First Woman Nominated to Lead U.S. Combatant Command
By MICHAEL S. SCHMIDT

WASHINGTON — The White House will nominate Gen. Lori J. Robinson of the Air Force to lead all military forces in North America, Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter said Friday. If confirmed by the Senate, General Robinson will become the first woman to head one of the United States combatant commands.

“We have coming along now a lot of female officers who are exceptionally strong,” Mr. Carter said in an interview with Politico. “Lori certainly fits into that category.”

The Defense Department has six combatant commanders who oversee military operations in different regions of the world.

General Robinson would lead the United States Northern Command, which is based in Colorado Springs and was created after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks to coordinate the military’s response to domestic threats. The highest-profile command in recent years has been the United States Central Command, which oversees military operations in Afghanistan, Iraq and the rest of the Middle East.

Mr. Carter made the announcement as the Pentagon moves forward with a series of measures designed to create greater gender equality in the military and make the services more appealing to women.

In December, Mr. Carter announced that the Pentagon would open all combat roles to women. Then in January, he announced that he was expanding maternity leave and said the Pentagon would begin a pilot program that would pay for women to have their eggs frozen to encourage them to stay in the military during their 20s and 30s, a time when many leave after giving birth.

According to figures compiled by the Pentagon, a little more than 6 percent of generals and admirals are women; 17 percent of officers are women; and 15 percent of enlisted service members are women. Out of 38 four-star generals and admirals, there are three women, including General Robinson, according to the Pentagon.

Since 2014, General Robinson has been based at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii, where she has been the commander over Air Force operations in the Pacific.

美將有首位女作戰司令官

美國國防部長卡特18日宣布，歐巴馬總統將提名空軍女上將軍蘿莉．羅賓森（Lori Robinson ）出任北美司令部指揮官，若參院同意，她將成為美國第一個作戰部隊的女指揮官。

北美司令部是美國六個地區作戰司令部之一，總部在科羅拉多州科羅拉多泉鎮，2001年911恐怖攻擊後創建，負責北美地區的作戰，守衛美國國土、支援國家災難救援。

羅賓森現為太平洋空軍部隊的負責人，而北美司令部指揮官是美軍的最高軍職之一，直接對國防部長負責，任職需經國會參院批准。卡特表示，美軍如今有大批女性軍官，羅賓森將成為第一個作戰部隊的女指揮官。

美國三軍中的女將軍比率略高於6%，女軍官的比重是17%，女士兵約占所有士兵的15%。美軍38個上將中有三名女性，羅賓森是其中之一。

原文參照：
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/19/us/politics/lori-robinson-united-states-northern-commmand.html

2016-03-19．聯合晚報．A5．國際．國際新聞組