Lieutenant General 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.

Lieutenant General Helmly, a Vietnam combat veteran, was most recently assigned as the Commanding General of the 78th Division (Training Support), headquartered in Edison, NJ.

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.

Lieutenant General Helmly entered the Army as an enlisted soldier in 1966 and received his commission through Officer Candidate School in 1967.

He served on Active Duty from 1966 to 1973 in a variety of company- and battalion-level assignments, to include two tours in Vietnam with the 101st Airborne Division and command of an infantry company in Panama.

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.

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.

At the time of his selection, in his civilian occupation, Lieutenant General Helmly was serving as the Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations at the Total Army Personnel Command, Alexandria, VA. Prior to becoming the Deputy Chief, Army Reserve, in 1995, he was a civilian supervisory program analyst at Headquarters, U.S. Army Forces Command, Fort McPherson, GA. He has twice been awarded the Meritorious Civilian Service Medal.

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