Chief Master Sergeant Kevin W. Helms currently serves as the Senior Enlisted Leader of the Alaskan Command, Alaskan NORAD Region, and the Command Chief Master Sergeant, Eleventh Air Force, Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska. He directly supports the missions of providing the Pacific and Northern Command combatant commanders, and Pacific Air Forces’ commander with ready forces and infrastructure for homeland defense, decisive force projection, and defense support to civil authorities, when requested. He facilitates mission requirements and advises the commander on matters of force utilization, morale, and welfare of more than 26,000 Soldiers, Airmen, Marines, and Coast Guardsmen and their families assigned throughout the Alaska Joint Operations Area, Hawaii and Guam.
Chief Helms entered the Air Force in October 2001. He attended technical training at Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas, where he graduated the Aerospace Maintenance Apprentice course in April 2002. He was later accepted and retrained to become a flight engineer in 2007. Chief Helms has logged more than 2,500 hours in C-130E/H2/H3, KC-10A, and E-8C aircraft as an instructor and evaluator flight engineer. Additionally, he has flown more than 140 combat missions and served eleven deployments in support of Operations ENDURING FREEDOM, IRAQI FREEDOM, FREEDOM'S SENTINEL, and NEW DAWN. Prior to assuming his current position, he served as the Command Chief Master Sergeant of the 316th Wing at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland.
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 II, by correspondence, National Defense University
2019 Professional Manager Certification, Community College of the Air Force
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, N.M.
2023 Senior Leader Security Seminar, USAF Special Investigators Academy, Dahlgren, Va.
2024 Enterprise Leadership Seminar, Kenan-Flagler Business School, University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill, N.C.
2024 Enterprise Perspective Seminar, Alen L. Freed & Associates, Capitol Hill Club, Washington D.C.
2025 Keystone Command Senior Enlisted Leader Course, National Defense University, Washington D.C.
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–Oct 2007, Aerospace Maintenance Craftsman and Flying Crew Chief, 50 AS and 463 AMXS, Little Rock AFB, Ark.
4. Oct 2007–August 2008, Student Flight Engineer, C-130E, 53rd Airlift Squadron, Little Rock AFB, Ark.
5. August 2008–December 2010, Instructor Flight Engineer, NCOIC Training, 61st Airlift Squadron, Little Rock AFB, Ark.
6. December 2010–October 2014, Evaluator Flight Engineer, Executive Assistant to the Squadron Commander and Flight Chief,
9th Air Refueling Squadron, Travis AFB, Calif.
7. October 2014–July 2017, Coronet Mission Director; Manager, Coronet Branch; and Manager, Air Refueling Operations Division,
618th Air Operations Center, Scott AFB, Ill.
8. July 2017–November 2018, Flight Engineer Superintendent, 6th Air Refueling Squadron, Travis AFB, Calif.
9. November 2018–July 2020, Superintendent, Current Operations Directorate and Superintendent, Air Refueling Directorate,618th Air Operations Center, Scott AFB, Ill. 10. July 2020–January 2022, Senior Enlisted Leader, 12th Airborne Command and Control Squadron, Robins AFB, Ga.
11. January 2022–June 2023, Senior Enlisted Leader, 20th Operations Group, Shaw AFB, S.C.
12. June 2023–June 2024, Command Chief Master Sergeant, 39th Air Base Wing, Incirlik Air Base, Turkey
13. June 2024–July 2026, Command Chief Master Sergeant, 316th Wing, Joint Base Andrews-Naval Air Facility Washington, Maryland
14. July 2026–Current, Senior Enlisted Leader of the Alaskan Command, Alaskan NORAD Region, and the Command Chief Master Sergeant, Eleventh Air Force, Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, AK.
FLIGHT INFORMATION
Rating: Chief Airmen Aircrew
Flight hours: more than 2,500 hours
Aircraft flow: C-130E/H2/H3, KC-10A, E-8C, and UH-1N
MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Legion of Merit with two oak leaf cluster
Meritorious Service Medal with three oak leaf clusters
Air Medal with six oak leaf cluster
Air Force Commendation Medal with two oak leaf clusters
Air Force Achievement Medal
OTHER ACHIEVEMENTS
22008 Distinguished Graduate - C-130 Flight Engineer Initial Qualification, Little Rock Air Force Base, Ark.
2010 Distinguished Graduate - C-130 Flight Engineer Instructor Qualification, Little Rock AFB, Ark.
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 Aug 2026)