Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

Olof ''Jonas'' Wikman (born 26 March 1972) is a Swedish Air Force officer. His senior commands include Assistant Chief of Armed Forces Training & Procurement/Chief of Procurement (2017–2021) and as

Deputy Chief of Joint Operations The Chief of Joint Operations (CJOPS) is a three-star role within the Australian Defence Force (ADF), responsible for the Joint Operations Command and joint operational deployments, such as United Nations peacekeeping and joint task groups. Un ...

(2021–2022). Wikman serves as Chief of Air Force from 14 December 2022.

Early life

Wikman was born on 26 March 1972 in in Härnösand Municipality,

Västernorrland County Västernorrland County ( sv, Västernorrlands län) is a county ('' län'') in the north of Sweden. It is bordered by the counties of Gävleborg, Jämtland, Västerbotten and the Gulf of Bothnia. The name ''Västernorrland'' means "Western ...

, Sweden. He did his

military service Military service is service by an individual or group in an army or other militia, air forces, and naval forces, whether as a chosen job ( volunteer) or as a result of an involuntary draft ( conscription). Some nations (e.g., Mexico) requ ...

Jämtland Wing Jämtland Wing ( sv, Jämtlands flygflottilj), also F 4 Frösön, or simply F 4, is a former Swedish Air Force wing with the main base located at Åre Östersund Airport outside Östersund on Frösön in the middle of Sweden. History The airbase ...

(F 4) in

Östersund Östersund (; sma, Staare) is an urban area (city) in Jämtland in the middle of Sweden. It is the seat of Östersund Municipality and the capital of Jämtland County. Östersund is located at the shores of Sweden's fifth-largest lake, Storsjön ...

with training at the platoon leader school at Västgöta Wing (F 6) in

Karlsborg Karlsborg (, outdatedly ) is a locality and the seat of Karlsborg Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden. It had 3,551 inhabitants in 2010. This garrison town lies at the shore of lake Vättern in Västergötland. History The town of K ...

. He underwent basic flight training in 1992 at the

Swedish Air Force Flying School Swedish Air Force Flying School ( sv, Krigsflygskolan), also F 5 Ljungbyhed, or simply F 5, is a former Swedish Air Force training wing with the main base located in Ljungbyhed in southern Sweden. History The moor at Ljungby was adopted for milit ...

Ljungbyhed Ljungbyhed is a locality situated in Klippan Municipality, Skåne County, Sweden, with 2,046 inhabitants in 2010. History Ljungbyhed was and is located in Riseberga '' socken'' and was part of the Riseberga ''landskommun'' after the municipal ref ...

Career

Wikman was commissioned as an officer in the Swedish Air Force in 1994 and was appointed second lieutenant the same year. He was promoted to lieutenant in 1996. At the end of the 1990s, he served at the

Scania Wing Scania Wing ( sv, Skånska flygflottiljen), also F 10 Ängelholm, or simply F 10, is a former Swedish Air Force wing (air force unit), wing with the main base located in southernmost Sweden. History The tenth wing initially started as a detachmen ...

(F 10) in

Ängelholm Ängelholm is a locality and the seat of Ängelholm Municipality in Skåne, Sweden with 39,612 inhabitants in 2010. History The old settlement ''Rynestad'' was mentioned around the year 1600. The city was founded in 1516 as Engelholm by King C ...

. He was then a flight instructor before he started flying the

Saab 35 Draken The Saab 35 Draken (; 'The Kite' or 'The Dragon') is a Swedish fighter-interceptor developed and manufactured by Svenska Aeroplan Aktiebolaget ( SAAB) between 1955 and 1974. Development of the Saab 35 Draken started in 1948 as the Swedish air fo ...

. He belonged to the last group of people who flew Saab 35 Draken at F 10. While he continued as a pilot, he started in

aviation medicine Aviation medicine, also called flight medicine or aerospace medicine, is a preventive or occupational medicine in which the patients/subjects are pilots, aircrews, or astronauts. The specialty strives to treat or prevent conditions to which aircr ...

and worked, among other things, with

g-force The gravitational force equivalent, or, more commonly, g-force, is a measurement of the type of force per unit mass – typically acceleration – that causes a perception of weight, with a g-force of 1 g (not gram in mass measur ...

s, aerospace physiology and

survival skills Survival skills are techniques that a person may use in order to sustain life in any type of natural environment or built environment. These techniques are meant to provide basic necessities for human life which include water, food, and shel ...

