76th PMXG commander to retire after 25-year career

Published July 11, 2013
By Mike W. Ray
Tinker Public Affairs

TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- When Col. Bob Helgeson arrived at Tinker three years ago to assume command of the 76th Propulsion Maintenance Group, "The engines were managing us," he recalls.

The Defense Logistics Agency, the Life Cycle Management propulsion team, Original Equipment Manufacturers and 448th Supply Chain Management Wing all "came together" to make the task "sustainable and supportable," the colonel said.

"One of the proudest moments of my career," he said recently, "has been watching the 76th PMXG and the entire engine enterprise team take over management of engines instead of letting engines manage them." Previously "a significant number" of engines were below readiness level, but because of the group's "focus on the process," that deficiency has been reversed.

As commander of the 76th PMXG, Colonel Helgeson has overseen operations of the only organic depot-level maintenance facility that supports Air Force and Navy aircraft engines.

With a workforce of approximately 1,900 personnel and $500 million in facilities and state-of-the-art equipment, the 76th PMXG repairs engines and major engine assemblies for jet fighters, bombers, tankers and AWACS aircraft. The colonel has financial management responsibility for a 1.6 million-hour annual workload and an annual operations budget of more than $600 million.

Colonel Helgeson will conclude a 25-year career in the Air Force when he retires July 16 during a 10 a.m. ceremony at Hollywood and Vine in Bldg. 3001, near his office in "Engine Country."

"Colonel Helgeson is a gifted commander who has made lasting improvements to OC-ALC's capability to support the warfighter," said Brig. Gen. Donald "Gene" Kirkland, commander of the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Complex.

The colonel's military career has been rewarding, but family considerations take precedence. "You can't run out of family before you run out of your time in the Air Force," he says. He and his wife of 21 years, Kim, will remain in Oklahoma City for the time being. "We love the community and the people."

Although his plans are uncertain, Colonel Helgeson has several options and thinks he probably will end up working in the aerospace industry.

"I have worked with Colonel Helgeson as his administrative assistant since he arrived here at Tinker," said Rhonda Holbert, program analyst in the 76th PMXG. "He has been the most dedicated, professional and caring commander I have been associated with in my 29 years with the DOD. It has been a great honor and pleasure working for Colonel Helgeson, and he is truly going to be missed by us all."

The colonel maintains that everyone needs to "ask the right questions" throughout life. "The quality of the questions you ask yourself in your career and your personal life" are critical to success.

While in uniform, Colonel Helgeson has served in several key wing, major command, Air Force and joint level positions. Most of his career has been in supply, transportation and/or maintenance. "I started out as a logistics plans officer, but then I was afforded the opportunity to cross-flow into aircraft maintenance."

One of his most memorable postings was the year he spent in Baghdad (November 2007 - December 2008) as deputy chief of plans in Headquarters Multi-National Force-Iraq. For much of that time Colonel Helgeson worked directly for Gen. David Petraeus, then-commanding general of the MNFI.

Earlier in 2007, Colonel Helgeson attended the Industrial College of the Armed Forces, where he "learned a tremendous amount about our national resourcing strategy." The colonel said that at ICAF he engaged in concentrated studies in privatized military operations "which proved valuable when I deployed to Iraq."

While in Southwest Asia, Colonel Helgeson received the Bronze Star medal for "exceptional meritorious service in a combat zone under hostile conditions and exposure to risk during Operation Iraqi Freedom." On several trips "outside the wire," he related, he engaged in efforts that "facilitated successful negotiation of Status of Forces and Acquisition Cross-Serving agreements" with the government of Iraq.

As a young officer, Colonel Helgeson was a member of the United National logistics support command involved in Operation Restore Hope, a 1993 operation to restore stability in Mogadishu that went awry. What began as a peacekeeping mission to provide relief to the starving people of Somalia essentially ended with the infamous firefight portrayed in "Black Hawk Down".

"You can learn as much or more from failure as you do from success," the colonel said of the Mogadishu operation, noting that U.S. forces were withdrawn from "the absolute chaos" in Somalia five days ahead of President Clinton's mandated deadline.

Colonel Helgeson said he has "loved being around airplanes" since he was just a boy, and his family history is "rich in service to our nation," so the Air Force was "the natural choice for me." His father served in the Air Force, his sister Kathy served in the Army, his oldest brother is still in the Navy, an uncle was wounded in World War II during combat in North Africa, and the colonel's great-great-grandfather served in the German navy.