<BillNo> <Sponsor>
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION 641
By Maberry
HJR0641
007275
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A RESOLUTION to congratulate Cadet Kenneth Darden, recipient
of the CSM Darol Walker Award from Austin
Peay State University.
WHEREAS, it is fitting that we should salute those citizens who, through their
extraordinary efforts, have distinguished themselves as true leaders of whom we can all be
proud; and
WHEREAS, one such noteworthy person is Cadet Kenneth Darden, a member of the
United States Army who has been in the Green to Gold Active Duty Option (GTG ADO) program
at Austin Peay State University (APSU) since August 2023; and
WHEREAS, Cadet Darden was recently named the recipient of APSU's CSM Darol
Walker Award, which honors a senior (MSIV) Army ROTC cadet who has excelled across the
board (academically, militarily, and in extracurricular activities), and is also on the Ranger
Challenge team, which competes each fall against nearly forty other school teams from the
other schools in Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan; and
WHEREAS, this prestigious award is named in memory of CSM (Ret.) Darol Walker,
USA (Ret.), a native of Albany, Missouri, who served for four years in the U.S. Navy before
joining the U.S. Army as an infantryman and completed two tours in Vietnam; a highly decorated
soldier and graduate of the Sergeants Major Academy, CSM Walker served as senior military
instructor with APSU's Army ROTC in the late 1970s; and
WHEREAS, Cadet Kenneth Darden, a native of Houston, Texas, enlisted in the Army in
2013; his military occupational skill was 92Y (Unit Supply Specialist), and he rose to the rank of
Sergeant First Class before entering the Green to Gold Active Duty Option program at APSU;
and
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WHEREAS, Cadet Darden has eleven years of active duty service, during which time he
was deployed three times to serve in Iraq; his most recent assignment was with the 160
th
Special Operations Aviation Regiment; and
WHEREAS, his military service includes acting as Battalion Property Book Non-
Commissioned Officer in charge and the Non-Commissioned Officer in charge of an Aviation
Company, as well as the Platoon Sergeant for an Aviation Company; and
WHEREAS, Cadet Darden has been duly honored for his valiant military service, earning
the Army Commendation Medal, six awards of the Army Achievement Medal, Army Good
Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal with Campaign Star,
Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Army
Good Conduct Medal, Parachutist Badge, and Air Assault Badge; and
WHEREAS, while at APSU, Cadet Kenneth Darden has maintained a 3.7 grade point
average while earning a bachelor's degree in leadership science; he was crowned APSU's Fall
2024 Homecoming King and has served with the Student Government Association and as a
Governors Ambassador; and
WHEREAS, he is also the captain of the 2024-2025 Ranger Challenge Team, which
finished third out of thirty-eight teams in the Fall 2024 Brigade Competition at Fort Knox,
Kentucky; and
WHEREAS, we find it appropriate to acknowledge and applaud Cadet Darden for his
commitment to excellence, devotion to serving others, and dedication to the State of Tennessee
and its citizens; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDRED
FOURTEENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE, THE SENATE
CONCURRING, that we congratulate Cadet Kenneth Darden upon his receipt of the 2025 CSM
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Darol Walker Award from Austin Peay State University, extending our best wishes for every
continued success.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that an appropriate copy of this resolution be prepared
for presentation with this final clause omitted from such copy and upon proper request made to
the appropriate clerk, the language appearing immediately following the State seal appear
without House or Senate designation.