Defense Secretary Ash Carter announced Friday that Gen. Lori Robinson will be nominated to serve as the next commander of US Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command. If confirmed, she will become the first woman to head a US combatant command. Robinson, who currently serves as commander of Pacific Air Forces, would replace Adm. Bill Gortney, who has led the command since December 2014. Defense Secretary Ash Carter said Robinson “has very deep operational experience” and is now “running air forces in the Pacific, which is a very challenging place for the Air Force and a very intense operational tempo.” In a statement released Friday, Carter said Robinson “has served our military with distinction and has been a pioneer and trailblazer from her first days as an officer.”
House, Senate Unveil Competing Proposals for 2026 Budget
July 11, 2025
Lawmakers from the House and Senate laid out competing versions of the annual defense policy bill on July 11, with vastly different potential outcomes for some of the Air Force’s most embattled programs.