Lester Lyles

For the former football player, see Lester Lyles (American football).

Lester L. Lyles
General Lester Lyles
Born	(1946-04-20) April 20, 1946 (age 79) Washington, D.C., U.S.
Branch	United States Air Force
Years of service	1968–2003
Rank	General
Commands	Vice Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force, Air Force Materiel Command, Ballistic Missile Defense Organization
Awards	Defense Distinguished Service Medal Air Force Distinguished Service Medal Defense Superior Service Medal Legion of Merit (2)
Other work	Chairman of USAA, director, General Dynamics, DPL Inc., KBR Incorporated, Precision Castparts Corp.

Air Force Lt. Gen. Lester L. Lyles, director of the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization, briefs reporters at the Pentagon, Jan. 20, 1999, on the latest developments in hardware, operational concepts, and political/diplomatic considerations relating to missile defense

General Lester L. Lyles (born April 20, 1946) ^[1] is a retired four-star general in the United States Air Force (USAF). He served as Vice Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force, and Commander, Air Force Materiel Command, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. After retirement from the USAF in 2003, he became a company director for General Dynamics, DPL Inc., KBR, Inc., Precision Castparts Corp., MTC Technologies, Battelle Memorial Institute and USAA. ^[2] Lyles is also a trustee of Analytic Services and a managing partner of Four Seasons Ventures, LLC.

Biography

Lyles entered the USAF in 1968 as a distinguished graduate of the Air Force ROTC program. He served in various assignments, including Program Element Monitor of the Short-Range Attack Missile at USAF Headquarters in 1974, and as special assistant and aide-de-camp to the commander of Air Force Systems Command (AFSC) in 1978. In 1981 he was assigned to Wright-Patterson AFB as avionics division chief in the F-16 Systems Program Office. He has served as director of tactical aircraft systems at AFSC headquarters and as director of the Medium-Launch Vehicles Program and Space-Launch Systems offices. ^[3]

Lyles became AFSC headquarters' assistant deputy chief of staff for requirements in 1989, and deputy chief of staff for requirements in 1990. In 1992 he became vice commander of Ogden Air Logistics Center, Hill AFB, Utah. He served as Commander of the center from 1993 until 1994, then was assigned to command the Space and Missile Systems Center at Los Angeles AFB, Calif., until 1996. Lyles became the director of the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization in 1996. In May 1999, he was assigned as vice chief of staff at Headquarters U.S. Air Force. He assumed command of Air Force Materiel Command in April 2000. ^[4] Lyles retired from the air force on October 1, 2003.

Lyles was a member of The President's Commission on U.S. Space Policy. ^[2] He chairs the "Rationale and Goals of the U.S. Civil Space Program" committee of the United States National Academies. ^[5] In May 2009 he was named a member Review of United States Human Space Flight Plans Committee, an independent review requested by the Office of Science and Technology Policy. The same year he was appointed to the Defense Science Board, a committee of civilian experts appointed to advise the U.S. Department of Defense on scientific and technical matters. ^[6] As of December 2013, he continues to serve as its vice chairman. In December 2009, General Lyles was appointed to the President's Intelligence Advisory Board by the White House.

On January 22, 2013, General Lyles was named chairman of the board of directors for USAA having been a USAA member since 1968 and a member of the board of directors since 2004. ^[7] General Lyles completed his final term as chairman in August 2019 after nearly seven years in the role and left USAA's board of directors after 15 years of dedicated service. ^[8]

On May 15, 2019, General Lyles assumed the role of non-executive chairman of the board for KBR, Inc. having been a member of the board of directors since November 2007. ^[9]

Personal

In the 2024 United States presidential election, Lyles endorsed Kamala Harris. ^[10]

Education

• 1968 Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering, Howard University, Washington, D.C.
• 1969 Master of Science degree in mechanical and nuclear engineering, Air Force Institute of Technology Program, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces
• 1980 Defense Systems Management College, Fort Belvoir, Virginia
• 1981 Armed Forces Staff College, Norfolk, Virginia
• 1985 National War College, Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C.
• 1991 National and International Security Management Course, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts

