Lori Robinson

Lori Robinson, born in nineteen fifty-nine, is a distinguished retired United States Air Force general who made history as the first female officer to command a major Unified Combatant Command. From May 2016 to May 2018, she held the prestigious positions of commander of the United States Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) and commander of the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD).

Prior to her groundbreaking role at USNORTHCOM and NORAD, Robinson served as the commander of Pacific Air Forces, where she oversaw Air Force operations across a vast region, supporting approximately forty-five thousand airmen stationed primarily in Japan, South Korea, Hawaii, Alaska, and Guam. Her leadership extended to serving as the air component commander for the United States Pacific Command and as the executive director of the Pacific Air Combat Operations Staff at Joint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam in Hawaii.

On March eighteenth, two thousand sixteen, United States Secretary of Defense Ash Carter announced Robinson's nomination by President Barack Obama to succeed Admiral William E. Gortney as commander of USNORTHCOM and NORAD, pending Senate approval. She was confirmed and officially took command on May thirteenth, two thousand sixteen.

In recognition of her significant contributions to the military and her influence, Robinson was named to Time magazine's list of the one hundred most influential people in two thousand sixteen, solidifying her legacy as a trailblazer in the United States Armed Forces.