'PILOT'S PILOT' TAKES OVER EDWARDS GETS A NEW LEADER.

Byline: Jim Skeen Staff Writer

EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE - Brig. Gen. Wilbert ``Doug'' Pearson Jr., the only pilot to have shot and destroyed an orbiting satellite, assumed command Tuesday of Edwards Air Force Base.

Pearson took command of the base from Maj. Gen. Richard ``Dick'' Reynolds, who is leaving Edwards to take command of the Aeronautical Systems Center at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. Reynolds had been commander of Edwards for three years.

Pearson vowed to continue the ``warriors supporting warriors'' philosophy Reynolds brought to Edwards.

``Whether it's weapons systems or subsystems, we will continue to provide them to the war fighter,'' Pearson said during the change-of-command ceremony in Edwards' cavernous Hangar 1600. ``Our role is just as important as that of the young captain in the stealthy airplane that drops the bombs on the target.''

Pearson also vowed to continue quality-of-life improvements at the base, such as improved housing and recreation facilities that Reynolds had advanced during his tenure.

``We will make this a place where people want to be to do their jobs,'' Pearson said.

As commander of Edwards, Pearson is responsible for a base the size in area of the city of Los Angeles. With more than 13,000 workers, the base is also the Antelope Valley's largest center of employment.

Pearson, formerly director of operations for Air Force Materiel Command, Wright-Patterson, is a pilot with more than 4,000 hours of flying time, including 364 combat hours in Vietnam. He has flown more than 40 different types of aircraft, including the F-4, F-15 and F-20 fighters.

Pearson is a graduate of the Test Pilot School at Edwards and at one time served as commander of the 6512th Test Squadron at Edwards.

In 1985, in a test over the Pacific Ocean, Pearson made history when he fired a missile from a F-15 fighter and destroyed a satellite in low earth orbit.

Gen. Lester Lyles, commander of the Air Force Materiel Command, called Pearson ``a pilot's pilot.''

``He's the only anti-satellite ace we have in the whole world,'' Lyles said. ``Everything we're doing in missile defense was set up by that program.''

The departing Reynolds was praised as a great leader who oversaw one of the most active periods of flight testing of new weapons systems in recent history. During Reynolds' tenure, Edwards tested the new F-22 fighter, the technology demonstrators for the joint strike fighter program, the Global Hawk reconnaissance plane, and the Air Force version of the Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft.

Reynolds' tenure was the base's safest in flight testing, with no major accidents.

In his parting remarks, Reynolds praised the airmen of Edwards for their teamwork and the Antelope Valley for its support.

``We'll never forget your kindness and we'll always feel a part of this wonderful community,'' Reynolds said. ``God bless you all, keep 'em flying - ad inexplorata'' - Edwards' motto, ``Towards the unexplored.''

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Brig. Gen. Wilbert ``Doug'' Pearson Jr. addresses the crowd Tuesday at Edwards' change-of-command ceremony.

Jim Skeen/Staff Photographer