Who was Jayson Reed Haven?
A South Aiken High School graduate died Thursday while serving in the South Carolina Army National Guard in Kuwait, according to a Friday announcement from the Department of Defense.
Specialist Jayson Reed Haven, 20, died at Camp Buehring, Kuwait, as a result of a non-combat vehicle rollover accident that is under investigation, the report noted.
Haven, a machine gunner, was assigned to B Company, 1st Battalion, 118th Infantry Regiment, 218th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade, Charleston, South Carolina. He joined the Army in January 2020 and attended station unit training at Fort Benning, Ga., before his unit deployed in 2022 to the US Central Command area of operations in support of of Operation Spartan Shield.
Navy Col. Claude Davis, South Aiken’s lead naval science instructor, had Haven as a student during Haven’s year in the school’s Naval Junior ROTC program, choosing words like “creative” and “resourceful.” to describe it.
Haven joined as a senior, which was unusual in that most “NJ” students start out as freshmen, Davis said, noting that Haven was reliable in his ability to help to keep younger students “in line”. Haven’s senior year was cut short, as the second half of the 2019-20 academic year included mass school closures due to COVID-19 fears.
Army Maj. Gen. Van McCarty, Adjutant General for South Carolina, issued a statement in response to Haven’s death: “No words can adequately express how deeply saddened I am by the loss of one of our own. Specialist Jayson R. Haven was more than just a member of the South Carolina National Guard, he was family.”
He added: “As an adjutant general, it is impossible for me not to feel this loss on a personal level. Soldiers and their families are the fabric that holds our South Carolina military department together. There is nothing I can say or offer to the family of Spc. Haven, but please know that my thoughts and prayers and those of many South Carolinians are with you. You are not alone in mourning, we are with you.
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The high school’s Davis noted that Haven had a strong desire to be a student at the University of South Carolina and was looking for the best options for him in terms of paying for the next step up in education. “That was one of the things that led him to the National Guard.”
He pointed out that Haven signed up to serve in the infantry, as that would allow for a higher bonus.
Haven’s awards and decorations include the Army Commendation Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Reserve Medal of the Armed Forces with the “M” device, the Army Service Ribbon and the Foreign Service Ribbon.
Losing Haven has been “very, very, very shocking,” Davis said. “Jayson is the first man we know we’ve lost in our ROTC family. This will be difficult for us.” Davis said South Aiken’s NJROTC program dates back to 1981. The school’s first graduating class was in 1982.
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