Naval Air Station hosts a change of command

Published 1:30 am Friday, May 15, 2026

NAVAL AIR STATION WHIDBEY ISLAND — Cmdr. Nicholas J. Peranteau will assume command of Patrol Squadron 69 (VP-69), the “Totems,” during a ceremony Saturday at Whidbey Island Naval Air Station.

Peranteau, a native of Pittsburgh, Pa., graduated from Pennsylvania State University in 2008 and earned his pilot wings in May 2010 .

He has served with Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron 1 (VQ-1), Training Air Wing Two (VT-2) and Special Projects Patrol Squadron Two (VPU-2) before reporting to the Totems of VP-69 in 2019.

Peranteau has served as the squadron’s operations officer, the head of its training department and, since January 2025, the squadron’s executive officer.

Peranteau relieved Cmdr. Daniel C. Wilt, who led the squadron through a deployment to Keflavik, Iceland, its first with the P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft.

Under Wilt’s command, the squadron has also supported Submarine Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet, headquartered in Pearl Harbor; U.S. Third Fleet in the eastern and central Pacific Ocean; and U.S. Task Force Three Two in the Middle East.

Wilt will report to Navy Reserve Region Readiness and Mobilization Command at Naval Station Everett as its chief staff officer.

VP-69 retired its 1960s-era turboprop-driven P-3 Orions in 2022, replacing them with the P-8A, a twin-engine maritime patrol aircraft based on the Boeing 737-800 passenger jet.

The P-8 is used for anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions.

It can drop and monitor sonobuoys to find and track submarines and is armed with torpedoes, depth charges, Harpoon anti-ship missiles and other weapons.

It also can carry and drop the UNI-PAC survival kit, which is used for search and rescue missions.