October 1989, Potosi Bolivia, Lawson participated in a medical readiness exercise in support of Operation Restore Democracy, Lawson aids a small child needing care. Lawson says “this was the moment he decided to live his life as a Citizen Soldier.”

In March 2021, Lawson recovers just two days after liver transplant surgery at MedStar/Georgetown Hospital, District of Columbia

In August 2002, Lawson was the commander of troops during the farewell ceremony of Task Force Santa Fa support of Security operations US Army and Air Force Europe at Heidelberg Barracks in Heidelberg Germany in response to the Twin Towers attack, New York City. It was viewed as the largest single deployment of National Guard Soldiers since World War II at that time.

In September 2016, Lawson leads a logistics symposium at Central Command Headquarters, Tampa Florida, with 13 countries from the Middle East, Gulf Coast countries, Levant and Central Asia to improve International Coalition interoperability in the Central Command area of responsibility.

While deployed to Afghanistan, Lawson hosts a review of the Taliban complex attack at Forward Operating Base Ghazni on August 28, 2013 with former Secretary and Deputy Secretary of Defense Ash Carter, former ISAF Commander and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Joseph Dunford, former 101st Airborne Commander and Army Chief of Staff James McConnell, Brigadier General Marek Sokolowski, former Task Force White Eagle Commander, 16th Mechanized Corps Commander, Polish Land Forces.

Lawson retired in Arlington, Virginia in August 2019 beside his wife Heidi, friends and family. He received the Defense Superior Service Medal issued by the Secretary of Defense for National Guard Bureau joint planning support to the Department of Defense and the Army Polish Gold Cross from the Minister of Defense for Poland (Highest Polish Army Award for a foreign service member), the Polish minister of defense sent Major General Marek Sokolowski, his former commander during the Aug. 28 2013, Taliban defeat at Forward Operating Base Ghazni, Afghanistan. Lawson would later receive the Distinguished Service Medal from the Secretary of the Army and the Illinois National Guard Distinguished Service Medal awarded by Maj. Gen. Rich Neely, the Adjutant General of Illinois and Commander of the Illinois National Guard.