Cmdr. Gregory Byers has become the 34th commanding officer of Electronic Attack Squadron 134, following a ceremony on the USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) Dec. 8. Byers served as the squadron’s executive officer for 16 months before taking the helm as commander. The Garudas are currently on their second deployment on the Carl Vinson.

A native of San Diego, Calif., Cmdr. Byers graduated from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 1992 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering and was commissioned an Ensign in July, 1993 through Aviation Officer Candidate School.

Cmdr. Byers is no stranger to NAS Whidbey, transferring to the Patriots of VAQ-140 after completing his initial Prowler FRS training with VAQ-129 in July, 2001.

From the Patriots, Byers was selected for flight instructor duty, reporting to VAQ-129 in March, 2003.

In October of 2004, Cmdr. Byers reported to VAQ-132 for his department head tour where he served as Quality Assur-ance Officer and Elec-tronic War-fare Officer before assuming duties as Oper-ations Officer. He joined the squadron on deployment onboard the John F. Kennedy (CV 67) in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. From there Byers reported to the Pentagon for duty on the Chief of Naval Operations staff in the Air Warfare Directorate .

In August 2010, Cmdr. Byers reported to VAQ-134 as Executive Officer and began work-ups for the Garudas’ first carrier-based deployment in 16 years. VAQ-134 completed a seven-month deployment onboard the Carl Vinson (CVN 70) in support of Operations Enduring Freedom and New Dawn in June. The squadron deployed again Nov. 30.

He has accumulated over 3,000 hours of flight time in eight different Naval aircraft. He and his wife, Tiffany, have two children, Joshua and Alyssa.