First Lieutenant Joseph Helton, Jr. deployed as a Flight Commander of a Police Transition Team in the southern region of Baghdad. Lieutenant Helton’s team of 51 Security Forces Defenders was responsible for training and developing thousands of Iraqi policemen assigned to 46 Iraqi police stations over 1,000 square miles.

Lieutenant Helton’s actions during his extended deployment in Iraq epitomize the Air Force core value of service before self. After completing an eight-month stint as Det 3 Police Transition Team Flight Commander, he volunteered to remain in Iraq as Det 2 Police Transition Team Flight Commander. For Lieutenant Helton, this decision was uncomplicated; Det 2 needed an officer to fill a critical vacancy and he was available.

There was no doubt that Lieutenant Helton would volunteer. Throughout his deployment, Lieutenant Helton led the training and coaching of over 3,380 Iraqi Policemen, located key witnesses against detainees in Camp Bucca, served warrants on high-value insurgents, and led drawdown operations in the dangerous southern region. On September 8, 2009, while leading a squad on combat operations to assist with drawdown operations in the Mahmudiyah District of Baghdad, Lieutenant Helton’s vehicle was struck by an explosively formed penetrator—the deadliest improvised explosive device known. His team reacted with the poise and professionalism that he had instilled in them, but despite their Herculean efforts, Lieutenant Helton’s injuries proved fatal.

For his heroism in Iraq, First Lieutenant Joseph Helton, Jr. was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star Medal with Valor and the Purple Heart Medal.