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Highway to the danger zone? Non-pilot given command of Air Force in Pacific
Washington Times ^ | 07/17/2014 | Rowan Scarborough

Posted on 07/18/2014 6:54:32 AM PDT by DFG

The White House has picked the first female general to head the Air Force in the Pacific, which will make her the first non-pilot to command air power in such a large theater of operation.

The Pentagon announced this week that Air ForceLt. Gen. Lori J. Robinson has been nominated for promotion to four-star general and as commander of Pacific Air Forces, the Air Force component of U.S. Pacific Command. It is a major combatant command whose air, ground and naval forces have broad responsibility for security in the Asia-Pacific region. Her nomination was sent to the Senate for confirmation.

(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: airforce; communism; depowermilitary; diversity; pacific; robinson
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To: Fred Hayek
There is a danger of taking pics with medals. Service members will
recognize the fakes or props against her record.

No idea how this will pan out but it's PC BS at the very least.

41 posted on 07/18/2014 8:38:21 AM PDT by MaxMax (Pay Attention and you'll be pissed off too! FIRE BOEHNER, NOW!)
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To: MaxMax

If that’s her official DoD photo, then she has made darn sure that every decoration she is wearing is backed up by documentation in her personnel file: citations, orders, ORB, etc.

Remember Adm. Jeremy Boorda? He was driven to suicide over accusations that a single campaign star may have been unearned.


42 posted on 07/18/2014 8:47:32 AM PDT by elcid1970 ("In the modern world, Muslims are living fossils.")
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To: elcid1970
....and put together coherent thoughts in sentences...

What the hell is THAT jibberish?

43 posted on 07/18/2014 8:51:25 AM PDT by Fedupwithit (If you never stop giving, they will never stop taking...)
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To: Rio

If she’s not pilot, what are the wings for?

I was an Army guy. If it wasn’t a CIB, it was all just stuff.


44 posted on 07/18/2014 9:00:52 AM PDT by Makana ("Nothing can bring you peace but yourself; nothing, but the triumph of principles." -Emerson)
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To: DFG

Just think if George Washington ran the military like this. Don’t find the bestpeople. Find the gay, the black, the lesbian, the ttansgender and put them in charge so the redcoats will be so impressed with our diversity they will surrender.


45 posted on 07/18/2014 9:08:57 AM PDT by Organic Panic
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To: DFG

Checked out her bio
She’s had a distinguished career
Not the first non-rated 4 Star to hold high command, just the first woman
She is married
Her stepdaughter died in pilot training
Running PACAF is mostly logistics management and she has the qualifications


46 posted on 07/18/2014 9:11:16 AM PDT by silverleaf (Age takes a toll: Please have exact change)
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To: silverleaf

What’s that old saying? Good generals understand strategy and tactics; great generals understand logistics ...

I also recall that MacArthur referred to Eisehower as the best clerk he’d ever had.


47 posted on 07/18/2014 9:17:39 AM PDT by tanknetter
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To: Ace's Dad

she was an air combat controller, or weapons controller, or whatever is the present term
ie, probably AWACS mission (not flight) crew while she was at Tinker
that is the badge on her uniform


48 posted on 07/18/2014 9:20:42 AM PDT by silverleaf (Age takes a toll: Please have exact change)
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To: Gritty

“Sure, she has some skills. But will they be the right ones with the proper perspectives when the SHTF and the life and death decisions of real combat are critical? I seriously doubt it.”

uh, you do know what a weapons controller, or what they call air combat controller, does, right? Gets the fighters in range of the target, IDs it, and authorizes them to engage. I’d say that is life-and-death combat decision making


49 posted on 07/18/2014 9:23:06 AM PDT by silverleaf (Age takes a toll: Please have exact change)
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To: Makana

not wings, Air Combat (weapons) controller badge
the ones I knew were AWACS crewmembers and logged many hours of flight and combat time, just not in the cockpit


50 posted on 07/18/2014 9:26:36 AM PDT by silverleaf (Age takes a toll: Please have exact change)
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To: DAC21
For the record, Robinson is married to retired USAF Major General David A. Robinson. Robinson’s step daughter, United States Air Force Reserve (USAFR) Second Lieutenant Taryn Ashley (b. February 1, 1983) was critically injured, and her civilian flight instructor was killed, when their plane impacted terrain on September 21, 2005. Taryn later succumbed to her injuries and died on January 10, 2006. Lt. Robinson was enrolled in a government undergraduate pilot training (UPT) introductory flight program, and this was her second flight.

A USAF Academy grad goes directly to the reserves AND gets a UPT indoc?

Its good to have generals for parents.

