Director
Brief info
Brigadier General Collins was raised in Kirtland, Ohio. He is a 1981 graduate of University of Mississippi and a 1984 graduate of the University of Memphis School of Law. He has a LL.M (International Law) from Tulane University. Upon completion of the Naval Justice School, he served on active duty for 28 years and was assigned to several domestic and overseas locations. On numerous occasions he provided legal advice to senior officials, to include the Secretary of the Navy and the Commandant of the Marine Corps, concerning significant military justice cases, U.S. treaty obligations, domestic law, operational issues, and international law. Leadership responsibilities include managing the Navy – Marine Corps Appellate Review Activity, the Commandant’s uniformed legal office, and the daily operations of an air station located in Japan. He served as the Staff Judge Advocate for 1st Marine Wing and III Marine Expeditionary Force in Okinawa, Japan, and as the Deputy Staff Judge Advocate to the Commandant of the Marine Corps, and later as the Assistant Judge Advocate General of the Navy (Military Law).
Career assignments: Brigadier General Collins was commissioned in 1981 through the Platoon Leaders Class, the officers commissioning program of the U.S. Marine Corps, and attended the Lawyer’s Course at Naval Justice School, Newport, after attending The Basic School at Quantico and before reporting to Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune for various assignments as an attorney with titles of Defense Counsel, Legal Assistance Officer, and Special Assistant to the U.S. Attorney. Brigadier General Collins later served the 4th Marine Division as a Military Justice Officer; the 3D Force Service Support Group in Okinawa as Senior Defense Counsel; and as the Assistant Staff Judge Advocate and Deputy Staff Judge Advocate, respectively, for the headquarters staffs of U.S. Central Command and the U.S. Marine Forces Atlantic. He was both the Station Judge Advocate and the Executive Officer of the Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan, and the Staff Judge Advocate for both the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing and the III Marine Expeditionary Force in Okinawa, Japan.
After serving six years in Japan, Brigadier General Collins received orders to serve at Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps for duties as the Deputy Staff Judge Advocate to the Commandant of the Marine Corps. Prior to retiring in 2011, he was the Assistant Judge Advocate General of the Navy for Military Justice and was assigned to the Navy-Marine Corps Appellate Review Activity in Washington, D.C. After retiring from the Marine Corps, he was the Executive Vice President for the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society, Arlington, Virginia and served as a Board Member for the Navy Mutual Aid Association.
Personal Decorations: Legion of Merit (three awards), Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, Joint Commendation Medal, and the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal.
Education: Culver Military Academy; BBA University of Mississippi; J.D., University of Memphis; and Master of Laws in International Law, Tulane University.