Chief Master Sergeant Kevin W. Helms serves as the Command Chief Master Sergeant, 39th Air Base Wing, Incirlik Air Base, Turkey. As the Command Chief, he serves as the principal enlisted leader to the wing commander on all matters of readiness, training, utilization, health, welfare, moral, and professional development for approximately 3,500 U.S. military, civilian and contractor personnel assigned to Incirlik and five geographically separated units in Turkey. Additionally, Chief Helms advises the commander on Base Operations Support Integrator (BOS-I) activities for Turkey-based Joint and Combined combat forces conducting Operations INHERENT RESOLVE, NOMAD SHADOW and ACTIVE FENCE.
Chief Helms entered the Air Force in October 2001. He attended technical training at Sheppard AFB, TX, where he graduated the Aerospace Maintenance Apprentice course in April of 2002. He was later accepted and retrained to become a Flight Engineer in 2007.
Chief Helms has logged more than 2,500 hours in the C-130E/H2/H3, KC-10A, and E-8C as an Instructor and Evaluator Flight Engineer. Additionally, he has flown more than 140 combat missions in support of Operations ENDURING FREEDOM, IRAQI FREEDOM, FREEDOM'S SENTINEL, and NEW DAWN. Prior to assuming his current position, he served as the Senior Enlisted Leader, 20th Operations Group, Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina.
EDUCATION
2006 Airman Leadership School, Little Rock Air Force Base, Ark.
2012 Noncommissioned Officer Academy, Keesler AFB, Miss.
2013 Associate of Applied Science, Aviation Operations, Community College of the Air Force
2014 Associate of Applied Science, Aircraft Maintenance Technology, Community College of the Air Force 2014 Senior Noncommissioned Officer Academy, Course 14, by correspondence
2015 Senior Enlisted Joint Professional Military Education, by correspondence, National Defense University 2017 Senior Noncommissioned Officer Academy, Maxwell-Gunter AFB, Ala.
2018 Senior Enlisted Joint Professional Military Education 11, by correspondence, National Defense University 2019 Professional Managers Certification, Air University, Maxwell-Gunter AFB, Ala.
2020 Bachelor of Science in Aeronautics, Magna Cum Laude, Saint Louis University, St. Louis, Mo.
2021 Chief Leadership Course, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
2022 Group Senior Enlisted Leader Course, Air University, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
2023 Senior Enlisted Legal Orientation, Air Force Judge Advocate General's School, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
2023 Wing Command Team Training Course, Air University, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
2023 Senior Leader Nuclear Management Course (NUC 400), Air Force Nuclear College, Kirtland AFB, NMex. 2023 Senior Leader Security Seminar, USAF Special Investigators Academy, Dahlgren, Va.
ASSIGNMENTS
1. October 2001-November 2001, Trainee, Basic Military Training, Lackland AFB, Texas
2. November 2001-April 2002, Student, Aerospace Maintenance Apprentice Course, Sheppard AFB, Texas
3. April 2002-January 2007, Flying Crew Chief, 50 AS and 463 AMXS, Little Rock AFB, Ark.
4. January 2007-May 2008, NCOIC, Tech Order Distribution Office, 463 AMXS, Little Rock AFB, Ark.
5. May 2008-August 2008, Student Flight Engineer, C-130E, 53rd Airlift Squadron, Little Rock AFB, Ark.
6. Aug 2008-December 2009, Flight Engineer, 61st Airlift Squadron, Little Rock AFB, Ark.
7. December 2009-December 2010, Instructor Flight Engineer, NCOIC Training, 61st Airlift Squadron, Little Rock AFB, Ark.
8. December 2010-December 2012, KC-10 Flight Engineer, NCOIC Scheduling, 9th Air Refueling Squadron, Travis AFB, Calif.
9. December 2012-October 2013, Instructor Flight Engineer, Executive Assistant to the Squadron Commander, 9th Air Refueling Squadron, Travis AFB, Calif.
10. October 2013-October 2014, Evaluator Flight Engineer, Flight Chief, 9th Air Refueling Squadron, Travis AFB, Calif.
11. October 2014-February 2015, Coronet Mission Director, 618th Air Operations Center, Scott AFB, Ill.
12. February 2015-April 2016, Manager, Coronet Branch, 618th Air Operations Center, Scott AFB, Ill.
13. April 2016-July 2017, Manager, Air Refueling Operations Division, 618th Air Operations Center, Scott AFB, Ill.
14. July 2017-November 2018, Flight Engineer Superintendent, 6th Air Refueling Squadron, Travis AFB, Calif.
15. November 2018-Apr 2020, Superintendent, Current Operations Directorate, 618th Air Operations Center, Scott AFB, Ill.
16. April 2020-July 2020, Superintendent, Air Refueling Directorate, 618th Air Operations Center, Scott AFB, Ill.
17. July 2020-January 2022, Senior Enlisted Leader, 12th Airborne Command and Control Squadron, Robins AFB, Ga.
18. January 2022-July 2023, Senior Enlisted Leader, 20th Operations Group, Shaw AFB, SC.
19. July 2023 - Current, Command Chief, 39th Air Base Wing, Incirlik Air Base, Türkiye
FLIGHT INFORMATION
Rating: Senior Flight Engineer
Flight Hours: More than 2,500 hours
Aircraft: C-130E/H2/H3, KC-10A, and E-8C
MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Legion of Merit
Meritorious Service Medal with three oak leaf clusters
Air Medal with six oak leaf clusters
Air Force Commendation Medal with two oak leaf clusters
Air Force Achievement Medal
OTHER ACHIEVEMENTS
2008 Distinguished Graduate - C-130 Flight Engineer Initial Qualification, Little Rock AFB, Ark.
2010 Distinguished Graduate - C-130 Flight Engineer Instructor Qualification, Little Rock AFB, Ark.
2011 Distinguished Graduate - KC-10 Flight Engineer Initial Qualification, Travis AFB, Calif.
2012 Distinguished Graduate - KC-10 Flight Engineer Instructor Qualification, Travis AFB, Calif.
2013 General Dutch Huyser Award Nominee, 60th Air Mobility Wing, Travis AFB, Calif.
2013 Noncommissioned of the Year, 9th Air Refueling Squadron, Travis AFB, Calif.
2013 Flight Instructor of the Year, 60th Air Mobility Wing, Travis AFB, Calif.
2014 Henry E. "Red" Erwin Enlisted Aircrew Award (NCO) nominee, Air Mobility Command, Scott AFB, Ill. 2015 Senior Noncommissioned Officer of the Year, Air Refueling Operations Division, Scott AFB, Ill.
2016 Senior Noncommissioned Officer of the Year, Headquarters 18th Air Force, Scott AFB, Ill.
2017 Distinguished Graduate - Air Force Senior Noncommissioned Officer Academy, Maxwell-Gunter AFB, Ala. 2018 Henry E. "Red" Erwin Enlisted Aircrew Award (SNCO) nominee, Air Mobility Command, Scott AFB, Ill.
EFFECTIVE DATE OF PROMOTION
Chief Master Sergeant Dec 1, 2020
(CURRENT AS OF August 2023)