51 posted on 07/18/2014 9:29:30 AM PDT by Half Vast Conspiracy (Settled science.)
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To: tanknetter

given the physical layout of PACAF across thousands of miles of ocean and scattered bases in greatly differing countries and cultures, planning and logistics is the prime day to day job -— with a mix of political skill to manage staff and get along with our allies - and more difficult, the Navy (PACOM) :-)

Given the tensions with China and Japan not to mention the Koreas, and a CinC like obama downgrading our relations with Russia by making it personal and trying to belittle Putin, this will be tough times in the Pacific


52 posted on 07/18/2014 9:33:05 AM PDT by silverleaf (Age takes a toll: Please have exact change)
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To: Half Vast Conspiracy

yes it’s good to have general for parents but it’s tragic for generals to lose kids who die trying to imitate the parents they admire


53 posted on 07/18/2014 9:34:32 AM PDT by silverleaf (Age takes a toll: Please have exact change)
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To: silverleaf
AWACS mission (not flight) crew

A warfare qualification in AWACS would do the trick, everything else being equal.

54 posted on 07/18/2014 11:29:20 AM PDT by Ace's Dad (Proud grandpa of a newly born "Brit Chick" named Poppy Loucks!)
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To: silverleaf
...you do know what a weapons controller, or what they call air combat controller, does, right?

Yes, I do. I spent many years in the business, but on the "other end" from the weapons controller in the air and at the operational level. I also spent many years in flight operations, operations planning, and execution... including in war and peace and at various levels, worldwide as well I might add.

I'm not saying weapons controllers don't do an important and skillful job. They do, and it does require good decision making and judgment. That does not detract from her accomplishments, whatever they may be.

What I am saying is, she probably has limited experience in working at and directing all levels and types of flying operations which after all is what the Air Force mission is all about. The PACAF Commander can't afford to be totally reliant on her staff for judgment and directions when making crucial decisions of which she has limited experience and knowledge. He/she needs to lead from experience and know when to raise the BS Flag and when and how to do the smart, bold, and decisive things that work. That's all I'm saying.

Why put somebody at the top of PACAF who isn't the most qualified to do the job? I am pretty sure she probably isn't the best pick but was likely chosen for other factors such as her gender because her other background doesn't indicate otherwise. This is more than just some political position to be filled by some Commissar, lawyer, or anybody with a Politically Correct resume. It requires somebody with a lot of operational experience in tactical and strategic operations of all kinds who can do it in a pressure cooker and against a real enemy if necessary. Only experience can develop that.

In something like this, diversity isn't our strength - but relying on it to hire the proper people can be our downfall. This pick was done to promote a diversity agenda and nobody is denying it. It is even in the article lede.

55 posted on 07/18/2014 12:00:46 PM PDT by Gritty (Obama's governing as president of a Latin American republic, where only the president matters-MSteyn)
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To: Rio

I guess she didn’t think the ribbons were enough, she had to throw on those gaudy earrings too.


56 posted on 07/18/2014 12:12:33 PM PDT by Boogieman
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To: DFG

With Obama in the White House, the horse sh*t just never ends.


57 posted on 07/18/2014 1:31:09 PM PDT by Jack Hammer
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To: Gritty

“she probably has limited experience in working at and directing all levels and types of flying operations which after all is what the Air Force mission is all about.”

Forget all the Pentagon staff assignments- do you call this limited experience?

http://www.af.mil/AboutUs/Biographies/Display/tabid/225/Article/108119/lieutenant-general-lori-j-robinson.aspx

She is currently the 3-star Vice Commander of what we used to call “TAC”, now Air Combat Command at Langley (fighter pilot central). Before TAC, she was the deputy at what we used to call CENTAF, the air component of USCENTCOM. She has commanded units from squadron to group to expeditionary wing. She has filled all the squares a non-rated officer can fill. I too abhor a token but this officer’s resume to be PACAF Cinc would not cause any adverse comment if she was a man.


58 posted on 07/18/2014 3:37:29 PM PDT by silverleaf (Age takes a toll: Please have exact change)
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To: silverleaf
Thanks for the bio. I hadn't taken the time to research it nor had I seen it. She seems better qualified than at first glance. I do feel better about her appointment now.

I still abhor anything that smacks of affirmative action and PC, and this assignment did from the press report. It is a shame everything now seems required to be filtered through that crooked lens and the military is certainly not exempt. It is a poison to everything it touches, including assignments and all else.

59 posted on 07/18/2014 4:51:29 PM PDT by Gritty (Obama's governing as president of a Latin American republic, where only the president matters-MSteyn)
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To: Gritty

to Air Force jockeys, it’s more significant that a non-pilot got this command than that it went to a woman


60 posted on 07/18/2014 5:35:19 PM PDT by silverleaf (Age takes a toll: Please have exact change)
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