SPEAKERS

December 7, 2020

Colonel Benjamin R. Jonsson is the Commander, 6th Air Refueling Wing, MacDill Air Force Base, Florida. As Commander, he is responsible for the Wing's worldwide combat air refueling mission and provides installation support to Headquarters U.S. Central Command, Headquarters U.S. Special Operations Command and 31 other Joint mission partners. As the Commander, he is responsible for the security and well-being of the Base’s 19,900 employees and their families, along with $2.8 billion in Base property and capital assets. Col Jonsson commissioned from the U.S. Air Force
Academy in 1999. Upon graduation from pilot training, Col Jonsson was assigned to Charleston AFB, SC, where he flew some of the initial C-17A combat missions of Operations ENDURING FREEDOM and IRAQI FREEDOM. From 2006-2008, Col Jonsson and his family lived in Amman, Jordan, where he graduated from the University of Jordan as an Olmsted Scholar. He later served as the Desk Officer for Egypt and Jordan on the Joint Staff J-5 during the "Arab Spring." Col Jonsson commanded the 384th Air Refueling Squadron, McConnell AFB, KS. After attending the U.S. Army War College, Col Jonsson was the Military Assistant to the Secretary of the Air Force as well as the Director for Jordan and Acting Director for Egypt at the National Security Council, Executive Office of the President. Prior to his current assignment, Col Jonsson served as the Vice Wing Commander, 379th Air Expeditionary Wing, Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar. Col Jonsson is a command pilot, having logged over 3,600 flight hours and over 900 combat hours.