After sticking the landing, Rear Adm. Michael Wosje became the newest member of the U.S. Navy’s “Grand Club.”

United States Navy flag rank officers are typically charged with leading carrier strike groups (CSGs), amphibious ready groups (ARGs), and task forces. When on a carrier, such individuals are on the bridge of the warship overseeing key operations—and they typically arrive via a barge.

But that wasn’t the case earlier this month, when Rear Adm. Michael Wosje, commander of Carrier Strike Group ONE, landed on the flight deck of the United States Navy’s Nimitz-class nuclear powered supercarrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70) in a Boeing F/A-18E Super Hornet. In reality, Wosje had already been on the flattop, but took part in an aircraft sortie—which ended with the completion of his 1,000th trap on the flight deck.

He flew one of the Super Hornets assigned to the “Stingers” of Strike Fighter Squadron 113 (VFA-113), which was part of the airwing embarked on USS Carl Vinson.

The significant milestone occurred during the recently concluded Pacific Steller 2025 joint training exercise in the Philippine Sea, where CVN-70 took part in a multi-large deck (MLD) event with the French Maritime Nationale’s (French Navy’s) flagship Charles de Gaulle, and the Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force’s (JMSDF’s) JS Kaga.

The Newest Member of The “Grand Club”

After sticking the landing, Wosje became the newest member of the U.S. Navy’s “Grand Club” of approximately 400 pilots who have completed 1,000 landings on an aircraft carrier. He reached the milestone on February 16, 2025—some 30 years in the making.

Wosje, a native of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and graduate of the University of Notre Dame, “entered flight training and was designated a naval aviator in 1995,” according to his official bio. 

He completed deployments onboard USS Nimitz (CVN-68), USS John C. Stennis (CVN-74), USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76), and was commander of the VFA-15 the “Valions” on USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) and later USS George H.W. Bush (CVN-77), and commander of Carrier Air Wing 5 (CVW-5) onboard CVN 75. Wosje also served as an instructor and training officer at the Navy Fighter Weapons School (TOPGUN) at the Naval Strike and Air Warfare Center.

Rear Adm. Wosje took command of CSG-1 last June.

1,000 Traps—A Grand Club Indeed!

While 400 pilots have reached the 1,000 trap milestone, it further needs to be remembered that this number is the cumulative total over the entire course of American naval aviation, dating back more than a century!

“Naval Aviation started in 1911, which is pretty remarkable in and of itself—that the Wright brothers flew in 1903, and less than eight years later, some clowns are trying to figure out how to do that from a boat,” Capt. Sterling Gilliam, a retired Navy captain with over 1,300 traps and the director of the National Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola, Florida, told Task & Purpose.

“But since 1911, less than 600 people—less than 400 pilots and 200 [flight officers]— have hung around long enough, lived long enough, and been successful enough to get 1,000 arrested landings. To make a sports metaphor, it’s sort of like getting 3,000 hits in baseball,” Sterling added.

A trap landing may be even more challenging.

It requires landing an aircraft on the flight deck and catching a steel cable with a tailhook. Even when it goes perfectly, the plane and pilot are then stopped violently. For some it would be crazy to try it once, but Wosje is now among those who have done it 1,000 times!

Indeed, some have even done it many times more. According to Task & Purpose, the current active record holder is Captain John “Lites” Leenhouts, who has more than 1,645 traps and counting. Even he will have to keep flying for quite a bit longer to hit the all-time record of British aviator Captain Eric Melrose “Winkle” Brown, who reached more than 2,400 traps by the time he retired in the 1970s. Most of Brown’s carrier landings took place during his service with the Royal Navy during the Second World War.

U.S. Navy Vice Admiral Ted Carter (retired) came closest—to date anyway—of reaching Brown’s record, hitting 2,016 traps during a 38-year career. Carter is also noted for making carrier landings on 19 different flattops, including all 10 of the Nimitz class.

About the Author: Peter Suciu

Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer. He has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers, and websites with over 3,200 published pieces over a twenty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu. You can email the author: Editor@nationalinterest.org.

Image: Wikimedia Commons.

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