Thomas H. Collins | |
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Collins during his tenure as a U.S. Coast Guard admiral.
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Born |
Stoughton, Massachusetts, U.S. |
June 25, 1946
Allegiance | United States of America |
Service/branch | United States Coast Guard |
Years of service | 1968-2006 |
Rank | Admiral |
Commands held |
Commandant of the Coast Guard Pacific Area and Eleventh Coast Guard District USCGC Cape Morgan (WPB-95313) |
Battles/wars | September 11 attacks |
Other work | SPADAC, Inc.,SureID, USIS Inc., Terma North America, U.S. Coast Guard Foundation |
Thomas Hansen Collins (born June 25, 1946) is a former United States Coast Guard admiral who served as the 22nd Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard from May 2002 to May 2006.
A native of Stoughton, Massachusetts, Collins graduated from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in 1968 and later served as a faculty member within the Humanities Department. He earned a Master of Arts degree in Liberal Studies from Wesleyan University and a Master of Business Administration from the University of New Haven.
Collins started his U.S. Coast Guard career as a deck watch officer and first lieutenant aboard the cutter Vigilant. Following that assignment, he served a two-year tour as commanding officer of the cutter USCGC Cape Morgan, 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 the Coast Guard’s Deputy Chief of Staff.
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.