. Wikman served as acting head of the Swedish Air Force Centre for Aviation Medicine (''Flygmedicincentrum'', FMC) in Stockholm during 2005 and then as its regular head from 2005 until the units disbandment in 2006. He has subsequently been head of the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration's flight testing, T&E Luft, in

Linköping Linköping () is a city in southern Sweden, with around 105,000 inhabitants as of 2021. It is the seat of Linköping Municipality and the capital of Östergötland County. Linköping is also the episcopal see of the Diocese of Linköping (Chu ...

. The

Swedish Armed Forces The Swedish Armed Forces ( sv, Försvarsmakten, "the Defense Force") is the government agency that forms the armed forces of Sweden, tasked with the defense of the country as well as with promoting Sweden's wider interests, supporting internat ...

appointed Wikman at the disposal of the head of the Training & Procurement Staff (''Produktionsstaben'') at the

Swedish Armed Forces Headquarters The Swedish Armed Forces Headquarters ( sv, Högkvarteret, HKV) is the highest level of command in the Swedish Armed Forces. Established in 1994, its primary task is to command operations, but is also involved in areas such as military strategy, ...

in Stockholm during September 2014. Afterwards, he was appointed as head of the Plans Department in the Training & Procurement Staff (''Produktionsledningens planeringsavdelning'', PROD PLAN) at the Swedish Armed Forces Headquarters from 1 October 2014. The Swedish Armed Forces appointed Wikman to the Chief of Joint Operations to serve as Lead Advisor (Kabul Air Advisory Group) at the NATO Air Command-Afghanistan/

NATO Air Training Command-Afghanistan The NATO Training Mission-Afghanistan (NTM-A) activated the NATO Air Training Command-Afghanistan (NATC-A) in September 2010 while simultaneously deactivating its predecessor, the Coalition Air Power Transition Force (CAPTF). This reflected a cha ...

located in

Kabul Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Ac ...

from 29 August 2016. He served there as head of the J5 function and senior advisor. His job was partly to be responsible for the planning of operations in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bord ...

, partly to be an adviser to the

Afghan Air Force The Air Force of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, also referred to as the Islamic Emirate Air Force and the Afghan Air Force, is the air force branch of the Armed Forces of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. The Royal Afghan Air Force was es ...

's head of planning. Wikman was appointed Assistant Chief of Armed Forces Training & Procurement/Chief of Procurement in the Training & Procurement Staff at the Swedish Armed Forces Headquarters from 19 april 2017. He was promoted to brigadier general at the same time. Between 2 May 2017 and 1 December 2017, Wikman served as head of the implementation department of the

Aurora 17 Aurora 17 was a military exercise that took place in Sweden during a three-week period, from 11 through 29 September 2017. Its main focus was the defence of Gotland. It was Sweden’s biggest military exercise in 23 years and involved troops fro ...

(FMÖ17) military exercise. In 2017, the Swedish Armed Forces nominated Wikman together with colonel Anna Siverstig, head of the Joint Support Staff's (''Insatsstaben'', INSS) CIMIC, Arms Control and Disarmament Department (''Avdelningen för samverkan och rustningskontroll'', INSS J9/J9 RUST), to be members of the

Swedish Customs Service The Swedish Customs ( sv, Tullverket, , Customs Administration) is the customs service of the Kingdom of Sweden. It is a department of the Government of Sweden. It is one of the oldest governmental agencies in Sweden, as it was founded in 1636. ...

's transparency council. On 1 April 2021, Wikman was promoted to major general and assumed the position of

. Wikman assumed the position of Chief of Air Force on 14 December 2022, suceeding major general

Carl-Johan Edström Lieutenant General Carl-Johan Edström (born 21 May 1967) is a Swedish Air Force 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 ...

Personal life

Wikman is married to Katarina and they have three children.

Dates of rank

*1994 –

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 1 ...

*1996 –

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

*? –

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 ...

*? – Major *? – Lieutenant colonel *? –

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge ...

*19 April 2017 –

Brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed t ...

*1 April 2021 –

Major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

Awards and decorations

Swedish

FMGUSM - Försvarsmaktens grundutbildningsmedalj (Sverige)

Swedish Armed Forces Conscript Medal * FMintBM bar

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 ...

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 ...

(21 March 2021) * SWE_Home_Guard_Bronze_Medal_ribbon

Home Guard Bronze Medal The Home Guard Bronze Medal ( sv, Hemvärnets bronsmedalj, HvBM) is a Swedish reward medal established in 2006 by the National Home Guard Council (''Rikshemvärnsrådet''). It is awarded for valuable service contributed to the development of the ...

(June 2016)

Foreign

NATO_Medal_AFGHANISTAN_Resolute_Support_ribbon_bar

NATO Non-Article 5 medal The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

for Operation Resolute Support (2017)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wikman, Jonas 1972 births Living people Swedish Air Force major generals People from Härnösand Municipality