He assumed command of United States Coast Guard Atlantic Area[1] on May 9, 2006 and was the operational commander for all Coast Guard activities in an area of responsibility east of the Rocky Mountains from Canada to Mexico, across the Atlantic Ocean to the Persian Gulf and throughout the Caribbean Sea.

He served concurrently as Commander, U.S. Coast Guard Defense Force East.

With this change of command, Peterman relieved Vice Admiral Vivien S. Crea.

From 1988 to 1990, he served at the Headquarters, U.S. European Command in Stuttgart, Germany, where he managed a program that required extensive travel in North and West Africa.

Raised in Malvern, Pennsylvania, Vice Admiral Peterman is a 1968 graduate of Great Valley High School, earned a Bachelor of Science Degree from West Chester University in 1972 and entered the Coast Guard through the Officer Candidate program.