General Lori J. Robinson — a new kind of Warrior!

As a former lieutenant in the U.S. Marines and a platoon commander who served in Iraq — and as a woman — I cheer the nomination of General Lori J. Robinson in her new command, the first woman to lead all military forces in North America.

I also say, “It’s about time.”

General Robinson’s nomination comes only four months after all branches of the military finally lifted the ban on women in combat, the Marines being the last and most reluctant to comply. I cheered that decision as well.

I’m not surprised at the Marines’ hesitation. They often lag behind the other branches of the military when it comes to changes — I should say progress — regarding the inclusion of women in the Corps. Currently 15% of all members of the military are women, but only 7% of Marines are women.

I was ahead of my time. In 2005, when I served in Iraq, I saw my share of combat. I led combined platoons totaling 150 Marines providing support for the election of the Iraqi Council of Representatives as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom. I also escorted several female insurgents in the middle of the night to local government officials as part of an exchange to guarantee that the elections would take place without conflict or interruption. Thankfully, I never got involved in a firefight or engaged in hand-to-hand combat, but if I’d had to, I would have been more than prepared.

I was a Marine. I was a warrior. Nobody gave me a break because I was a woman. In fact, when it came to physical fitness, I was in a league of my own. I vowed to keep my Marines in shape and I did so not only by drilling my platoon, but by leading by example. My grueling, predawn physical training sessions became legendary. My gunnery sergeant often told me to slow down, to take it easy on my men. They were all men and many of themcouldn’t keep up with me.

I feel strongly that if given the chance, women can succeed as well as men in any environment, from the boardroom to the battlefield. In fact, while women and men are physiologically different, our fitness aptitude is very similar. But we do offer skill sets, different and essential, that are especially critical in the new world we live in, where we are fighting new kinds of wars. Women tend to approach challenges more holistically. We typically can see the bigger picture, avoiding dangerous tunnel vision.

We have the ability to use our intuition in addition to our intellect when it comes to solving complex problems. We embrace inclusion and collaboration. We tend to be more empathetic, more nurturing, and less impetuous than men. I suggest that as women become more prevalent in the military that men consider what women can do rather than what we can’t.

Some suggest that women will struggle in combat. I refute this. I did struggle during my deployment, but not with performing my military duty. I struggled with an eating disorder. I still did my job and did it well. I was an excellent officer. I just happened to be sick. A Marine in my platoon recently told me after reading my upcoming memoir: “I had no idea you were struggling the way you were. That is mind blowing. You had bulimia and you still kicked our asses.”

Ultimately, when I realized that I could no longer lead my Marines to my 100% standard, my female nature took over. I decided to take care of myself and seek help. Asking out of my command for a medical reason, especially this one, became one of the most agonizing experiences of my life, unfortunately made more difficult because of my commanding officers’ lack of knowledge about my disease, what it entailed, and how to deal with it. Sadly, in more than one case, my superiors didn’t even know what an eating disorder was. All of these superior officers were men.

No doubt, Marines are tough. Marines are also human. Since leaving the Corps and growing my practice as a doctor of physical therapy for wounded warriors and adaptive athletes, and “coming out” about my disease, I have had many former military, men and women, come out to me about their struggles with eating issues, alcoholism, and other addictions. To my surprise, almost all were men. Not to my surprise, many admitted that the hardest thing for them to do was to ask for help.

I hope when General Robinson takes over her command, she will inspire more women to join the military, who will eventually become officers, bringing with them a new and much-needed philosophy: it’s not about gender, it’s about doing the job.

Theresa Larson, former Marine Platoon Leader, author of “Warrior”