Army’s Helis will run Kings Point academy

   James Helis has been named superintendent of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point, N.Y.
   Helis, a retired colonel in the U.S. Army, will take the top job at the school next month.
   A 30-year Army veteran, he has been chairman of the Department of National Security and Strategy at the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle, Pa. for the past eight years.
   U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said “Helis is an ideal fit for the academy. His extensive military and academic experience reflects the academy’s mission of both training and educating its students to support our country’s maritime needs, and I look forward to working with him to ensure a strong future for Kings Point.”
   Helis and his wife, Jan, have two sons, Corbin, 22, a 2011 West Point graduate, and Ian, 18, who joins the Kings Point Class of 2016 this summer.
   DOT’s Maritime Administration is responsible for overseeing the academy.