James R. "Ron" Helmly is a Lieutenant General in the United States Army, and, until May 2006, was the commander of the United States Army Reserve. He was born in Savannah, Georgia. On December 20, 2004, Helmly authored a memo in which he described the policies for mobilizing the Reserve "dysfunctional." He reportedly believes that members of the Army Reserve are being treated too delicately, and states that the current state of affairs "threatens to unhinge an already precariously balanced situation in which we are losing as many soldiers through no use as we are through the fear of overuse."