Jonsson, who has served as chief of staff for Air Mobility Command since this past summer, commissioned into the Air Force in 1999 after graduating from the Air Force Academy. "As white colonels, you and I are the biggest barriers to change if we do not personally address racial injustice in our Air Force," Jonsson wrote in the op-ed, which was published in Air Force Times in July 2020. Prior to the op-ed publishing, Jonsson sent it to several mentors and confidants to check whether it was in line with Goldfein's guidance, said retired Air Force Maj. Gen. Ed Thomas, a former service spokesperson and former recruiting commander who was one of the people Jonsson asked to read his article.