On the evening of June 26, 1991, he and his navigator and bombardier, lieutenant John Fellowes, flew from Oceana Naval Air Station to conduct a practice bombing run in a Grumman A-6 Intruder on the Pine Castle Warfare Range in the Ocala National Forest.

The collision also tore two feet of metal off of the left wing of the aircraft, but Wettlaufer regained control, dropped their load of dummy bombs into Lake George and made an emergency landing at Jacksonville Naval Air Station about 45 miles north of the tower.

[6][7] WAYQ had already been in bankruptcy proceedings since August 30 the previous year when the tower was clipped; it remained off-air, and a trustee was appointed to oversee its affairs.

[2] He began training under the Navy Nuclear Power Program in 2007, serving on the USS John C. Stennis as its executive officer.

He completed his training in 2008[2][5] and continued to serve on the USS John C. Stennis until 2011,[5] later becoming the United States European Command Deputy for Policy, Plans, Strategy, Capabilities and Resources.

[5] He held further commands, including VFA-195[2] and Carrier Strike Group 3 during its 2018–19 world tour,[2][12] leaving the position on June 11, 2019.