Gen. Lori J. Robinson is Commander, United States Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command. USNORTHCOM partners to connect homeland defense, civil support and security cooperation to defend and secure the United States and its interests. NORAD conducts aerospace warning, aerospace control and maritime warning in the defense of North America.
General Robinson entered the Air Force in 1982 through the ROTC program at the University of New Hampshire. She has served in a variety of positions as an Air Battle Manager, including instructor and Commander of the Command and Control Operations Division at the Air Force Fighter Weapons School, and Chief of Tactics in the 965th Airborne Warning and Control Squadron. She has commanded an operations group, a training wing, an air control wing and deployed as Vice Commander of the 405th Air Expeditionary Wing, leading more than 2,000 Airmen flying the B-1 Lancer, KC-135 Stratotanker and E-3 Sentry aircraft in operations ENDURING and IRAQI FREEDOM. General Robinson was an Air Force Fellow at The Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C., and 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 has also been Deputy Director for Force Application and Support, Directorate of Force Structure, Resources and Assessment, Joint Staff, the Pentagon, Washington, D.C. Following these assignments, General Robinson was Director, Legislative Liaison, Office of the Secretary of the Air Force, the Pentagon, Washington, D.C. General Robinson also served as the Deputy Commander, U.S. Air Forces Central Command; Deputy, Combined Force Air Component Commander, U.S. Central Command, Southwest Asia, Vice Commander, Air Combat Command, Langley Air Force Base, Virginia.
Prior to her current assignment, General Robinson was Commander, Pacific Air Forces and Air Component Commander for U.S. Pacific Command; Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii.
EDUCATION
1981 Bachelor of Arts degree in English, University of New Hampshire, Durham
1986 Squadron Officer School, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
1986 Distinguished graduate, Air Force Fighter Weapons School, Nellis AFB, Nev.
1992 Master of Arts in education leadership and management, Troy State University, Ala.
1995 Master's degree in national security and strategic studies, College of Naval Command and Staff, Naval War College, Newport, R.I.
2001 Air War College, by correspondence
2002 Air Force Fellow, The Brookings Institution, Washington, D.C.
2005 Senior Executive Fellows Program, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass.
2013 Leadership at the Peak, Center for Creative Leadership, Colorado Springs, Colo.
ASSIGNMENTS
1. January 1982 - June 1982, Student, Basic Air Weapons Controller School, Tyndall AFB, Fla.
2. June 1982 - January 1983, Air Weapons Controller, Homestead AFB, Fla.
3. January 1983 - January 1985, Instructor Air Weapons Controller and live-fire senior director, 81st Range Control Squadron, Tyndall AFB, Fla.
4. January 1985 - February 1986, Chief of Training; and Chief of Standardization and Evaluation, 848th Air Control and Weapons Squadron, Wallace Air Station, the Philippines
5. February 1986 - September 1986, Air Weapons Controller, Air Weapons Controller Division, Air Force Fighter Weapons School, Nellis AFB, Nev.
6. September 1986 - December 1986, Student, Air Force Fighter Weapons School, Nellis AFB, Nev.
7. December 1986 - October 1989, Instructor and Course Manager, Air Weapons Control Division, Air Force Fighter Weapons School, Nellis AFB, Nev.
8. October 1989 - August 1992, Chief of Current Operations and command briefer, Headquarters Pacific Air Forces, Hickam AFB, Hawaii
9. August 1992 - May 1993, Air Weapons Controller, 552nd Air Control Wing, Tinker AFB, Okla.
10. June 1993 - June 1994, Chief, Weapons and Tactics Branch, 965th Airborne Warning and Control Squadron, Tinker AFB, Okla.
11. July 1994 - June 1995, Student, College of Naval Command and Staff, Naval War College, Newport, R.I.
12. June 1995 - September 1995, Student, Armed Forces Staff College, Norfolk, Va.
13. September 1995 - December 1997, Command, Control and Communications Officer, Deputy Chief of Staff, and executive assistant to the Director, Defense Information Systems Agency, Arlington, Va.
14. December 1997 - June 1998, Student, mission crew commander training, Nellis AFB, Nev.
15. June 1998 - February 2000, Commander, Command and Control Operations Division, Air Force Weapons School, Nellis AFB, Nev.
16. February 2000 - July 2001, Executive Officer to the Commander, Air Combat Command, Langley AFB, Va.
17. July 2001 - June 2002, Air Force Fellow, The Brookings Institution, Washington, D.C.
18. June 2002 - August 2004, Commander, 552nd Operations Group, Tinker AFB, Okla. (March 2003 - May 2003, Vice Commander, 405th Air Expeditionary Wing, Southwest Asia)
19. August 2004 - August 2005, Commander, 17th Training Wing, Goodfellow AFB, Texas
20. August 2005 - September 2006, Director, Secretary of the Air Force and Chief of Staff of the Air Force Executive Action Group, the Pentagon, Washington, D.C.
21. September 2006 - May 2007, Chief, Air Force House Liaison Office, Legislative Liaison, Office of the Secretary of the Air Force, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, the Pentagon, Washington, D.C.
22. May 2007 - August 2008, Commander, 552nd Air Control Wing, Tinker AFB, Okla.
23. September 2008 - October 2010, Deputy Director for Force Application and Support, Directorate of Force Structure, Resources and Assessment, Joint Staff, the Pentagon, Washington, D.C.
24. October 2010 - June 2012, Director, Legislative Liaison, Office of the Secretary of the Air Force, the Pentagon, Washington, D.C.
25. June 2012 - April 2013, Deputy Commander, U.S. Air Forces Central Command; Deputy, Combined Forces Air Component Commander, U.S. Central Command, Southwest Asia.
26. May 2013 - October 2014, Vice Commander, Air Combat Command, Langley AFB, Va.
27. October 2014 - May 2016, Commander, Pacific Air Forces and Air Component Commander for U.S. Pacific Command; Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii.
28. May 2016 - Present, Commander, North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and United States Northern Command (USNORTHCOM). Colorado Springs, Colo.
SUMMARY OF JOINT ASSIGNMENTS
1. September 1995 - December 1997, command, Control and Communication Officer, Deputy Chief of Staff, and Executive Assistant to the Director, Defense Information Systems Agency, Arlington, Va., as a major
2. September 2008 - October 2010, Deputy Director for Force Application and Support, Directorate of Force Structure, Resources and Assessment, Joint Staff, the Pentagon, Washington, D.C., as a brigadier general
3. June 2012 - April 2013, Deputy Commander, United States Air Forces Central Command and Deputy Combined Forces Air Component Commander, Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, as a major general
4. May 2016 - present, Commander, North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and United States Northern Command (USNORTHCOM). Colorado Springs, Colo, as a general.
FLIGHT INFORMATION
Rating: senior air battle manager
Flight hours: more than 900
Aircraft: E-3B/C and E-8C
MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Distinguished Service Medal with two oak leaf clusters
Defense Superior Service Medal
Legion of Merit with two oak leaf clusters
Bronze Star Medal with oak leaf cluster
Defense Meritorious Service Medal
Meritorious Service Medal with three oak leaf clusters
Aerial Achievement Medal
Air Force Commendation Medal with two oak leaf clusters
EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION
Second Lieutenant May 24, 1981
First Lieutenant Sept. 11, 1983
Captain September 11, 1985
Major Jan. 1, 1994
Lieutenant Colonel July 1, 1998
Colonel Aug. 1, 2002
Brigadier General July 22, 2008
Major General May 1, 2011
Lieutenant General May 20, 2013
General Oct. 16, 2014
(Current as of March 2017)