Robin Fontes

Robin Louise Fontes[3] is a United States Army major general. In July 2017 she took command of Combined Security Transition Command – Afghanistan, becoming the highest-ranking female military officer in Afghanistan since the American invasion of that country in 2001. A mustang officer, Fontes was commissioned in 1986 and focused on Central Asia, eventually serving in Tajikistan, Pakistan, and India, including a few years in Afghanistan. She assumed her current position after the resignation of Michael Flynn from the Trump Administration ended her announced role as senior director for India, Pakistan and Central Asian Affairs on the United States National Security Council.

Robin L. Fontes
BornKuna, Idaho[1]
AllegianceUnited States
Service/branchUnited States Army
Years of service1981–present
Rank Major General
Commands heldCombined Security Transition Command – Afghanistan
Awards
[2]

Career

Early career

Fontes grew up in Treasure Valley and reports that she sought a military career ever since she was 12 years-old.[1] Enlisting in the United States Army Reserve in 1981, she graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1986 and was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the Military Police Corps.[4][5] She served as a platoon leader in Germany, later returning to West Point to serve as a Company Commander.[6] While a first lieutenant, she wrote two articles for Military Police, the official publication of her branch. The first article (in July 1988) was entitled "The 1987 BG Jeremiah P. Holland Award and the MP Company that Earned It." Her second (in June 1991) was called "MP Role in the Opening of the Berlin Wall."[7] She was selected for the Foreign Area Officer program in 1993, resulting in her attendance at the Defense Language Institute where she learned Russian.[6] She also learned Dari and Persian.[8] She would later also graduate from both the University of Washington (where she earned her Master's degree in International Studies) and the George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies.[4] In the late 1990s, Fontes served as a military liaison in Minsk. She spent a few years in Tajikistan serving first as a US military representative and later as the US Defense Attaché just as the Tajikistani Civil War was ending.[6][9]

As a field grade officer

Early in the Global War on Terror, Fontes served at US Central Command J5 overseeing issues of political-military cooperation in Afghanistan.[10] In June 2004, she was moved to Combined Forces Command - Afghanistan headquarters in Kabul and served under David Barno as the head of the CJ5 staff for political-military coordination. Her staff was responsible for keeping General Barno "on message", overseeing the policies impacting military operations, and performing liaison work with both the Afghan Ministry of Defense and United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan.[11] At the end of her first year in Afghanistan and following Karl Eikenberry's assumption of command from Barno, Fontes volunteered to lead the Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) in Tarinkot.[12] Daniel Green, the political adviser for the PRT, reported that though some Soldiers at the PRT had initial concerns due to her gender, those worries were shortly put to rest.[13] She had been active in engaging with the Afghan people. Green said that Fontes, then a Lieutenant Colonel, pitched in a few hundred dollars of her own money to host a lunch on the PRT for local Afghan leaders.[14] An article in Vanity Fair relates a story that she once refused to depart a meeting with Afghan elders in Chora District under threat of small arms fire, for fear of appearing weak in the face of the Taliban.[15] Green asserts that in early 2006, she survived the first suicide vehicle-borne improvised explosive device attack in Urozgan Province due in part to the device's failure to detonate all of the mortar shells of which it was comprised.[16] She departed Afghanistan in May 2006 to attend the US War College, graduating in 2007.[17][12] She had been promoted that year to colonel.[18] She was subsequently assigned as the chief of the American Security Assistance Office in Pakistan.[4]

Fontes, while in command of Regional Command-North, awards a Mongolian General Purpose Force officer with the non-article 5 NATO medal for his service near Mazar-i-Sharif.

In July 2011, Fontes began a one-year tour at Mazar-i-Sharif in charge of Regional Command North, the NATO command of occupation forces in Northern Afghanistan.[19] From 2012 to 2013, she was one of fifteen fellows at the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs.[20]

Career as a general officer

The United States Senate approved Fontes's promotion to brigadier general in 2014.[21] Following her 2014 graduation from the Defense Intelligence Agency's Joint Military Attaché School (where she was class leader), she was assigned as the US Defense Attaché to India. She was the first American general officer sent to India since the 1960s. She was also the first woman to hold that position.[22][23]

In February 2017, then-National Security Advisor Michael Flynn named Fontes, a colleague from his tenure as Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, to be the next senior director for India, Pakistan and Central Asian Affairs at United States National Security Council (NSC).[24][25] Anonymous sources within the Government of India told The Telegraph that they were hopeful Fontes's appointment in the White House would help convey New Delhi's concerns. Senior officials familiar with Fontes commented upon her understanding of India's security concerns vis-à-vis China and Pakistan; that she would be a friendly face among a Trump Administration cabinet mostly unknown to India.[26] With Flynn's subsequent ouster, Fontes's assignment to the NSC was cancelled and the position was filled by Lisa Curtis (a former CIA analyst and fellow at The Heritage Foundation) at the behest of Flynn's replacement, H. R. McMaster.[27][28][29]

