Collins Joins HII Board of Directors

Collins served in the U.S. Army and the Mississippi National Guard for over 35 years, holding numerous command and staff positions. He retired on August 31 after serving five years as the Commanding General of both the Mississippi Army and Air National Guard. He currently serves as CEO of MINACT Incorporated, a Mississippi-based contractor that supports the U.S. Department of Labor’s Job Corps program in several states throughout the country.

Collins previously commanded the 155th Brigade Combat Team of the Mississippi National Guard, deploying to Iraq, where he was responsible for security operations in the southern and western provinces. He was promoted to Brigadier General while serving in Iraq in 2005 and is the first African-American to attain the rank of general in the history of the Mississippi National Guard.

After retiring from the Army in 2007, he was nominated to serve on Mississippi’s Worker’s Compensation Commission by former Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour and served as the commission’s representative of labor.

Collins received a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Mississippi, a master’s in business administration from Jackson State University and a master’s degree in strategic studies from the U.S. Army War College. He is an inductee to the University of Mississippi Alumni Hall of Fame.