[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 63 (Friday, May 19, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E911]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   HONORING LIEUTENANT GENERAL JAMES RONALD HELMLY ON HIS CHANGE OF 
                                COMMAND

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. STEVE BUYER

                               of indiana

                    in the house of representatives

                          Friday, May 19, 2006

  Mr. BUYER. Mr. Speaker, today marks the change of command for one of 
the finest Chiefs ever to command the United States' Army Reserve. 
James Ronald Helmly, born 25 September 1947, to John James Helmly and 
Geneva Maxine Slover, grew up in Savannah, Georgia. Ron Helmly attended 
high school in Savannah, where he enrolled in the Junior ROTC program. 
He did very well academically in school and played football and 
baseball. Though he had an academic scholarship, he found he missed 
military structure (from ROTC) and took the West Point entrance 
examination. Circumstances prevailed that saw Helmly leave Armstrong 
State College and enlist in the Army in 1966, attending Basic Training 
at Fort Gordon, Georgia. He completed his Advanced Individual Training 
at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, and transferred to the Infantry Officer 
Candidate School at Fort Benning, Georgia, because of the delay in 
getting a slot in the Engineer officer program. Following school, he 
received his commission as a second lieutenant and went on to complete 
the Basic Airborne course.
  In September 1967, Helmly joined Company B, 3d Battalion (Airborne), 
187th Infantry, 101st Airborne Division, at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, as 
a platoon leader and then went to Vietnam where he says the experience 
shaped the outlook of his entire life and gave him a fundamental love 
of soldiers. His Vietnam experience provided him with essential lessons 
about the need for good leadership and selecting people of good 
character and disposition, as well as professional preparedness in 
positions of leadership. He learned the importance of soldiers and 
leaders having self-confidence and training to standard. Helmly 
continued to serve on Active Duty from 1966 to 1973 in a variety of 
company- and battalion-level assignments, to include another tour in 
Vietnam with the 101st Airborne Division and command of an infantry 
company in Panama. It was during his time on active duty that Helmly 
met Maria Glasbrenner, the daughter of a retired Army sergeant major. 
They married on 6 March 1970, just before Helmly left for his second 
tour in Vietnam. They have two daughters and three grandchildren.
  As an Army Reserve Soldier, Lieutenant General Helmly has held 
logistics and operations positions in the 87th Maneuver Area Command 
and the 81st Army Reserve Command (ARCOM). He commanded the 352nd 
Maintenance Battalion in Macon, GA, and the 449th Area Support Group in 
Forest Park, GA. He was also the Deputy Chief of Staff for Training and 
the Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel of the 81st ARCOM.
  He served as the Deputy Chief, Army Reserve, Washington, DC, from 
June 1995 to June 1999. From June 1999 to August 1999, he served as the 
commander of the joint task force conducting Operation PROVIDE REFUGE 
at Fort Dix, NJ. Until taking command of the 78th Division in May 2001, 
he was the Military Assistant, Manpower and Reserve Affairs (Individual 
Mobilization Augmentee), Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army, 
Washington, DC, from October 1999 to May 2001.

  LG James R. Helmly was confirmed by the U.S. Senate for promotion to 
lieutenant general and appointment as the Chief, Army Reserve, March 
21, 2002. He took command of the U.S. Army Reserve Command on May 3, 
2002, and became the Chief, Army Reserve, on May 25, 2002. His 
promotion to three-star rank was effective on May 25, 2002.
  During his tenure as Chief of the Army Reserve he managed the 
mobilization of more than 147,000 Army Reserve soldiers in support of 
the Global War on Terror. General Helmly increased Reserve units and 
soldiers' readiness by having developed a progressive and cyclic 
training strategy that prioritized resources and managed readiness 
levels, improved facilities, adapted training to ever changing 
battlefield conditions, and streamlined Command and Control of the Army 
Reserve Forces.
  His military education includes the Infantry Officer Basic and 
Advanced Courses, the Command and General Staff College, the Armed 
Forces Staff College and the Army War College. He has a bachelor's 
degree in liberal studies from the State University of New York in 
Albany.
  Among his numerous awards and decorations are the Distinguished 
Service Medal, Legion of Merit with one Oak Leaf Cluster, Bronze Star 
with Valor Device and three Oak Leaf Clusters, Meritorious Service 
Medal with silver Oak Leaf Cluster, Army Commendation Medal with four 
Oak Leaf Clusters, Combat Infantryman Badge, Parachutist Badge, Army 
Staff Identification Badge and Ranger Tab. He was inducted into the 
Infantry Hall of Fame in 1996. General Helmly will continue his fine 
tradition of success as he begins his assignment in Islamabad, 
Pakistan, as the Chief Office of Defense Representative.




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