain for the Navy women. Except for one or two, my best friends are rowers. Rowing attracts competent, dedicated, intelligent people and I will cherish the relationships for the rest of my life.
It’s funny that not all of the best teammates are the best rowers. There have been many guys that have not made the top boats at the programs I have been at that I look up to. One of them is Matt Lampert. Matt was part of Ultimate Six, or the Navy Lightweight class of 2006. He was a prior enlisted US Marine scout sniper, fully garnished with tattoos on his back and arms that labeled him as such. He was about 130 lbs dripping wet, but one of the toughest guys I ever met. His intelligence was superb. He may have graduated with a 4.0 and if not that then something way north of my GPA. During his senior year in high school he was accepted to the US Military Academy, US Naval Academy, Dartmouth and a number of other well established institutions. He turned all of them down to enlist in the Marine Corps and serve his country. After successfully completing the rigorous USMC scout sniper school and doing a tour as a scout sniper he reapplied to the Naval Academy and attended.
I was a sophomore when Matt arrived. He was never in the top boat while at Navy, but he was always one of the leaders of the team. My senior year I was the team captain and Matt was a junior. Even then, when I was in charge, I looked up to him. He was the guy I always knew would show up for practice and give it his all. I tried to lead by example as captain by showing up to practice first, warming up and putting a good foot forward in everything I did. But when I got to practice early every morning, sometimes at 4:50 am (we have to row really early at Navy so the Severn monster won’t kill you), Matt would be there getting dressed and ready to go. He was a natural leader. I’m sure he hated it, but sometimes when we were short coxswains our coach would put him in for a practice or two. He hated not being physical. Despite that, he was probably one of the best coxswains, if not the best coxswain I had there. Had he wanted it, he would have had a shot at the varsity cox seat, but instead Matt was busting his ass up and down the river.
After graduation Matt joined the Marine Corps again, but this time as a commissioned officer. Naturally, he went in to the infantry and finally became a member of the elite Marine Corps Special Operations unit. He recently came home from Afghanistan, but under poor conditions. Matt was leading a group of special operation marines and coalition Afghan soldiers in to a Taliban compound and stepped on an explosive. His marines were so well trained, which was one of Matt’s many duties, that they had him evacuated and back at base in 25 minutes! This saved his life.
He is currently at the naval hospital in Bethesda, MD, healing and preparing for the surgeries that will close up the wounds on his amputated legs. Being the person he is, Matt is already talking about what he is going to do with his prosthetics. He is truly a hero and I can not wait to get home to see him.
When I’m going down the course and feeling the hurt, I’ll be thinking of Matt for inspiration. Hopefully I can have the same strength as him and if I can find that strength then we will definitely perform well. Matt is truly a good friend and one that I will continue to learn from in life.
- Jimmy Sopko, USA 2010 LM8+
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Sad news.. Our prayers are with him and his family.
The Berganski’s
I was a rowing teammate of Matt’s back in high school. His was then just as you describe him now: a man of dedication and courage. Never the best rower, he always brought out the best in himself and those around him. It shocks and saddens me to hear he’s been wounded.
He’s always been the type to take on and overcome great challenges. This recovery will likely prove to be his greatest yet. I will be praying for him.
I served with Lampert as a Scout Sniper and was even his roommate when I first arrived to the platoon, we were both young Cpls… We served together for the remainder of our enlistment and I have to admit, I always tried to ensure he was satisfied with my performance as a Scout Sniper; my most fond memory was that he was the first to have ever called me a Sniper hours before my graduation. All our new recruits where in formation and I recall one of them, months later, saying that one day he wanted to hear Lampert say the same thing to him; “Congratulations Sniper”.
As you stated, Lampert is a true leader, always the first to wake up, always the first to volunteer, sense of urgency, dedication, and a level of intelligence beyond any in the entire company.
I have a feeling it won’t be long before I see him again, our entire platoon is currently trying to track him down and we’ve narrowed it down to San Diego.
Lampert…if you are reading this, or if this should find you know that you’re whole Scout Sniper platoon has gotten the word; we feel your pain and wish you well, we also know the way you are…we know you’ll bounce back even stronger than you were.
Semper Fi brother! stay strong!
J. Sanchez, Sgt. USMC 1st Bn, 2nd Mar, Scout Sniper Plt.
Capt. Lampert was my Chief Scout at 1st Bn 2nd Marines. He is very driven. So much so that we use to call him “The Machine”. I found out about what happened when I bumped into Sgt Maj Boutin at the gym the other day. If you are reading this, I’m in 3/6 if you need anything let me know.
SSGT Polanco
Matt was my team commander in Afghanistan, I happened to be on an alternate patrol 500m south of his pos the night he was injured. He is the best officer I have ever worked for. True to his nature, he is at work and is preparing for a possible deployment back to Afghanistan.
I attended The Basic School with Lampert. I did not know him personally (we may have exchanged a few words in the course of the training) but his reputation preceeded him. Those who did know him had nothing but great things to say. Everyone has his admirers and critics. He had none of the latter so it seemed obvious that Matt was a unique individual. But even in these adverse circumstances I expect that he will continue to inspire other around him, even more so that before.
Capt Issac Olvera