They're what he called the "heart behind the shield."

And Maj. Gen. Stephen Lanza wanted to make sure that they - the volunteers who have worked with the 7th Infantry Division - were recognized and thanked.

"I think it's important that we take a moment of our time to just say two key words and that's thank you," Lanza said. "Because they are just two important words that mean so much."

That heartfelt "thank you" was given at the 7th ID's inaugural Volunteer Recognition Ceremony Thursday. With the French Theater on Joint Base Lewis-McChord packed with cheering soldiers, 14 women and one soldier were thanked for volunteering their time and making a difference.

"You don't need a uniform to serve," Lanza said. "There's a variety of different ways to serve and it's you ladies who are sitting here today in the front row we want to thank for your service. We want to thank you for your selfless service."

The 15 volunteers honored were Lena Burkey, Kaitlyn Servin, Mariah Gonzales, Laura Brown, Dee Dee Wiley, Jessica Kramer, Leslie Sorenson, Michelle Clacker, Tonya DePasquale, Kristie Merrill, Dana Starr, Christina Pride, Elizabeth Albers, Roxana Smith and Spc. Juan Ortiz.

Their involvement ranged from making dinners for families, picking someone up when their car broke down, posting news on Facebook, fund raising and a variety of other things.

"They take care of the families in so many ways," said Michelle Gaylor, whose husband Bill Gaylor is the assistant division commander. "They make this crazy life that we live more bearable. They give support. They pull them all together so we get to know each other. They help give us that community that we don't have because we're not by our families."

Gaylor said it's these volunteers, with their willingness to help, who help pull everyone in and say, "We're all here together and we're going to get through it."

To the military at JBLM, it's volunteers like these that help make a community and bring people together. Madeline Lanza, wife of Maj. Gen. Lanza, said when families are pulled from their hometowns from across the country they need a sense of community to get through the daily changes of being in the military.

"To the base, they're invaluable," Madeline Lanza said about volunteers. "Their heart and their heartfelt effort, they do things from their heart and they're committed. They're called upon to do a myriad of things and they do them wonderfully. I couldn't be prouder of these ladies in that they just shine. I like the Katie Perry song we played. They are fireworks. They illuminate the division."

Here's a brief summary of what each recipient did.

Burkey, raised more than $1,400 and built a strong FRG team and hosted many events.

Servin, organized 10 FRG events involving about 100 soldiers and provided welcome packets and gift cards.

Gonzales, worked to get several FRG positions filled, raised more than $500 for meals and gifts to newborn babies and injured soldiers.

Brown, kept families informed for the Apache global response force with town meetings and newsletters.

Wiley, made sure all volunteers are properly trained to handle food and coordinated food fundraisers.

Kramer, helped mentor new FRG leaders and made sure new soldiers and their families were welcomed to the base.

Sorenson, earned her personal trainer certificate and volunteered to plan the walk/run to Afghanistan program, encouraged 1,500 families and friends to participate.

Clacker, volunteered about 1,700 hours to the FRG, took photos at events and posted them on Facebook and organized several FRG events.

DePasquale, led the FRG through a 12-month deployment and is on the FRG steering committee.

Merrill, volunteered hundreds of hours to keep families informed during a deployment and organized FRG events, including the redeployment celebration.

Starr, was the key point contact for deployment information and she coordinated three family FRG events to encourage parents to socialize with other unit members and put together welcome home packages for soldiers.

Pride, had more than 60 hours of volunteering and made sure single soldiers had the necessities in their barracks on their return from deployment.

Albers, volunteered more than 200 hours providing information about deployments to families and organized get-togethers that improved the wellness of the unit.

Smith, organized three fundraisers and designed the HSC Facebook page that provides information about deployments and sends gifts to newborns.

Spc. Juan Ortiz, volunteers for the Audie Murphy club and programs like Wear Blue Run to Remember. He also organizes soldier of the month awards and goes with groups to the Seattle Seahawks to volunteer as crowd security.

Lanza said soldiers are thanked every day. But on this special day, he wanted to make sure the volunteers were thanked. Recognition days like this will be on a quarterly basis.

"People say thank you for your service to the soldiers every day," Lanza said, then turning to the 14 women in the front row. "We want to say thank you for your service."