 Riley was promoted to Vice admiral on February 9, 1958 and assumed duty as Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Operations and Readiness in Washington, D.C. in December 1960.He served in this capacity until February 1962, when he assumed his final duty as Director of the Joint Staff for the Joint Chiefs of Staff under General Maxwell D. Taylor at the Pentagon.Riley served in this capacity during the Cuban Missile Crisis in October 1962 and received Navy Distinguished Service Medal at his retirement on February 28, 1964.