Lt. Elbert at Warrior Forge

(adpated from and article by Maj. Douglas Goodfellow)

Six thousand miles is a long way to travel to watch a commissioning ceremony, but it's a short distance when you use technology. For 2nd Lt. Vincent Elbert both were accomplished. When Lieutenant Elbert was commissioned July 20 at Fort Lewis, WA, his mother, Laurie, grandparents Glenn and Rosemary Roux, and girlfriend Kate Murray were all in attendance. His father was the only one missing from this important occasion. Deployed with the United States Army's 420th Engineer Brigade in Iraq since January, Lt. Col. Fredric Elbert used technology to be at his son's commissioning.
Shortly after the traditional graduation and commissioning ceremony, where officers repeat the oath of office, have their bars pinned on and their first salute, the brand new lieutenant and his family headed for the video teleconferencing center on post. Six thousand miles away in Iraq, Lt. Col. Elbert stood impatiently in front of a television monitor. Would he be able to see his son and wife? Would the telecast be suddenly lost? Twenty minutes later these questions were all answered.
The colonel had administered the oath of office to his son and brand new Lieutenant Elbert was following the strong family's military tradition. Besides his father being a member of the Army, his grandfather had retired as Sergeant First Class. Lt. Elbert, a recent graduate from the State University of New York at Brockport, hopes to purse a career in the Army's Medical Service Corps.
At the conclusion of the ceremony, Col. Steven Corbett, Commander of Warrior Forge, gave newly commissioned Lt. Elbert a hug from his dad. Corbett asked that Lt. Col. Elbert give Mrs. Corbett, who is also Major Corbett and also deployed in Iraq, a hug from him. Lt. Col. Elbert replied, "Only with my wife's permission." Mrs. Elbert approved with a chuckle.