Retired Gen. Lori Robinson launches national security speaker series

First woman in U.S. history to lead combatant command visits UND to tell her story, talk national security with President Armacost

Retired U.S. Air Force Gen. Lori Robinson has had a historic military career, and on Friday, Sept. 27, she helped usher in a new chapter of UND history when she appeared in the Memorial Union Ballroom alongside President Andrew Armacost.

Robinson was the inaugural speaker in the UND LEADS: Broad Perspectives on National Security speaker series. The new discussion series focuses on key topics of national security, and is meant to serve as a complement to the University’s National Security Initiative, which focuses on research and educating tomorrow’s workforce leaders in national security.

Robinson is the former commander of the U.S. Northern Command or USNORTHCOM. This made her the first woman in U.S. history to lead a combatant command.

While serving as commander there, she simultaneously led the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD).

Before a full crowd of dignitaries from across the state, including active-duty military leaders, state lawmakers and members of the State Board of Higher Education, Armacost and Robinson dove into topics ranging from her journey into a senior leadership position, to her activities post-retirement to national security issues and geopolitical concerns.

But first, they started off on a lighter note.

Armacost, who previously served as dean of faculty at the U.S. Air Force Academy, thanked Robinson for coming to UND, and noted they served in close proximity to one another in their previous careers.

“For those who don’t know, we were stationed together in Colorado Springs at the same time,” Armacost said. “I was at the Academy, and you were commanding Northern Command, and it’s great to see you again.”

Robinson responded with a rapid-fire quip. “What he isn’t telling you is that he twisted my arm to do some things for him over at the Academy, just like he twisted my arm to come here!” she said, drawing laughter from the crowd. Then she added a quick, “Just kidding!”

How mentors matter

Robinson said she was hesitant at first when her father, a career Air Force officer, asked her to attend the Air Force Academy. And ultimately, she declined, as she already had spent 18 years moving from base to base with her family.

Instead, when she learned that she’d likely need a master’s degree to become an English teacher (and that meant a fifth year at the University of New Hampshire), she joined the ROTC program there. This led her into an Air Force career that spanned more than three decades.

Robinson served as an air battle manager (“I talked to fighter pilots about where the bad guys were, so they would go kill them,” she said), a position that usually tops out at the rank of major. She declined advice to ask her father to help her with her career and focused on her job, instead. That included getting noticed by some very impactful mentors.

“I’ll just be blunt and say all of my mentors and all of the people who were a part of the village that took care of Lori Robinson were men, and the majority of them were fighter pilots, and that’s highly unusual,” she said.

Those mentors didn’t care what her job was, or that she was a woman in the Air Force, she said. They cared that she was competent at her job. The “village” of mentors taught her “right from wrong, good from bad, professionalism, and that just like everyone else in our Air Force, you put on your pants one leg at a time.”

Robinson retired from the Air Force in 2018. When asked by Armacost about her post-retirement career, she said she sits on a number of corporate boards, and that learning how corporations conduct their business has made her a more well-rounded person. Getting used to the culture change from the military to the private sector took some doing, and that she still misses airmen and their families, but the journey beyond the Air Force has been worthwhile.

Thoughts on the world’s hot spots

Turning then to national security issues, and in response to a question about China’s military growth, Robinson said she definitely noticed an increase in fighter jet capability while she served as commander of the Pacific Air Forces. Her concern at that time — given this increase in capability — was that there would be a “miscalculation” between pilots flying in international airspace, one that could lead to an international incident. Current Air Force commanders are noticing these fighters venturing farther and farther in the Arctic, too, she said.

As for the war in Ukraine, Robinson noted the United States is providing capability to that nation but is not there physically. Still, she views this conflict as a battle for democracy in that region, she said.

When it comes to the conflict in the Middle East, people sometimes view the U.S. military as a “big hammer,” she said. But American leadership is focusing on the diplomatic route to seeking a ceasefire to hostilities in Israel.

As for her own diplomatic efforts, Robinson maintained an open line of communication with Chinese military leadership, so she could express concern about the interception of U.S. aircraft operating in international air space, she said. That direct military-to-military discussion let her express her concerns about how errors — and potentially international incidents — could occur.

“There are a lot of avenues of communication,” she said, and added those avenues need to be maintained, before something “heinous” occurs.

Colleges and universities play key role

When prompted by a question from Armacost about immigration policy, and students from potentially hostile nations attending U.S. institutions, Robinson said cultural understanding is crucial to improving relations. Education, she believes, plays an important role in that process.

“To me, the learning aspect of each other gives us more respect for each other, makes us understand each other better,” she said. “I think it’s important that we continue that dialog.”

Speaking of colleges and universities, Robinson said exposure to people in military service — such as through ROTC programs — is one way to inspire young people to serve the nation. This exposure, and the knowledge that one’s fellow students might be called on to defend democracy, can prompt young people to take up service themselves.

Such exposure also can happen through events such as the UND National Security Speaker Series, where leaders talk publicly about their experiences in the field, she said.

Airshows held on air bases — Robinson’s husband, retired Maj. Gen. David A. Robinson, flew with the Thunderbirds for three years — are yet another way to expose people to the benefits of military service.

“I can’t tell you how many times I’ve talked to pilots who said ‘I wanted to be a pilot ever since I saw the Thunderbirds,’” she said.

Editor’s note: A second article on the visit to UND by Lori Robinson, based on a Q&A session she took part in with UND Today, is forthcoming.