Lieutenant General Carl-Johan Edström (born 21 May 1967) is a

Swedish Air Force The Swedish Air Force ( sv, Svenska flygvapnet or just ) is the air force branch of the Swedish Armed Forces. History The Swedish Air Force was created on 1 July, 1926 when the aircraft units of the Army and Navy were merged. Because of the es ...

officer. He currently serves as Chief of Joint Operations since 1 January 2023. Prior to that Edström served as Chief of Air Force from 2019 to 2022.

Early life

Edström was born on 21 May 1967 in Nora, Sweden, and was raised in Klutmark, a village 10 kilometers west of Skellefteå. Carl-Johan Edström is twin brother of Swedish Air Force colonel Carl-Fredrik Edström. Carl-Johan Edström started his military career as platoon leader in the Norrland Brigade in

Västerbotten Regiment The Västerbotten Regiment ( sv, Västerbottens regemente), designations I 19, I XIX, I 20 and I 20/Fo 61, was a Swedish Army infantry regiment that traced its origins back to the 16th century. The regiment's soldiers were originally recruited fr ...

(I 20) in Umeå in 1988.

Career

Edström trained as a pilot at the Swedish Air Force Flying School in Ljungbyhed and was commissioned as an officer in 1989 with the rank of second lieutenant in Norrbotten Wing. There he was promoted to lieutenant in 1995 and to captain in 1998. In 1996, Edström served as squad leader in the 212th Fighter Squadron (''212. stridsflygdivisionen''). 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 Train Advise Assist Command – Air (TAAC – Air) was a multinational military formation, part of NATO's Resolute Support Mission within Afghanistan. Contributing nations included Australia, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Hung ...

(TAAC – Air). 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 Wing and commander of

Luleå Luleå ( , , locally ; smj, Luleju; fi, Luulaja) is a city on the coast of northern Sweden, and the capital of Norrbotten County, the northernmost county in Sweden. Luleå has 48,728 inhabitants in its urban core (2018) and is the seat of Lu ...

Garrison. In addition to Swedish officer training, in 2014 he received a master's degree in strategy from the Air War College in the USA. He attended a Higher Management Course at the

Swedish Defence University The Swedish Defence University ( sv, Försvarshögskolan, FHS) is situated on Drottning Kristinas väg 37 in Östermalm, Stockholm City Centre, next to the campus of the Royal Institute of Technology. History Today's Swedish Defence University ...

in 2015 and at Solbacka in 2016 as well the Common Security and Defence Policy High Level Course at the European Security and Defence College in Brussels from 2016 to 2017. 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. On 30 June 2022, the Swedish government appointed Edström lieutenant general and chief of the new Joint Operations Unit from 1 January 2023, succeeding Lieutenant General

Michael Claesson Lieutenant General Leif ''Michael'' Claesson (born 1 March 1965) is a Swedish Army officer. He served as the Chief of Policy and Plans Department in the Defence Staff from 2018 to 2020. Claesson currently serves av Chief of Joint Operations. ...

as Chief of Joint Operations. From 15 December 2022 to 31 December 2022, Edström was placed at the disposal of the Chief of Joint Operations.

Personal life

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

Dates of rank

*1989 –

Second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

*1995 – Lieutenant *1998 –

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

*2001 –

Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

*2006 –

Lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

*16 January 2015 – Colonel *1 October 2018 – Brigadier general *1 October 2019 – Major general *1 January 2023 – Lieutenant general

Awards and decorations

Swedish

For Zealous and Devoted Service of the Realm ribbon

For Zealous and Devoted Service of the Realm For Zealous and Devoted Service of the Realm ( sv, För nit och redlighet i rikets tjänst) is a reward medal awarded to one who has been a Swedish State employee for 30 years and has shown "zealous and devoted service". As an alternative to the m ...

FMGUSM - Försvarsmaktens grundutbildningsmedalj (Sverige)

Swedish Armed Forces Conscript Medal * FMintBM bar - no 2

Swedish Armed Forces International Service Medal The Swedish Armed Forces International Service Medal ( sv, Försvarsmaktens medalj för internationella insatser, FMintBM) is a Swedish reward medal instituted by the Swedish Armed Forces in 1991. The medal regulations has been revised twice, in 1 ...

* Norrbotten Wing Medal of Merit (''Norrbottens flygflottiljs (F 21) förtjänstmedalj'', NorrbffljGM) * SWE_Home_Guard_Silver_Medal_ribbon

Home Guard Silver Medal The Home Guard Silver Medal ( sv, Hemvärnets silvermedalj, HvSM) is a Swedish reward medal established in 1951 by the National Home Guard Council (''Rikshemvärnsrådet''). It is awarded for significant service contributed to the development of ...

(5 September 2022)

Foreign

Bronze Star Medal The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Wh ...

(24 October 2019) * BRA Ordem do Mérito Aeronáutico Grande Oficial

Grand Officer of the

Order of Aeronautical Merit Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of d ...

(22 October 2020) * NATO_Medal_OUP-LIBYA-LIBYE_ribbon_bar

NATO Non-Article 5 medal for Operation Unified Protector (2011) * NATO_Medal_AFGHANISTAN_Resolute_Support_ribbon_bar

NATO Non-Article 5 medal for

Operation Resolute Support Resolute Support Mission (RSM) or Operation Resolute Support was a NATO-led multinational mission in Afghanistan. It began on 1 January 2015 as the successor to the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), which was completed on 28 Decem ...

(2018)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Edstrom, Carl-Johan 1967 births Living people Swedish Air Force lieutenant generals People from Heby Municipality Air War College alumni Swedish twins