L.A. Air Base Commander Retires

The head of the Los Angeles Air Force Base retired during a ceremony at Fort MacArthur on Wednesday.

Lt. Gen. Edward P. Barry Jr., commander of the Space and Missile Systems Center in El Segundo, worked for the U.S. Air Force for 33 years.

Barry, 56, supervised the development of several planes, including the F-22, F-15, F-16, C-17, B-1 and the Peacekeeper missile.

Barry was replaced by Lt. Gen. Lester Lyles, 48, former commander of the Ogden Air Logistics Center at Hill Air Force Base in Utah.

Lyles, a 26-year Air Force veteran, has been assigned to the Los Angeles base twice before, from 1969 to 1971 and from 1987 to 1988.