NATCHEZ — Carl M. Helbig reached the highest enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force, E-9 Chief Master Sergeant.

Helbig, who has been in the military for 24 years, is assigned to the 17th Airlift Squadron, 437th Airlift Wing at Charleston Air Force Base in South Carolina. He graduated from South Natchez in 1980 and is the son of George and Ruth Helbig of Beaumont, formally of Natchez.