As a massive American flag bled from the wall to the stage, a hangar on Naval Air Station Whidbey Island filled with service members, family and guests Thursday morning for a bit of pageantry, the change of command and retirement ceremony of Commanding Officer Capt. Eric Hanks.
The audience found their seats, passing a police car, helicopter and firetruck in the hangar. A row of flags lined one of the doors that opened to reveal Growlers on the flightline. A bell right of the stage rang a number of times corresponding to rank, the boatswain’s call whistled out and sailors saluted as officers in service dress white uniforms took the stage, beginning the 300-year-old ceremony changing the command between Hanks and Capt. Nathan Gammache.
During Hanks’s tenure, he spearheaded spouse licensing, spouse employment, access to child care and access to health care for sailors and families. Hanks was also instrumental in reigniting community outreach activities following the COVID-19 pandemic.
Under his leadership, the base responded to increases in defense operational commitments, military construction projects, environmental programs and quality of life for both military and civilian communities.
His speech was one of pride of Whidbey sailors and humility, thanking those who supported along the way.
“It is clearly not about any one of us. It’s about all of us,” he said as the breeze sent subtle ripples through the flag making his backdrop. “We can’t do it alone, and we support each other in everything we do.”
Gammache enlisted in the Navy as an undesignated seaman recruit reaching the rank of Petty Officer Third Class before being selected for the Naval Academy where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in systems engineering. He holds a Master’s Degree in business administration, a certificate in anti-submarine warfare from the Naval postgraduate school and is a graduate of the U.S. Air Force’s Air University Command. He was designated a Naval Flight Officer in 2002 and is also a qualified Navy Scuba Diver.
No stranger to Whidbey, his first flying tour was here with Patrol Squadron, or VP, 40. Subsequent assignments include worldwide deployments across operational tours as Catapult and Arresting Gear Officer on the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt, department head with VP-5 and Commanding Officer of the “Golden Swordsmen” of VP-47, his second assignment at the Navy base.
His staff assignments include weapons and tactics instructor at the maritime patrol and reconnaissance weapons school, congressional appropriations liaison for Naval aviation programs, assistant program manager for logistics at the P-8 program office, director for legislative affairs on the National Security Council staff at the White House, secretary of defense executive fellow at Apple, Inc., and most recently as the director’s action group lead at the Defense Innovation Unit in Silicon Valley.
Gammache also had many people to thank, not the least of which being his wife and fellow Navy veteran, Julie.
“It’s our third time here in Whidbey, and during that time she has been a webmaster for the Anacortes School District, a costume designer for the Whidbey Playhouse, a pickleball team member and an incredible wife and mother to our kids,” he said.
His name carries some weight around the island.
“When some folks around here hear my last name, they’re like, ‘Hey I think I know your family. You got a brother?’ It happened just there, 10 minutes before the ceremony, which is awesome,” he said.
Isaiah Gammache, Nathan’s brother, was the commanding officer of VP-1, and Gabe Gammache served with VQ-1.
“Heck, if you’d have been here during WWII, you may have run into my grandpa who flew PBYs for the Coast Guard out of Port Angeles but actually did some operations here at the sea plane base,” he said.
The ceremony marks Hanks’s retirement from the Navy after 27 years of service and over 3,300 flight hours.
“I must thank my family and closest friends, most of whom are here today,” he said. “You are my foundation.”
Commanding Officer Capt. Eric Hanks greets Rear Admiral Mark Sucato at his change of command ceremony on Thursday. (Photo by Sam Fletcher)
Commanding Officer Capt. Eric Hanks (left) and Rear Admiral Mark Sucato (right) pose with the Hanks family at Thursday’s change of command ceremony. (Photo by Sam Fletcher)
Photo by Sam Fletcher Left to right, Commanding Officer Capt. Eric Hanks, Rear Admiral Mark Sucato and relieving Commanding Officer Capt. Nathan Gammache pose at the change of command ceremony on Thursday.
Photo by Sam Fletcher Capt. Nathan Gammache, Naval Air Station Whidbey Island’s new commanding officer, receives a pin from his wife, Julie, at the change of command ceremony on Thursday.
Capt. Nathan Gammache addresses Naval Air Station Whidbey Island for the first time as commanding officer at Thursday’s change of command ceremony. (Photo by Sam Fletcher)
