Fort Leavenworth, Kan. ? After 37 years of service, Lt. Gen. James Riley has retired from the U.S. Army, leaving his post as commanding general at Fort Leavenworth.

Lt. Gen William Wallace, commander of Army forces in Iraq, will replace Riley. Wallace has yet to arrive at the fort, and a date has not been set for him to assume control.

Riley stepped down Thursday after two years as the top man at Fort Leavenworth. He was honored with a 15-gun salute before he passed colors to Gen. Kevin P. Byrnes, commanding general of Training and Doctrine Command.

Riley said he and his wife didn’t intend to stay in the service so long.

“It sort of crept up on us,” said Riley, who enlisted in the Army in December 1965.

Riley said he still remembered standing in formation at Fort Bliss, Texas, being closely supervised by a drill sergeant.

Riley and his wife plan to move to St. George, Utah.

Byrnes called Riley a “leader of vision” and said Riley would leave an enduring legacy as a “leader who builds a strong team and makes subordinates successful.”

Wallace, who is from Louisville, Ky., took over as commanding general of 5th Corps in July 2001. Wallace created a stir in Washington when he told reporters early in the war that Iraqi resistance was tougher than predicted.