Col. Ben Jonsson was accompanying then-Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson on a trip through the Middle East as one of her military assistants in 2017.
It was the height of the war against ISIS and, after a swing through Iraq, the delegation stopped in Jordan to discuss the fight with one of the leading U.S. partners in the anti-ISIS coalition.
As Wilson's meeting with the head of Jordan's air force was getting ready to start, Jonsson strode up to the air chief and greeted him in Arabic. At first, the general was taken aback, but he was quickly disarmed by Jonsson meeting him at his level.
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“The tenor of the meeting changed because Ben was there,” Wilson, who served as Air Force secretary from 2017 to 2019 in the Trump administration, recalled in a recent interview with Military.com. “I saw a side of him that was different than just a staff officer. I saw tremendous potential as a leader, engaging our allies in ways that could deepen our partnership and build alliances that are absolutely vital.”
If she were still Air Force secretary, she added, she “would have enthusiastically put his name forward for promotion.”
Jonsson was nominated to receive a promotion to brigadier general by the Biden administration more than a year ago, in January 2023. But that promotion is now in jeopardy as Jonsson becomes the latest…
