Plains native continues distinguished career with U.S. Army
Shamus Kirschbaum
Clark Fork Valley Press
Shamus Kirschbaum, a 1993 graduate of Plains High School, was promoted to Chief Warrant Officer 5 (CW5) on Oct. 15.
Australian Major General Christopher Field, Deputy Commanding General-Operations and United States Army Central Command, presided over the ceremony held on Camp Arifjan, Kuwait.
Chief Warrant Officer 5 is the highest rank a warrant officer can achieve in the Army.
Kirschbaum entered the military upon graduation from the University of Montana in 1997. He served six years as a commissioned officer before completing flight training and converting to warrant officer in 2003.
As a Black Hawk helicopter pilot, his first assignment was with the 4th Infantry Division, where he deployed to New Orleans in support of Hurricane Katrina relief operations in August 2005 and to Iraq in 2006 with an Assault Helicopter Battalion.
His next assignment was to Joint Task Force-Bravo in Honduras where he served as a pilot-in-command of multiple humanitarian and counter-narcotics missions in Central America.
From there, he progressed to specialize in aviation safety and has since served in multiple assignments at the company, battalion and brigade level as an aviation safety officer.
In 2014, he deployed to Afghanistan to be embedded as a safety advisor with the Afghanistan Special Mission Wing. In this role, Kirschbaum advised and assisted the Afghanistan national aviation unit in establishing a flight safety program for their Mi-17 and PC-12 operations.
In his most recent assignment to Fort Rucker, Alabama, he started as an instructor for the Warrant Officer Advanced Course and was selected as the Senior Warrant Officer Advisor for the 1-145th Aviation Regiment. This is the Army's largest aviation training unit which oversees initial entry rotary wing training for all Army aviators.
Kirschbaum is currently deployed to Kuwait as an Aviation Operations Officer for United States Army Central Command.
He continued his education while in the Army, earning a Master of
Education in Educational Administration from Oklahoma University in 2002.
His awards include the Senior Aviator Badge, the Senior Army Instructor Badge, and induction into the Honorable Order of Saint Michael by the Army Aviation Association of America.
His family is currently settled in San Antonio, Texas, where he will next serve with U.S. Army South.
Shamus thanked his parents, Ben and Debbi Kirschbaum, for their support and patience.
He also acknowledged the positive impact that all the teachers,
coaches and neighbors have had on himself and many others who have been fortunate enough to grow in the community of Plains, Montana.