General Lori Robinson, Pacific Air Forces commander, addresses U.S. and Singapore Airmen in front of an F-22A Raptor during the Singapore International Airshow, at Changi International Airport, Singapore, in this file photo taken February 17, 2016. 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. REUTERS/U.S. Air Force/Capt. Raymond Geoffroy/Handout via Reuters 
 
 WASHINGTON President Barack Obama will name the first woman to head a U.S. combatant command, selecting Air Force General Lori Robinson as the next head of the military's Northern Command, Defense Secretary Ash Carter said on 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. 
 
 "General Robinson, it just so happens, would also be the first ever female combatant commander," Carter said, disclosing Obama's plans to nominate her. 
 
 "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. 
 
 Carter also announced Army General Vincent Brooks, the commanding general of U.S. Army Pacific, would be nominated to become the next commander of U.S. Forces in South Korea. 
 
 (Reporting by Phil Stewart; Editing by Frances Kerry) ||||| 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. 
 
 Robinson is now the head of Pacific Air Forces. If confirmed by the Senate, she would replace Adm. Bill Gortney, who’s been in the post since 2014. 
 
 Northern Command is one of the nation's six regional combatant commands, tasked with helping defend the homeland. As head of a military combatant command, Robinson would be in the chain of command and answer directly to Carter. 
 
 At a POLITICO Playbook breakfast, Carter praised Robinson's "very deep operational" and management experience. 
 
 "We have coming along now a lot of female officers who are exceptionally strong," Carter said. "Lori certainly fits into that category." 
 
 Carter also announced Friday that the president was nominating Army Gen. Vincent Brooks to be the commander of U.S. 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. 
 
 Brooks is now the commander of U.S. Army Pacific. 
 
 “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. 
 
 
 
 Authors: ||||| This undated photo provided by the U.S. Air Force shows Gen. Lori J. Robinson, Commander, currently the head of the Pacific Air Force. Defense Secretary Ash Carter says President Barack Obama will nominate the first woman to head a major U.S. military combatant command. If confirmed by the Senate,... (Associated Press) 
 
 This undated photo provided by the U.S. Air Force shows Gen. Lori J. Robinson, Commander, currently the head of the Pacific Air Force. Defense Secretary Ash Carter says President Barack Obama will nominate... (Associated Press)
– 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.