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Welcome Back Mr. Weaver

By Brittney Burkhead

   QHS teacher Rick Weaver has been gone for the past year. On February 27, 2005 he left for Iraq. As a member of The Army National Guard, he was assigned to an active Army unit, the XVIII Airborne Corps. His rank there was a staff sergeant, and he was a protective service officer and law and order NCO. He had to oversee the Iraqi police operations in the north sector of Baghdad. Mr. Weaver has been in the military for about 19 ½ years.
   “When I first arrived, [in Iraq] I was living in a tent. I stayed in the tent for 1 ½ months then moved into a 6 man trailer,” says Weaver.
   During his visit to Iraq he felt he had a job to do, a responsibility to get it done as best as he could. As a senior non-commissioned officer, he was expected to lead by example.
   When he first arrived the weather was nice in Iraq. Temperatures were moderate in the mid 80°. Later in the summer, it got to over 115° and several days it was around 134°.
   A typical day for Mr. Weaver started at 5:00 in the morning. He had to convoy out of the base by 7:00 in the morning and go to one of the Iraqi police stations in Baghdad. His unit stayed there until 2:00 PM. He would then relocate to a traffic control point on a highway leading into Baghdad.
   On January 17, 2006 he got home. It was really hard to leave behind his family so it was really great to see them and his friends again. He is looking forward to the challenge of teaching again. He will be teaching Administration of Justice first period, woodshop second, third and fifth, community classroom fourth, and report writing at the community day school sixth.
     This was the first time he has ever been in Iraq. He served previously in Vietnam in 1972.At anytime he can get called back to Iraq or somewhere else again. We appreciate all the sacrifices he has made. Not only does he lead by example in Iraq, he will now be a person all the students can look up to when he continues to teach at QHS.
 

Left from left to right: Stephanie Viera, Kim Blackwell, Bonnie McElwain, Reisa Dingel, and Brittney Nieman.

Above from left to right: Shasta Vickers, Jennifer Pendray, Hillary Sawyer.