Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh is expected to retire this summer, marking the end of his four-year tenure.
Two likely contenders to replace him are Gen. Lori Robinson, head of Pacific Air Forces, and Gen. Darren McDew, head of U.S. Transportation Command, according to Air Force Times' sister publication Defense News.
Robinson was commissioned in 1982 through the Reserve Officer Training Corps program at the University of New Hampshire, according to her official biography. She is rated as a senior air battle manager with more than 900 flight hours in the E-3B/C and E-8C. She pinned on her fourth star and took command at PACAF in October 2014.
In November, a reporter asked Robinson if being a "non-pilot and a non-man" affected her ability to lead at PACF. She replied that during her career as an air battle manager, she has had extensive experience with theater-wide operations and working with U.S. allies.
"As far as the woman part of it all, as I often say to people, I'm the commander at Pacific Air Forces; I'm a general of the United States Air Force; I'm an airman, and I happen to be a woman," Robinson said at the Nov. 18 Defense Writers Group breakfast.
Robinson declined to comment on the prospect of her becoming the next chief of staff.
"I serve at the pleasure of the president of the United States, and I do have 52 percent of the Earth that I'm concerned about," she said. "I do focus on that as the air component commander for Adm. [Harry B.] Harris each and every day. It keeps me pretty busy."
McDew graduated from Virginia Military Institute in 1982 and is rated as a command pilot with more than 3,300 flight hours in the T-37B, T-38A, KC-135A/R, C-17A, C0141B, C-9, C-21, C-130E/H and UH-1N, according to his official biography. He has led TRANSCOM since August.
"Going forward, I see opportunities in evolving the command to thrive in an increasingly dynamic operational environment and ensuring we can always recruit, develop and retain the best talent America has to offer," McDew said in a statement to Air Force Times.
Before taking the helm at TRANSCOM, he had been head of Air Mobility Command since May 2014. In other previous assignments, he served as an Air Force aide to President Clinton from 1994 to 1996 and as a Senate liaison for the service from 2003 to 2005.
"As commander of United States Transportation Command, I am focused on ensuring today's readiness and advocating for future capabilities that enable us to project forces at the time and place of our nation's choosing," McDew said in the statement. "To that end, I am concerned about our ability to operate in an increasingly contested cyber domain and maintaining a sufficient pool of U.S. mariners to support our nation's strategic sealift requirement."
