Brigadier General James Ronald Helmly was commissioned an Infantry Officer upon graduation from Officer Candidate Schoo, 24 August 1967  His first duty assignment was as Rifle Platoon Leader, Company B, 3rd Battalion (Airborne), 187th Infantry, 101st Airborne Division, Fort Campbell, Kentucky. | His subsequent duty assignments include: Rifle Platoon Leader, Rifle Company Executive Officer, Company B, 3rd Battalion, 187th Infantry, 101st Airborne Division, Vietnam; Assistant Adjutant, 2nd Battalion (Airborne), 505th Infantry, 3rd Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division, Vietnam; Company Commander, 103rd Company (NCOC), 10th Student Battalion, The Candidate Brigade, U.S. Army Infantry School, Fort Benning, Georgia; District Senior Advisor, Di An District Advisory Team 98, US Military Advisory Command Vietnam; Staff Officer, Brigade/Battalion Operations Department, U.S. Army Infantry School, Fort Benning, Georgia; S-3 Air and Company Commander, 4th Battalion, 20th Infantry (Mechanized), 193rd Infantry Brigade, Fort Clayton, Panama; Assistant S-3, 2790th U.S. Army Reserve Regiment (Reinforcement Training Unit), Fort Clayton, Republic of Panama; Combat Exercise Controller, 87th Maneuver Area Command, Birmingham, Alabama; Director of Administration and Maintenance and Equipment Officer, 1188th Military Ocean Terminal Unit (MOTU), 81st Army Reserve Command (ARCOM), East Point, Georgia; Maintenance and Equipment Officer, 1188th MOTU, 81st ARCOM, East Point, Georgia; Maintenance Officer, Maintenance Division, Deputy Chief of Staff Logistics (DCSLOG), Headquarters, 81st ARCOM, East Point, Georgia; Supply Officer, Supply and Services Division, DCSLOG, 81st ARCOM, East Point, Georgia; Chief, Supply and Services Division, DCSLOG, Headquarters, 81st ARCOM, East Point, Georgia; Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff, Logistics, Headquarters, 81st ARCOM, East Point, Georgia; Battalion Commander, 352d Maintenance Battalion, Macon, Georgia; Staff Officer, FORSCOM, Fort McPherson, Georgia; Instructor, Officer Advanced Course, 2090th USARF School, USARC, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff Training, Headquarters, 81st ARCOM, East Point, Georgia; Group Commander, 449th Area Support Group, Forest Park, Georgia; Group Commander, 81st ARCOM Support Group (Provisional), East Point, Georgia; Deputy Commander, Office of the Chief Army Reserve, Washington, D.C.; Deputy Chief, Army Reserve, Office of the Chief Army Reserve, Washington, D.C.