In the midst of recognizing and thanking the community for its service and partnership with Redstone Arsenal, Lt. Gen. Gavin Lawrence, the deputy commanding general of the Army Materiel Command and senior commander of Redstone Arsenal, suddenly changed course and threw down the gauntlet.

“You have not hosted military organizations,” he said Tuesday during the annual Armed Forces Celebration Luncheon. “You’ve embraced them, welcomed them. You built a partnership based on trust and a shared commitment to our nation.

“I have two simple words: Thank you.”

The luncheon is the Huntsville-Madison County Chamber’s signature event of the week-long Armed Forces Celebration which continues with the annual Community Softball Game between Team Redstone and the North Alabama Rockets (community leaders).

“The Armed Forces Celebration is a tradition unlike any other,” Lawrence said. “In my 30-year career, I never experienced a community that has delivered the warmth and embraced the military like this community has.”

Then, the challenge was made.

“I don’t want to reopen old wounds …,” he said, referencing last year’s softball game where the Rockets defeated Team Redstone at Toyota Field. “When you bring trained professionals, overwhelming combat power to a recreational event … we still lost.”

Lawrence then referenced Gen. Douglas MacArthur.

“In the words of Gen. MacArthur, ‘In war, there is no substitute for victory,’” he said. “I am confident Team Redstone will regain possession of the ‘Target Destroyed’ trophy.”

Gates at Toyota Field open to the public at 5:30 p.m. and the game starts at 6 p.m. Parking and admission is free with free hot dogs to the first 500 fans. The company or organization with the most fans in attendance will win the Grand Slam Spirit Award.

Redstone is the home of the Army Materiel Command and a dozen other Army commands and offices, as well as offices for the Space Command, the Missile Defense Agency and the Defense Intelligence Agency.

More than 46,000 people work on Redstone and more than $50 billion in federal budgets are managed on the base. Redstone Arsenal and the combined federal sector account for more than half of the local economy.

And, it is those people and the community that Lawrence saluted to open his address.

“Thank you for your service,” he told the sellout audience of business leaders, civic officials and active duty and retired military members, including veterans from Korea through Afghanistan. “These five words may say something simple, but they are profound.

“Those words should not be reserved for only those in uniform. (Civilian workers) solve complex problems and ensure the American military remains the strongest in the world.”

Lawrence assumed his duties at Redstone last November. In his role, he is responsible for managing the day-to-day operations of the Army’s logistics enterprise.

Upon his graduation from the U.S. Military Academy in 1995, Lawrence was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Army Quartermaster Corps. He also has master’s degrees from the U.S. Navy and U.S. Army war colleges.

With the 82nd Airborne, his combat and operational service include one deployment to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and three deployments to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

Lawrence is a recipient of the Distinguished Service Medal, Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit (2 OLC), Bronze Star Medal (3 OLC), Defense Meritorious Service Medal (2nd Award), Meritorious Service Medal (4 OLC), Army Commendation Medal (2 OLC), Joint Service Achievement Medal, Army Achievement Medal (2 OLC), and Meritorious Unit Commendation (2 OLC). He has earned the Air Assault Badge, Senior Parachutist Badge and Parachute Rigger Badge.

Among his staff assignments were the Pentagon, Fort Bragg and Redstone Arsenal.

In closing, he again recognized the community for its support of the military.

“Your patriotism is genuine,” Lawrence said. “Your support is constant, your friendship enduring and your partnership is absolutely valuable.

“The best chapters of our story are yet to come.”