Our forty-sixth recipient, Colonel Lauren S. “Eddie” Edwards, is currently attending the 2024 AMP at Harvard Business School and serves as the Marine Corps Senior Military Advisor to the Secretary of the Navy in Washington, DC.  A career combat engineer officer, she has served in key command billets at all ranks throughout her career and has deployed around the globe.  Outside of the Fleet Marine Force she served in a variety of challenging billets such as Officer Assignments where she was responsible for ensuring that the right active component officers were assigned to the right billet at the right time and maintained their competitiveness for further service; Marine Corps recruiting duty where she was responsible for officer and enlisted accessions from eastern Kentucky, northeastern Tennessee, southwestern Virginia, West Virginia, and southern Ohio; and as a branch head at Headquarters Marine Corps’ Programs and Resources department, responsible for coordinating Marine Corps participation in resource allocation decision forums across the Corps, the Services, Joint Staff, and the Office of the Secretary of Defense.  Additionally, Lauren served on the Office of Secretary of Defense staff as the Military Assistant to the Undersecretary and Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Policy.  Lauren is a native of Smiths Grove, KY, and a graduate of The George Washington University in Washington, DC.  She also holds three advanced degrees from Marshall University, the Naval War College, and the National War College.