A new face will soon take over the reins of command for the Southern European Task Force in Vicenza, Italy.
Brig. Gen. Frank G. Helmick was nominated on Wednesday to become the next SETAF commander, according to a Pentagon news release. Helmick will replace Maj. Gen. Jason Kamiya, who led SETAF and other units through a recently completed yearlong deployment to Afghanistan.
No dates for the change of SETAF command, or what Kamiya’s next assignment will be, have been announced yet, said Lt. Col. Gerald O’Hara, a SETAF spokesman.
Helmick has been senior military assistant to the deputy secretary of defense in Washington, D.C., since April 2004, according to information provided by SETAF.
He attended the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and received a master’s degree in management from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School.
Before his stint with the deputy secretary of defense, Helmick was assistant division commander, maneuver, and later acting division commander of the 24th Infantry Division, based at Fort Riley, Kan., from July 2002 to June 2003.
Helmick, a Bronze Star recipient, also served as assistant division commander, operations, for the 101st Airborne Division out of Fort Campbell, Ky., and served in Iraq.
Helmick will lead SETAF as it begins transformation. One of the task force’s main elements, the 173rd Airborne Brigade, is slated to become a light brigade combat team later this year. The transformation involves incorporating units from the departing 1st Infantry Division and looking to expand basing options in Italy.
