Lori Robinson
Lori Jean Robinson (born 1959) is a retired United States Air Force general who served as commander of the United States Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) and commander of the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) from May 2016 to May 2018. She was the first female officer in the history of the United States Armed Forces to command a major Unified Combatant Command. Robinson previously served as commander of Pacific Air Forces; air component commander for United States Pacific Command; and executive director, Pacific Air Combat Operations Staff, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii. The Pacific Air Forces command  has responsibility for Air Force activities spread over half the globe and supports 45,000 airmen serving principally in Japan, South Korea, Hawaii, Alaska, and Guam. On March 18, 2016, United States Secretary of Defense Ash Carter announced that Robinson would be named by President Barack Obama to replace Admiral William E. Gortney as commander of USNORTHCOM and NORAD, subject to approval by the United States Senate. In 2016 Robinson was named to "Time" magazine's list of 100 most influential people. Robinson was confirmed and took over from Admiral Gortney on 13 May 2016. Military career. Robinson entered the United  States Air Force in 1982 through the Reserve Officers' Training Corps program at the University of New Hampshire. She served in a variety of positions as an Air Battle Manager, including instructor and commander of the Command and Control Operations Division at the United States Air Force Weapons School, as well as Chief of Tactics in the 965th Airborne Warning and Control Squadron. She held staff assignments as command briefer at Headquarters Pacific Air Forces, deputy chief of staff and executive assistant to the director at the Defense Information Systems Agency, and executive officer to the commander of Air Combat  Command. Robinson commanded an operations group, a training wing, and an air control wing. She also deployed as vice commander of the 405th Air Expeditionary Wing, leading more than 2,000 airmen flying B-1 Lancer, KC-135 Stratotanker and E-3 Sentry aircraft in operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. Robinson was an Air Force Fellow at The Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C., and has served at the Pentagon as director of the Secretary of the Air Force and chief of staff of the Air Force Executive Action Group. She was also deputy director for force application and support, Directorate of Force Structure , Resources and Assessment, Joint Staff, the Pentagon, Washington, D.C. Following this, Robinson was director, Legislative Liaison, Office of the Secretary of the Air Force, the Pentagon, Washington, D.C., and the vice commander, Air Combat Command, Langley Air Force Base, Virginia. On September 21, 2007, Robinson made history when she became the first air battle manager and first woman 552nd ACW commander to be frocked to brigadier general while stationed at Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma. In 2014 Robinson was chosen to be commander of the Pacific Air Forces in Hawaii, making her the first United States female four-star commander  of combat forces. On May 13, 2016, she became the commanding general of United States Northern Command and was the first woman to command a unified combatant command. On May 24, 2018, General Robinson transferred command of NORAD and NORTHCOM to General Terrence J. O'Shaughnessy. Robinson retired from the Air Force on June 7, 2018. Personal life. Robinson is married to retired Air Force Major General David A. Robinson. Robinson's stepdaughter, United States Air Force Reserve Second Lieutenant Taryn Ashley Robinson (b. February 1, 1983), was critically injured, and her civilian flight instructor James Weaver was killed, when their  plane impacted terrain on September 21, 2005. Lieutenant Robinson later succumbed to her injuries and died on January 10, 2006. Lieutenant Robinson was an Air Force Academy graduate (Class of 2005), as was Weaver (Class of 1963).