In high school, Robin Peterson ’22 wanted to attend one of the military academies. She received a nomination to the Air Force Academy about the same time as she discovered CMC. Robin held off applying to CMC in hopes of an appointment. She was poised to visit the campus when she received a rejection notice from the Academy. After her campus visit she concluded CMC was the place she was meant to be. CMC met all her criteria: an amazing government/public policy program, the D.C. experience, track & field opportunity in her specialty (pole vault) and ROTC. She was especially in tune with the Athenaeum and loved to sit at the head table and ask tough questions to the presenter. Robin’s father suggested she look into joining the ROTC program as her grandfather had as it was an excellent way to pay for college and have a job waiting after graduation.
During the summer between her Freshman and Sophomore year, Robin applied for and was accepted as an Appel Fellow. This internship required her to learn Arabic, the third most popular language in the world, travel to Jordan, and document her trip in a writing assignment. She was recommended by Professor Heather Ferguson, from whom she had taken a writing seminar on History of the Middle East. The experience was a maturing one. She met and interviewed people who had been collateral damage of war. It shaped how she thought about war, its morality, and ethics, and impacted how she viewed her future self as an officer in the Army.
In Fall Semester as a Sophomore, the last semester before Covid, she attended the D.C. program and worked on Capitol Hill for Colorado Senator, Michael Bennett. She gave tours, learned about the legislative process, how different offices interact, and came face-to-face with both international and national issues that inundated the news.
In her Junior year, Robin attended CMC off-campus taking online classes during the Covid year. While living in an apartment off campus, she formed life-long friendships with her four roommates, three of whom were also ROTC cadets: Lauryn Jeans ’22, Halle Rodman ’24, and Cooper McKenna ’24. Robin returned to campus for her Senior year and enjoyed being the Public Affairs Officer for the Cadet Corps. In that role she fielded questions from other classmates, both male and female about joining ROTC. From the beginning her branch choice was Military Intelligence, which she knew was extremely competitive. Encouraged to list offer an alternate, she declined stating “No, I’m going to do my own thing!” As a testament to the training she received in CMC’s ROTC Program and as a Distinguished Military Graduate (DMG), she received her first choice, Military Intelligence, and accepted a 4-year active duty obligation.
Robin’s senior thesis was titled “The Faces of War: Reintroducing Women’s Narratives in War.” She researched the stories of women in the U.S War in Afghanistan. Her research required her to reach out to strangers and conduct interviews. She amassed a collection of stories from Afghans, American service members, military spouses. and discussed their role during the decades-long wars in Afghanistan. This experience proved to be a valuable skill she would find helpful as an Army Officer in the Military Intelligence Corps.
Entering active duty in August 2022, Robin reported to Ft. Huachuca, in Arizona. She spent 4 ½ months in the Basic Officer Leaders Course (BOLC) and admits that the initial experience was overwhelming. She had to figure out what to do and sometimes “just wing it.” During her first week on post, she visited the commissary to buy some staples. She met a Vietnam veteran who saw her shiny new bars and asked, “Do you know what we called Lieutenants in Vietnam?” His reply was terse: “Targets!”
Gaining insight from others who had gone through the course she applied herself to the task of processing battlefield intelligence, mastering the responsibilities of the S2 Staff (Intelligence) at the Battalion and Brigade levels, and lots and lots of map reading. She also found time to meet her future husband, Finian. The pair were forced to conduct a long distance relationship, he was stationed at Ft. Bliss, Texas and she at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska. It would be 2 years before the couple could finally tie the knot.
Robin was assigned to the 11th Airborne Corps in Alaska, so it was necessary that she become Airborne qualified. So immediately after completing the MI Course, in 2023 Robin traveled to Ft. Benning, Georgia to go through the rigorous Airborne Course. Robin reports that she had always been a runner so the daily 5 mile runs were not a problem for her. She loved the program and went through with three other women. They received no accommodation from the instructors. She completed her 5 jumps and earned her paratrooper wings. Robin notes that she was a bit nervous on her 5th jump because the jumper in front of her broke his leg upon landing and the jumper behind had to pull his reserve parachute.
Arriving in Anchorage, Robin had an embarrassing experience in her first week. While in-processing and drawing winter gear she found that the cold weather long underwear was made for man’s figure. She innocently inquired of the NCO in charge at the Central Issue Facility if they had long johns designed for women. Her request was misinterpreted and was thought to be a complaint against the facility. The complaint was escalated up the chain of command to the highest level and it seemed everyone on base heard a version of the story. After explaining her side of the story, the issue was resolved and Robin accepted the underwear that had been given to her, albeit very baggy.
Eventually Robin was assigned as the platoon leader of the UAS unit (Unmanned Aerial System = drones.) She got along extremely well with the 30 men and one woman in her unit. Because of the technical nature of the drones, the unit was top heavy with Warrant Officers and Senior NCOs who knew much more about flying the UAS than she.
Robin planned the unit’s exercises. She was responsible for four mid-size drones (also known as RQ-7B Shadow UAS) that are used for reconnaissance missions. The drones were from the Afghanistan war era and did not respond well to cold weather. Robin established excellent rapport with her soldiers and found the experience to be wonderful. Winter training was conducted at Ft. Greely, Alaska and Robin and her drones experienced extreme weather conditions of -40 degrees below. She endured one arduous, freezing, three-day, non-stop convoy - a trip that she thought would never end with several vehicles sidelined because of the extreme cold. Robin found that her soldiers loved to tease her and for her birthday present they removed the wheels from her chair and wrapped them in duct tape. During slow times during field exercises, Robin admits she was a “deadly spade player and always came out on top.” She also found time to go after Alaska’s famous King Salmon and successfully landed a 40 pounder.
In July 2024, Robin and her husband, Finn, were finally able to get married. The Army then moved them to Washington DC where Robin continues as an AS3 or Organizational Contingency Planner. She looks forward to going back to Fort Huachuca next year to attend the MI Advanced Course.
In her spare time Robin took pleasure in coaching a local high school track and field team. She and her husband participate in a mix of CrossFit activities to stay in shape. She adores her cat, Luna, and her miniature Australian shepherd dog Rory.
Robin’s List of Life Lessons Learned reflect her commitment to the Army and efforts to become a standout leader:
- Observe other leaders. Identify the good and bad ones and imitate the best leadership styles.
- Have empathy as a leader. Get to know your soldiers on a personal level, connect with them, and become a real person to them.
- Time is a valued currency. We can’t get more of it. Be respectful and mindful of others’ time and use your own for the things that really matter.
Robin comments that “Being a platoon leader was a transformative experience for me and I learned the importance of getting to know the people I worked with. They made me a better leader.”