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📸 Credit: University of Wisconsin Naval ROTC Alumni Association
If you saw a Blue Angels show this year, you were witnessing Geneva native flying across the sky at more than 400 mph.
Lt. Chris Houben, a 2013 Geneva High School graduate, was selected for the Navy’s flight demonstration squadron (better known as the Blue Angels) in July 2025 and joined the team that September. His first season with the team included this weekend’s annual homecoming air show at Naval Air Station Pensacola, a free two-day event that draws more than 300,000 spectators.
Here’s what to know:
From UW-Madison to fighter pilot: Houben earned an English degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2017 and was commissioned through the school’s Naval ROTC program. After several years of flight training in Florida and Mississippi, he earned his Wings of Gold, the Navy’s official designation as an aviator, in February 2020. Here’s his full bio.
Combat-tested track record: Flying the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, Houben completed three deployments aboard the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan, one supporting operations in Afghanistan and two in the South China Sea. He later trained new Super Hornet pilots as an instructor in Virginia Beach.
Impressive numbers: He’s logged more than 1,400 flight hours and more than 240 carrier landings. He’s been awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, and various unit and service awards.
A tough club to join: Houben was one of three Super Hornet pilots picked from the pool of applicants in 2025. The squadron flies only six demonstration pilots at a time, and new members need a unanimous vote from the team to get in. Only about 300 pilots have flown Blue Angels demonstrations since 1946.
Fun fact: The squadron borrowed the “Blue Angels” name from a New York City supper club that one of the original pilots discovered in a magazine ad, and the pilots leaked it to the press before Navy leadership ever approved it.
Check out Chris Houben’s Instagram profile for behind-the-scenes photos and videos.
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