Collins started his U.S. Coast Guard career as a deck watch officer and first lieutenant aboard the cutterVigilant. Following that assignment, he served a two-year tour as commanding officer of the cutter, a patrol boat homeported in Charleston, South Carolina. His shore operational assignments include Deputy Commander, Group St. Petersburg, Florida, and Commander of Coast Guard Group and Captain of the Port, Long Island Sound, in New Haven, Connecticut. Prior to his promotion to Flag Officer in 1994, he served as Chief, Programs Division at Coast Guard Headquarters, and then as Deputy Chief of Staff of the Coast Guard. From 1998 to 2000 he served as Commander, Pacific Area and Eleventh Coast Guard District, where he developed the successful Coast Guard response to the increase in illegal drug and migrant smuggling traffic in the Eastern Pacific. His other flag assignments include serving as Commander, Fourteenth Coast Guard District in Honolulu, Hawaii and Chief, Office of Acquisition at Coast Guard Headquarters where he managed the acquisition of twelve major systems worth nearly $3 billion and laid the foundation for the ill-fated Integrated Deepwater System project, which was intended to modernize the ships, aircraft and sensors that the Coast Guard uses to perform its many open ocean missions.
Vice-Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard
Prior to becoming Commandant, he served as Vice Commandant of the United States Coast Guard, the number two post, from 2000 to 2002 where he created the Innovation Council, spearheaded service-wide process improvement initiatives and directed system enhancements as the Coast Guard Acquisition Executive.
Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard
Collins served as the 22nd Commandant of the Coast Guard from May 2002 to May 2006, and guided the U.S. Coast Guard in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks of 2001. As part of this effort to tighten maritime security, Collins encouraged people involved in the maritime industry and the recreational boating industry to report suspicious activity to the National Response Center. This program was extended and formalized as America's Waterway Watch in 2005.
Other activities
Collins serves or has served as a director on the boards of numerous companies such as EID Passport Inc., USIS Inc., and Terma North America, and the U.S. Coast Guard Foundation. He consults in areas of national security and maritime security, safety, and environmental protection. He served on the board of SPADAC from 2007 to 2010 as a key independent director, having been recruited by CEO Mark Dumas to provide balance to the board after SPADAC raised $7.5M in Venture Capital. SPADAC later was renamed to GeoEye Analytics, Inc. after its acquisition then ultimately DigitalGlobe Analytics, Inc..
