VP-16 Holds In-Flight Change of Command – DVIDS

KADENA AIR BASE, Japan – The “War Eagles” of Patrol Squadron (VP) 16 held a change of command ceremony in which Executive Officer Cmdr. Terrell Radford relieved Cmdr. Ves Whittemore to become the squadron’s 69th commanding officer, May 3.

This ceremony marked the conclusion of an immensely successful tour for Whittemore as 68th commanding officer, in which he led the squadron through a challenging Fleet Response Training Plan and a rigorous deployment to the 7th Fleet area of responsibility. Whittemore reported to VP-16 in April of 2021 as the executive officer before taking command of the squadron in April of 2022.

During his time as commanding officer, Whittemore inspired VP-16 to reach unprecedented levels of operational excellence while conducting anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare, and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions in support of U.S. Northern Command and Commander, U.S. 7th Fleet objectives.

Whittemore hails from Forney, Texas. He enlisted in the Navy in 1995, and then graduated from RTC, Great Lakes, IL in 1996. As a Gas Turbine Systems Technician (mechanical), his assignments included tours in USS John Hancock (DD-981) and USS Deyo (DD-989), where he qualified as Engineering Officer of the Watch, and was selected for commissioning through the Seaman to Admiral-21 program. Whittemore graduated from The Citadel with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science in 2004 and received his commission in 2005.

Whittemore was then designated as a Naval Aviator in May 2007, and following P-3C training at VP-30, Jacksonville, FL began his first flying tour with the “Fighting Tigers” of VP-8, Brunswick, ME. He then returned to VP-30, serving as an instructor in the P-3C Orion, and then as a Weapons and Tactics Instructor at the Maritime Patrol and Reconnaissance Weapons School. During this tour, he also received a Master’s of Science in Information Technology from the Florida Institute of Technology. Following this tour, Whittemore served as assistant navigator aboard USS George Washington (CVN-73), Yokosuka, Japan. He then joined the “World Famous Golden Eagles” of VP-9 at Kaneohe Bay, HI and Whidbey Island, WA for his department head tour. After his department head tour, Whittemore served as Chief of Operations at Commander, Patrol and Reconnaissance Wing Five Seven, Manama, Bahrain.

His next assignment will be to serve as the Readiness Officer, Commander, Naval Air Forces, Pacific in San Diego, California.

Whittemore has completed deployments to U.S. 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th Fleets in support of Operations Freedom’s Sentinel, Inherent Resolve, Restoring Hope, Unified Response, and other named operations. His awards include the Meritorious Service Medal, Air Medal (two strike flight awards), Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal (with gold stars), Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal (Silver Star), as well as multiple unit and service awards.

Following in Cmdr. Whittemore’s footsteps is Cmdr. Terrell Radford. A native of Mineral Wells, Texas, Cmdr. Radford graduated from the University of New Mexico in 2006 with a Bachelor of Science in Physics and received his commission in 2006. He earned his Naval Flight Officer wings in October 2007 and subsequently completed fleet replacement training with VP-30 in Jacksonville, Florida in May 2008.

Radford’s first operational tour began in 2008 with the VP-16 “War Eagles” at Jacksonville, FL. Following this tour he returned to VP-30 to serve as a P-3C fleet replacement squadron instructor naval flight officer. During this tour he also received a Master’s Degree in Acoustic Engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School. Radford then joined the Commander, U.S. 7th Fleet Staff embarked in USS Blue Ridge in Yokosuka, Japan as Fleet Security Cooperation Officer in charge of Southeast Asian Plans and Policy. Subsequently, he reported to the VP-46 “Grey Knights” in Whidbey Island, WA for his department head tour where he served as the squadron’s maintenance officer. Following his department head tour he reported to the Joint Staff at the Pentagon in Arlington, VA where he served as the executive assistant for the Deputy Director for ISR Operations (J-32). Radford returned to Jacksonville, FL and completed the transition from the P-3C Orion to the P-8A Poseidon, February 2022. Then in April 2022, he returned to the VP-16 “War Eagles” and assumed duties as the executive officer.

Radford has completed deployments to the U.S. 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th Fleets in support of Operations Inherent Resolve and Restoring Hope. His personal decorations include the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, the Joint Commendation Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal (3), and Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal (2) in addition to various unit, service, and campaign awards.

Cmdr. Pat Reilly will be joining VP-16 on deployment as the squadron’s new executive officer.

The War Eagles of VP-16 are based in Jacksonville, Florida and are currently operating from Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, Japan. The squadron conducts maritime patrol and reconnaissance, as well as theater outreach operations, as part of a rotational deployment to the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations.

7th Fleet is the U.S. Navy’s largest forward-deployed numbered fleet, and routinely interacts and operates with 35 maritime nations in preserving a free and open Indo-Pacific region.

Story by LCDR Joshua “Squeak” Cohen