From Euphonium to Chief: Music Opens a Lifetime of Service

Chief Master Sgt. Daniel Helseth can trace his military career back to an instrument most Americans probably couldn't identify, the euphonium.

Long before becoming superintendent of the Washington Air National Guard's 194th Medical Group, Helseth was a young musician from Yakima searching for a way to turn his passion for music into a profession. That search eventually took him to one of the most competitive military bands in the country and, unexpectedly, into a career of service with the Washington National Guard.

"I wouldn't be in the Guard if it wasn't for the euphonium," said Helseth. "I wouldn't have joined the Air Force Band in Washington, D.C. I wouldn't have moved back here and met a guy who was in a band saying, 'Hey, come and play with us.'"

For Helseth, music wasn't initially a path toward military service. As an undergraduate student, he learned that professional opportunities for euphonium players were limited, but military bands offered something different.

"The military is one of the largest employers of musicians in the country," said Helseth. "As soon as I learned that that was something I could do, somebody was going to pay me to play the euphonium, that seems like a great deal."

That realization shaped his education. Helseth studied music education and performance, spent a year studying euphonium in England and attended the University of North Texas, where he studied under retired Chief Master Sgt. Brian Bowman, a former Air Force Band soloist.

Years of preparation led to an opportunity in 2002 to audition for the U.S. Air Force Band in Washington, D.C. Helseth competed against 85 musicians during a grueling 16-hour audition and earned the position.

After basic military training in 2003, Helseth spent four years as a soloist with the Air Force Concert Band and a year playing trombone with the Ceremonial Brass, performing at military ceremonies at Arlington National Cemetery, the Pentagon and White House.

Helseth eventually left active duty and returned to Washington state. A few years later, music again opened a door to military service.

Dave Stultz, then superintendent of the Washington Air National Guard's 560th Air Force Band of the Northwest at Fairchild Air Force Base, reached out about an opening. By then, Helseth was pursuing his doctorate at the University of Washington and teaching music, but he was ready to put the uniform back on.

"Music is a great way to serve," said Helseth. "It's the thing that I was doing best."

Helseth joined the Washington Air National Guard, where the 560th traveled throughout the region performing community concerts, supporting recruiting events and military ceremonies. For Helseth, the mission demonstrated music's ability to connect people.

"There's a lot of barriers that get broken down through music that don't really break down in many other ways," said Helseth. "We can effectively use the musical mission to kind of bring people together in ways that very few other things do."

When the Air National Guard later eliminated its regional bands, including the 560th, Helseth faced a decision: leave the Guard or find another way to serve.

He chose to stay.

Helseth moved to the 256th Intelligence Squadron as the organization transitioned toward cyber intelligence. Two years later, continuing down that career path would require significant time away for military training just as Helseth was offered the opportunity to become band director at Seattle Pacific University.

He accepted the university position, but wasn't ready to walk away from the Guard.

"Service was important," said Helseth. "Working with the Guard, I love the Guard mission of having the state active part of that as well."

Helseth instead became a unit training manager with the 252d Cyberspace Operations Group. He later served as first sergeant for the 194th Medical Group during the COVID-19 response, 194th Wing first sergeant and with the wing's command support staff before returning to the medical group as superintendent.

While his career today may seem far removed from the concert halls where his military journey began, Helseth sees a direct connection between the skills required of a professional musician and those required of a senior enlisted leader.

"It starts with discipline. Every morning I start my day with a cup of coffee and trombone," he said. Helseth practices not because there is necessarily a performance that day, but because when an opportunity arrives, he wants to be ready.

"I don't necessarily want to do this right now, but I need to do this because opportunities that come further on down the line will require that I do this work now," said Helseth.

Practicing also requires constant evaluation; identifying a problem, developing a solution, applying it and determining whether it worked. Helseth sees that same process of continual improvement in military leadership. His eight years as a university band director reinforced that connection. At the beginning of a rehearsal cycle, Helseth could stand in front of 64 musicians as the only person who knew what the finished piece was supposed to sound like. His responsibility was getting everyone there together.

"My goal is in six weeks, get everybody to get it to sound like how I know it's supposed to sound," Said Helseth.

Doing that requires planning, communication, evaluation and, perhaps most importantly, developing people; skills that now influence how Helseth approaches being a chief master sergeant.

"My job now is primarily developing the people that come behind me and mentoring them to make sure they get what they need," said Helseth.

More than two decades after an audition opened the door to the Air Force, Helseth's military career looks considerably different than the one he originally envisioned. Along the way, he has moved through music, intelligence, training management, first sergeant duties and medical administration.

The constant has been service.

"I love the Guard because of the connection to our local communities that we have," said Helseth. "We have the opportunity to take our skillset and help our community."

It's a journey Helseth couldn't have predicted when he first decided to pursue the euphonium professionally, but that's part of the lesson he now shares with younger musicians and Airmen.

"You never know where it's going to take you," said Helseth.

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