In July 2017, Fontes took command of Combined Security Transition Command – Afghanistan, replacing Richard Kaiser. Concurrently, she also serves as a deputy Chief of Staff in charge of security assistance for the Resolute Support Mission.[30] Fontes is the highest-ranking female military officer in Afghanistan since the American invasion of that country in 2001.[31] Asked in November 2017 about her assignment, Fontes replied to Stars and Stripes that she hoped the public would judge her performance as an Army officer regardless of her gender. Despite the flood of negative comments Stars and Stripes reported they received in response to her appointment to CSTC-A, Fontes stated that she was not surprised. She said "if I worried about that, I wouldn't have time to do anything else."[19]

As of June 8, 2019 Fontes serves as senior defense official and defense attaché, U.S. Defense Attaché Office, India. On June 9, 2019, Fontes was named as senior defense official and defense attaché, U.S. Defense Attaché Office, Egypt.[32] In December 2019, her next assignment was instead changed to Deputy Commanding General for Operations, United States Army Cyber Command.[33]

Fontes is a founding lifetime member of the Foreign Area Officer Association.[34] She has said she plans to retire to Lowman, Idaho at the end of her military career.[1]

  • Fontes at Camp Eggers, Kabul, 15 June 2005
  • Fontes (center) presents a certificate to an Afghan National Policeman at Regional Training Center Konduz
  • Fontes (right) affixes the Regional Training Center – Kunduz patch onto a German officer's sleeve, symbolizing his assumption of command of the training site
  • Fontes (right), then a Colonel, is awarded the Legion of Merit

Citations
  1. Nelson, Don (August 7, 2017). "The Army's highest ranking female officer in Afghanistan won't forget her Idaho roots". KIVI-TV.
  2. "Commander CSTC-A; Maj. Gen. Robin L. Fontes (USA)". Resolute Support Mission. Retrieved February 2, 2018.
  3. "Robin Louise Fontes". West Point Association of Graduates. Retrieved March 30, 2019.
  4. Andriacco, Mike (July 7, 2011). "RSC-N says farewell to former commander, welcomes new". Defense Video & Imagery Distribution System.
  5. "PN1038 – Army; 99th Congress (1985–1986)". United States Congress. May 2, 1986.
  6. "Provincial Reconstruction Teams: Extending Afghan Government Influence Beyond Kabul". Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs.
  7. "Military Police Professional Bulletin Articles (1952–Present)" (PDF). Military Police Corps: 68. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  8. "Women in the Army: Profiles: MAJOR GENERAL Robin L. Fontes". army.mil. Retrieved April 17, 2018.
  9. Koontz 2008, p. 459.
  10. Koontz 2008, pp. 176–177.
  11. Koontz 2008, pp. 454–455.
  12. "BG Robin L. Fontes, Class of 2007". National War College (Press release). September 17, 2014. Archived from the original on August 16, 2017.
  13. Green 2012, pp. 79–80.
  14. Green 2012, p. 101.
  15. Langwiesche, William (February 2010). "THE DISTANT EXECUTIONER". Vanity Fair.
  16. Green 2012, pp. 144,161.
  17. Koontz 2008, p. 453.
  18. Congressional Record. 152. Government Publishing Office. January 2007. p. 740. ISBN 9780160868245.
  19. Wellman, Philip Walter (November 25, 2017). "Highest-ranking female officer in Afghanistan would rather talk about war than gender". Stars and Stripes.
  20. "WCFIA FELLOWS ALUMNI REUNION AND CONFERENCE, April 18–20, 2013; Searching for Balance in an Unstable World" (PDF). Harvard University.
  21. "Executive Session Executive Calendar". Congressional Record. Government Publishing Office. 160 (100): S4089–S4092. June 25, 2014.
  22. "Joint Military Attaché School graduates newest class, sends first general officer attaché to India in 50 years". Defense Intelligence Agency (Press release). December 10, 2014.
  23. "Blog: Fontes Assigned to U.S. Defense Attaché Office, India". Signal magazine. November 25, 2014.
  24. Press Trust of India (Feb 15, 2017). "Brigadier General Robin Fontes to head South Asia desk of US National Security Council". The Economic Times.
  25. "General Officer Assignments; Release No: NR-057-17" (Press release). United States Department of Defense. February 14, 2017.
  26. Kasturi, Charu Sudan (February 15, 2017). "Friendly face in Trump team". The Telegraph.
  27. Rogin, Josh (April 4, 2017). "McMaster staffing NSC with traditional GOP foreign policy hands". The Washington Post.
  28. Shapiro, Ben (April 5, 2017). "Bannon OUT At National Security Council". The Daily Wire.
  29. Iqbal, Anwar (April 7, 2017). "Changes in White House to increase pressure on Pakistan". Dawn.
  30. Faramarz, Samim. "Afghan Officials Commend Outgoing RS Commander". TOLO News.
  31. Wellman, Phillip Walter (July 15, 2017). "New commander is highest ranking female officer in Afghanistan since war began". Stars & Stripes. Army Maj. Gen. Robin Fontes on Saturday assumed the highest position of any female servicemember in Afghanistan since the war began
  32. Release No: NR-163-19 (June 9, 2019) The chief of staff, Army announces the following officer assignment Maj. Gen. Robin L. Fontes
  33. "General Officer Assignments". December 19, 2019. Retrieved December 29, 2019.
  34. "The FAO Association salutes its founding lifetime members" (PDF). F.A.O. Journal. 1 (2): 22. March 1997.

References
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