Carl-Johan Edström

Major General Carl-Johan Edström (born 21 May 1967) is a Swedish Air Force officer. He currently serves as Chief of Air Force.

Carl-Johan Edström
Nickname(s)	Klute[1]
Born	21 May 1967 Nora, Sweden
Allegiance	Sweden
Service/branch	Swedish Air Force
Years of service	1989–present
Rank	Major general
Commands held	Norrbotten Air Force Wing Air Component Command Deputy Chief of Air Force Chief of Air Force
Battles/wars	Libyan Civil War (Operation Unified Protector) Resolute Support Mission (TAAC – Air)

Career

Edström was born on 21 May 1967 in Nora, Sweden,[2] and was raised in Klutmark, a village 10 kilometers west of Skellefteå.[1] Edström started his military career as platoon leader in the Norrland Brigade in Västerbotten Regiment (I 20) in Umeå in 1988.[3] Edström trained as a pilot at the Swedish Air Force Flying School in Ljungbyhed[3] and was commissioned as an officer in 1989 with the rank of fänrik[4] in Norrbotten Air Force Wing.[1] There he was promoted to lieutenant in 1995[4] and to captain in 1998.[5] In 1996, Edström served as squad leader in the 212th Fighter Squadron (212. stridsflygdivisionen).[1]

During the Swedish flight operation over Libya in 2011, he was operations commander for the Swedish flight contingent FL02, part of the Operation Unified Protector. In Afghanistan, he served as senior adviser and planning manager for Train Advise Assist Command – Air (TAAC – Air).[3] Edström served as a staff officer in the Policy and Plans Department in the Defence Staff (Ledningsstabens inriktningsavdelning, LEDS INRI) until he on 16 January 2015 took command as wing commander of Norrbotten Air Force Wing and commander of Luleå Garrison.[1]

In addition to Swedish officer training, in 2014 he received a master's degree in strategy from the Air War College in the USA.[1] From the re-establishment of the Air Staff on 1 January 2019, Edström served as Deputy Chief of Air Force until 4 September 2019 when he was appointed Chief of Air Force, taking office on 1 October 2019. He was promoted to major general at the same date.[3]

Personal life

Edström is married to Ulrika and they have two sons, Gustav and Oscar.[1]

Dates of rank

• 1989 – Fänrik
• 1995 – Lieutenant
• 1998 – Captain
• 19?? – Major
• 20?? – Lieutenant Colonel
• 16 January 2015 – Colonel
• 1 October 2018 – Brigadier General
• 1 October 2019 – Major General

Awards and decorations

• Grand Officer of the Order of Aeronautical Merit (22 October 2020)[6]
• Bronze Star Medal (24 October 2019)[7]
• Norrbotten Air Force Wing Medal of Merit (Norrbottens flygflottiljs (F 21) förtjänstmedalj, NorrbffljGM)

References

1. Levin, Louise (9 January 2015). "Tillbaka till flottiljen – som chef" (in Swedish). Swedish Armed Forces. Retrieved 5 September 2019.
2. Sveriges befolkning 1980 (in Swedish). Stockholm: Sveriges släktforskarförb. 2004. ISBN 9187676370. SELIBR 9632925.
3. Levin, Louise (4 September 2019). "Ny flygvapenchef utsedd" (in Swedish). Swedish Armed Forces. Retrieved 5 September 2019.
4. Försvarsmaktens rulla. 1995 (in Swedish). Stockholm: Högkvarteret, Försvarsmakten. 1995. p. 565. SELIBR 4343056.
5. Försvarsmaktens rulla. 1999 (in Swedish). Stockholm: Högkvarteret, Försvarsmakten. 1999. p. 564. SELIBR 4343055.
6. "Comandante da Força Aérea da Suécia é condecorado com a Ordem do Mérito Aeronáutico" (in Portuguese). Brazilian Air Force. 2020-10-23. Retrieved 2020-10-26.
7. Levin, Louise (24 October 2019). "Flygvapenchefen mottog ärofylld amerikansk medalj" (in Swedish). Swedish Armed Forces. Retrieved 27 January 2020.