mackd,
i wrote about the surge in iraq where i led a platoon against Sunni insurgent strongholdsfrom 2007-2009 , lots of military applicants to Darden so we will usually chose deployments, i know most outside the military may leave these out since our country is the way it is with a tiny military (<1% population)
i think, depnding on your interets, events such as the Haiti disaster and relief efforts if you had any role from donating money to raising awarness etc, could show how you care about things bigger than yourself, how you used available business skills to respond
i think ethics/values will be a major point of emphasis, especially for Darden. But like others have said, as long as you are specific i think the recession can be good, i think it would only be dangerous if it did not answer the question about your view of leadership
good luck, im in for Rd 2 as well,
ryan