Assignments

• February 1969 - November 1971, propulsion and structures engineer, Standard Space-Launch Vehicles Program Office, Los Angeles Air Force Station, California
• November 1971 - July 1974, propulsion engineer, Headquarters Aeronautical Systems Division, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio
• July 1974 - April 1975, program element monitor for the short-range attack missile, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C.
• April 1975 - March 1978, executive officer to the deputy chief of staff for research and development, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C.
• March 1978 - January 1980, special assistant and aide-de-camp to the commander, Headquarters AFSC, Andrews AFB, Maryland
• January 1980 - June 1980, Defense Systems Management College, Fort Belvoir, Virginia
• June 1980 - January 1981, Armed Forces Staff College, Norfolk, Virginia
• January 1981 - June 1981, chief, Avionics Division, F-16 Systems Program Office, Headquarters Aeronautical Systems Division, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio
• June 1981 - July 1984, deputy director for special and advanced projects, F-16 Systems Program Office, Headquarters Aeronautical Systems Division, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio
• August 1984 - June 1985, student, National War College, Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C.
• June 1985 - June 1987, director of tactical aircraft systems, Headquarters AFSC, Andrews AFB, Maryland
• June 1987 - April 1988, director, Medium-Launch Vehicles Program Office, Headquarters Space Systems Division, Los Angeles AFS, California
• April 1988 - August 1989, assistant deputy commander for launch systems, Headquarters Space Systems Division, Los Angeles AFS, California
• August 1989 - July 1992, assistant deputy chief of staff for requirements, then deputy chief of staff for requirements, Headquarters AFSC, Andrews AFB, Maryland
• July 1992 - November 1994, vice commander, then commander, Ogden Air Logistics Center, Hill AFB, Utah
• November 1994 - August 1996, commander, Space and Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles AFB, California
• August 1996 - May 1999, director, Ballistic Missile Defense Organization, Department of Defense, Washington, D.C.
• May 1999 - April 2000, Vice Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C.
• April 2000 - October 2003, commander, United States Air Force Materiel Command, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio

Awards and decorations

	Command Space and Missile Operations Badge
	Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Identification Badge
	Office of the Secretary of Defense Identification Badge

	Defense Distinguished Service Medal
	Air Force Distinguished Service Medal
	Defense Superior Service Medal
	Legion of Merit with one bronze oak leaf cluster
	Meritorious Service Medal with two bronze oak leaf clusters
	Air Force Commendation Medal
	Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with one oak leaf cluster
	Air Force Organizational Excellence Award with two oak leaf clusters
	NASA Distinguished Public Service Medal
	National Defense Service Medal with two bronze service stars
	Air Force Longevity Service Award with one silver and two bronze oak leaf clusters
	Small Arms Expert Marksmanship Ribbon
	Air Force Training Ribbon

Other achievements

• 1990 Astronautics Engineer of the Year, National Space Club
• 1994 Roy Wilkins Renown Service Award for outstanding contributions to military equal opportunity policies and programs, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
• 1999 Sociedad de Ingenieros Award, New Mexico State University
• 1999 Hiram Hadley Founder's Award of Excellence, New Mexico State University
• 2000 Gen. Bernard A. Schriever Award
• 2003 Honorary Doctor of Laws from New Mexico State University ^[11]
• 2012 Thomas D. White Award from the United States Air Force Academy

Effective dates of promotion

Source: ^{[3] [4]}

Insignia	Rank	Date
	General	July 1, 1999
	Lieutenant general	November 16, 1994
	Major general	August 6, 1993
	Brigadier general	May 1, 1991
	Colonel	December 1, 1985
	Lieutenant colonel	December 1, 1982
	Major	November 1, 1979
	Captain	February 2, 1971
	First lieutenant	August 2, 1969
	Second lieutenant	February 2, 1968

References

• Review of U.S. Human Space Flight Plans Committee website

Notes

1. "Release". Archived from the original on March 2, 2010.
2. "Lester L. Lyles Profile". Forbes.com. 25 November 2008. Archived from the original on November 1, 2009.
3. "Biography of Lt. Gen. Lester L. Lyles". Air Force Historical Research Agency. September 30, 1997. pp. 10–11. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .
4. "Biography of General Lester L. Lyles". United States Air Force. June 9, 2024. Archived from the original on March 3, 2024. Retrieved June 9, 2024. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .
5. "Committee: Rationale and Goals of the U.S. Civil Space Program". National Academies.
6. "General Lester L. Lyles". Myriad Capital.
7. "Decorated General Becomes Chairman of USAA Family". USAA. Archived from the original on 2013-02-16. Retrieved 2013-02-04.
8. USAA. "USAA Welcomes Adm. Thomas Fargo as New Chairman". www.prnewswire.com (Press release). Retrieved 2020-09-23.
9. "Corporate Governance | KBR". www.kbr.com. Retrieved 2020-09-23.
10. "NSL4A Endorses Kamala Harris for President of the United States". National Security Leaders for America. Archived from the original on 22 September 2024. Retrieved Jan 25, 2025.
11. "General Lester L. Lyles biography page". NASA . Archived from the original on 2023-04-11.

 This article incorporates public domain material from the United States Air Force

Military offices
Preceded by Garry A. Schnelzer	Commander, Space and Missile Systems Center 1994 - 1996	Succeeded by Ronald T. Kadish
Preceded by Malcolm Ross O'Neill	Director of the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization 1996 - 1999	Succeeded by Ronald T. Kadish
Preceded by Ralph Eberhart	Vice Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force 1999 - 2000	Succeeded by John W. Handy
Preceded by George T. Babbitt, Jr.	Commander, Air Force Materiel Command 2000 - 2003	Succeeded by Gregory S. Martin