Interviewed by Peter Ma
My dad was in the Air Force, so my entire life all I’ve known was to move every two or three years. However, this was the most amazing experience growing up. We lived overseas and I got to see so many things firsthand. I skied in Germany, got wooden shoes made in Amsterdam, and watched the changing of the guards in Buckingham palace with my face through the steel bars. This opportunity to travel and see different parts of the world was phenomenal. It also made me proud to be an American. Every time I came back into the States, it made me grateful for the privileges we have as U.S. citizens.
My dad wanted me to go to the Air Force academy, but I felt like I had been in the Air Force for 18 years already, so I wasn’t going to stay there. I ended up going to the University of New Hampshire to become a teacher. However, that required me to stay a fifth year to get a master’s degree and I wasn’t up for that. I decided to sign up for the ROTC at my university to do that for four years and then figure out what I wanted to do for the rest of my life after that. When I first got my assignment as an air battle manager (someone who talks to fighter pilots and tells them where to go), the guy in charge of the detachment told me, “Lori, you need to talk to your father and have him get you out of this assignment. It’s a horrible assignment and you’re not gonna like it.” However, I refused to ask my dad to do anything for me. I was on my own now and that was it. So, I stuck with that assignment. I honestly never thought I would end up doing it for more than five or ten years, but I loved what I did.
Throughout my career, I’ve had some unique, unbelievable opportunities. I became an instructor at the Air Force’s Fighter Weapons School—the first female instructor. My career there allowed me to start becoming a better person, a better airman. I learned a lot about teamwork and operations, but what really stood out to me was when my mentor told me that I was part of something bigger than myself. I didn’t really understand that at the time, but as time went on, I realized that it really wasn’t about me, it was about the institution. While I may have been good at what I did, but if I didn’t make those around me better, the institution was never going to get better.
At the end of the day, I consider myself very lucky, honored, and humbled to have had the privileges to do the things that I did. I was put into positions that women weren’t put into. I eventually became combatant commander—the first female combatant commander—and the highest-ranking woman in military by the time I retired. But I never walked in a room and said I was a woman. I walked in and said I’m an airman, a commander, a four-star general in the Pacific Air Forces, and I just happened to be a woman. If I made being a woman more important than all those things, then I made that more important than the institution and being a woman isn’t more important than the institution. People ask how I did it and I tell them, I just try to do the best that I can do every single day, with every single task that was given to me. You’ll never know where an opportunity will come and you’ll never know what’s going happen to you, but it starts with being the best that you can be. Keep doing that and you’ll continue to earn trust and greater responsibilities.
I’ve had so many great memories in the Air Force. If you had told me when I was in university that I was going to go to China twice, meet the air chief of the Chinese Air Force, sit down, and talk with him, I would have thought you were kidding me. If you had told me that I was going to go to New Zealand and Australia and learn about their Air Forces, meet with their air chiefs, and fly on their airplanes, I would have said you’re absolutely crazy. But I got to do those things. One time, there was this big conference in Japan, about 3 days after I took command of the Pacific Air Forces. The chief of the Japanese Air Force wanted me to be the dean of all the air chiefs there. I wasn’t sure what that meant, but I decided to just dive in. Later I found out what it meant to be the dean—I was the one who had to talk to the Defense Minister and the Prime Minister of Japan on behalf of all the other air chiefs. And I hadn’t even been the commander for a week at this point. But I just dove in. It wasn’t about me; it was about being the commander of the Pacific Air Forces.
I can’t think of a bad memory from my time in the Air Force. Yes, there was stress for sure. When your job is protecting the United States from threats such as North Korean ballistic missiles, working with federal agencies for hurricane seasons and wildfires, and being responsible to the Secretary of Defense for these activities, in addition to defending United States and Canadian air space against air threats such as that from Russia—yes there’s going to be stress there. But none of those were bad memories or hardships. People also ask me if there is anything I would do differently. I look back and there’s not a single thing. I was lucky to have great people who took care of me and believed in me. I relied on my team to help me. I did the things I needed to do to enable my team to do what they needed to do. And in the end, I was able to learn about what it meant to be part of something bigger than myself.
Work-life balance was hard, but it was something I always strived for because family is important. When I deployed to Oman or Saudi Arabia, I would talk with my husband and my kids, but things would happen and I would have to get back to work. They were the ones who had to deal with the broken-down car or refrigerator at home. I would say it is the families that enable military members to focus on the jobs at hand. Their constant love, support, and role as part of the bigger military family is just so important. For our last two jobs, my husband and I never signed anything “Lori and David Robinson,” it was always “Team Robinson”. For me, it’s about the team. You’re part of something bigger than yourself and you have to be the best that you can be. But you also have to work on your work-life balance and don’t forget about your family.
I retired from the Air Force in 2018, after 37 years there. For the first three months afterwards, I just drooled. I was absolutely exhausted. I never knew how tired I was until I stopped. They tell to take care of yourself, to enjoy the fruits of everything you’ve worked for. But you can’t go stagnant, you can’t just stop. You got to keep your mind and your body active. Now I’m giving some speeches and working on capstones where we mentor new one-star generals and their spouses. It’s been an interesting transition back to normal life. In the military, I had people run my schedule, take care of my travels, housing, and food so that I could focus on my job. I was used to that, but now all of a sudden, I have to do all of that myself. I was also so used to going onto an Air Force base and knowing people there, but I don’t know anybody now. But the quiet time is nice. I have had the chance to see the kids and grandchildren, without trying to cram the time in. This General thing is interesting, but what is more important to me is Mrs. Robinson, Mom, and Gigi, that’s what my grandchildren call me. They’re my life and joy. Nowadays I get to run my own schedule. Now I try to enjoy everything to the fullest.