Robinson has been selected as the next head of the U.S. military's Northern Command, which would make her the first woman to head a U.S. combatant command, U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter said on Friday.  PLAYBOOK LIVE Obama to pick first female four-star commander 
 
 President Barack Obama plans to nominate Air Force Gen. Lori Robinson to be the head of U.S. Northern Command — which would make her the first woman to be named combatant commander, Defense Secretary Ash Carter announced Friday. The position, which is subject to Senate confirmation, is one of the most senior in the U.S. military and would make Robinson - who now leads U.S. air forces in the Pacific - the top general overseeing activities in North America. "That shows yet another thing - which is that we have, coming along now, a lot of female officers who are exceptionally strong. And Lori certainly fits into that category," Carter said at an event hosted by Politico. “He’s the one who has been shepherding what the Army calls Pacific Pathways, which is the Army’s ingredient in the so-called rebalance to the Asia-Pacific,” Carter said. Forces Korea, succeeding Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti, who’s been tapped to be the next NATO Supreme Allied Commander and head of the U.S. European Command.
– President Obama will name Air Force General Lori Robinson to lead the military's Northern Command, Defense Secretary Ash Carter said Friday. It's one of the top US military positions and Robinson would be the most senior general overseeing North American activities. She "would also be the first ever female combatant commander," Carter says, per Reuters. The US Northern Command "was created in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks to coordinate and improve homeland defense and to provide support for other national disasters," the AP reports. Obama's nomination of Robinson "shows ... we have, coming along now, a lot of female officers who are exceptionally strong. And Lori certainly fits into that category," Carter, speaking at an event hosted by Politico, added. The nomination of Robinson, who is currently the head of the Pacific Air Force, is subject to Senate confirmation. If confirmed, she would report directly to Carter.