"I just thank God because I wouldn't want to go through this by myself." -semor Mary Darden 120 II people people --------------- --- Seniors Mary and Jason Darden sit on a Harding swing during a fall afternoon. Jason Darden, a member of the National Guard, received a waiver excusing him from his brigade's mission in Iraq this year. (Photo by Russell Keck) .' • Jaso DA Seniors Jason and Mary Darden sighed a big sigh of relief after the military handed them good news in October. Jason Darden, a member of the Arkansas Army National Guard's 39th Infantry Brigade, thanked the ROTC program for keeping him in the states. "By letting me in the ROTC program, the Army is investing in me to become a leader in the Army of the future," Jason Darden said. The brigade was called to active duty Oct. 12 and was expected to remain active in Iraq for 18 months. Seniors Nicki Thompson and Jacqueline Dillion were among the soldiers called up. Jason Darden said becoming a second lieutenant in the Army was at the top of the Army's to-do list for him. If everything continued to go well, Jason Darden planned on being a commissioned officer - a second lieutenant - by May 2005. "That takes priority over everything," he said. "I'd be a better asset to the military by becoming an officer because there's a shortage of officers." The brigade, which went on alert in July, thought it might go on active duty in September, but a delay in deployment kept the unit in Arkansas a little while longer. Originally, the Dardens thought he would be leaving. However, faith kept their hopes high. "For awhile it was up in the air," Jason Darden said. "My wife would tell me I'm not going anywhere." Naturally, Mary Darden wanted her husband, whom she married March 15,2003, to stay at home. However, staying at home meant more to the couple because-they were expecting their first child later in the year. "Especially being pregnant, rjust thank God because I wouldn't want to go through this by myself," Mary Darden said. Jason Darden would have missed the first year of his child's life. "I want to be here for my wife and my new baby," he said. Jason and Mary Darden both said God was at the center of this situation. "Prayer really, really works because I've been praying for this for a while," Jason Darden said. Appreciating the little things became a lesson through all of this, Mary Darden said. "You realize how much they mean to you and the petty little things don't matter compared to having him here and taking care of me," she said. "It makes me just appreciate little things." y ByREtwWrs
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