Two Hawaii-based four-star generals are being promoted to lead key commands in the U.S. military.

U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter announced today that President Obama will nominate Gen. Lori Robinson, head of Pacific Air Forces at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, to lead of U.S. Northern Command in Colorado.

If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Robinson will become the first woman to lead a U.S. combatant command.

Robinson “has very deep operational experience, is now running the air forces in the Pacific, which is a very challenging place for the Air Force and a very intense operational tempo,” Carter said in an interview this morning with Politico.

Naming the first female combatant commander demonstrates “that we have coming along now a lot of female officers who are exceptionally strong. Lori certainly fits into that category,” Carter said.

Carter also picked Army Gen. Vincent K. Brooks, head of U.S. Army Pacific at Fort Shafter, to be commander of U.S. Forces Korea.

U.S. Forces Korea “is part of U.S. Pacific Command, but is a major political military command, a place where we need our very best, and Vince is that, and also an officer with tremendous operational and managerial experience,” Carter said.

Carter said the Asia-Pacific is “the single most consequential region of the world for America’s future.”

U.S. Northern Command was established after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks to lead the Department of Defense homeland defense and to support the military’s response to national disasters.

The Pentagon’s Unified Command Plan distributes missions and geographic responsibilities among combatant commanders. Among six geographic commands is U.S. Pacific Command at Camp H.M. Smith, which is responsible for U.S. military activity over half the globe.

The Defense Department also has three functional commands, one of which is U.S. Special Operations Command.