Spc. Solomon Weaver, from Patterson, Calif., and an M1 Abrams gunner with Company D, 1st Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Calvary Division, recently earned the Air Assault Badge after completing the course July 27, on the Casey/Hovey enclave. Weaver earned special recognition for completing the course's final foot march with the fastest time of two hours and two minutes. - U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. John Healy
CAMP CASEY – Spc. Solomon Weaver is a modest looking 21-year-old tanker from Patterson, Calif., currently serving with the Delta Company “Desperados” of 1st Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division.
He’s not very tall, and not very big either. He’s polite, and his uniform is clean. When Weaver talks to you, he looks you straight in the eye.
Weaver is also the fastest Soldier in his battalion, possibly even the whole brigade. He can run two miles in 10 minutes and 47 seconds.
“For the two mile I’m definitely the fastest,” said Weaver. “I always get set aside for ability group runs.”
The other members of Weaver’s company like to joke about how fast he is.
“He used to get beat up a lot, so he had to run fast,” said one Soldier, to which Weaver doesn’t respond, he only smiles.
For two years, Weaver’s demonic speed was the best-kept secret of Delta Company, 1-8 Cav. That is, until he decided to attend Air Assault School, a grueling course where Soldiers learn how to transport equipment with a helicopter via sling load.
“I wanted a challenge,” said Weaver, who had been working as a clerk for the past nine months. “I wanted to go out and prove myself, to myself. Not just physically but mentally as well.”
Weaver, whose father also served in the Army, laid low for the first two weeks of class, focusing on memorizing information and practicing the different types of sling loads.
Sgt. Joseph Cabriales, a tank gunner in Weaver’s company who also completed Air Assault School, was there to motivate him.
“I kind of egged him on the whole class, like, ‘hey, you’d better win. You’d better beat all these infantry guys. It’s bragging rights,’” said Cabriales.
Weaver was one of the first Soldiers who Cabriales met upon reporting to Delta Company.
“Weaver’s a Soldier that I’ve taken interest in,” said Cabriales. “It was nice having him there too, seeing him push himself in uncomfortable situations where he didn’t think he would be.”
Weaver, who had never been to a special school before, was quickly realizing the amount of determination required to succeed.
“It was like drinking from the fire hose,” said Weaver. “I was learning so much, so rapidly.”
It didn’t help that Weaver caught a cold halfway through the course, right before a six-mile foot march, which would determine who would continue with the course.
“There was a bug going around and I just so happened to catch it that day,” said Weaver. “I was hurting for that.”
Weaver hunkered down and pushed forward, like any good tanker would. He made it through all the sling loads, the rappelling, and the sudden death elimination-style testing. All that remained was the twelve-mile foot march – the culminating test of Air Assault School, which is meant to challenge the Soldier's will to persevere by draining away whatever endurance remained after two weeks of intense physical exercise.
The ruck march began at 2:45 a.m. and the heat was unbearable.
“We started out in ACUs,” said Weaver. “We cuffed the sleeves once and rolled the pant legs three times. They had us downgrade our blouses because it was so humid that morning. We ended up in just our fighting load carriers, tan t-shirt, pants, and the ruck.”
He began at a leisurely pace.
“When I started, some people passed me,” said Weaver. “I was thinking in my head, I could probably go that fast.”
Weaver began to pick up steam, bounding past the other Soldiers on the foot march.
“There was captain there that was ranger qualified, he was the forerunner,” said Weaver. “I kind of put him as my goal, and I caught up to him at about the four and a half mile mark.”
“As soon as I caught up to him, I passed off my weapon to him; he passed off the guidon to me. The entire rest of the time I was just trying to stay ahead of everybody else,” said Weaver.
At one point Weaver thought another Soldier was trying to catch up to him and take the guidon, so he picked up the pace. It turned out the Soldier chasing him was one of the Air Assault instructors, tasked with keeping track of the formation.
“I kept pushing pretty much as hard as I thought I could,” said Weaver.
Weaver’s final time for the ruck march was two hours and two minutes. He was presented with an award for his achievement at the Air Assault graduation ceremony later that day.
Capt. Robert Mathis, commander of the Delta Company Desperados and who was present, congratulated his Soldier, both for completing the course and having the fastest foot march time.
“Any time we can do something for our junior enlisted Soldiers, we do it,” said Mathis. “It’s definitely great that they get to wear the badge.”
As for Weaver, “He’s Desperado material,” said Mathis. “He can stick around.”
