[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 110 (Friday, July 8, 2016)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1076]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      ADJUTANT GENERAL COLLINS OF MISSISSIPPI ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. STEVEN M. PALAZZO

                             of mississippi

                    in the house of representatives

                          Friday, July 8, 2016

  Mr. PALAZZO. Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to 
recognize Major General Augustus L. Collins, the adjutant general of 
Mississippi, for his service to the Mississippi National Guard. General 
Collins announced his retirement July 5, 2016 and will be succeeded by 
Brigadier Gen. Janson D. Boyles on September 1, 2016.
  Currently overseeing the Mississippi Military Department and serving 
as the commander of the Mississippi Army and Air National Guard, 
Collins will retire his time in uniform after 35 years of loyal service 
to Mississippi and the United States. A Booneville, Mississippi native, 
General Collins was appointed as the adjutant general on January 11, 
2012, by Governor Phil Bryant and is in charge of 12,275 Citizen 
Soldiers and Airmen.
  Collins' career began in March 1977 as a private with the Mississippi 
Army National Guard's Company B, 1st Battalion, 198th Armor Regiment. 
Several years later, in 1980, General Collins completed Officer 
Candidate School and served in command and staff positions on the 
company, battalion, and brigade levels. He also served on the adjutant 
general's primary staff as a traditional and active Guard--Reserve 
Soldier.
  General Collins served on active duty in Operations Desert Shield and 
Storm, and commanded the 155th Armored Brigade Combat Team during 
Operation Iraqi Freedom from 2004-2006. This was the largest 
mobilization of troops from Mississippi since World War II. Collins was 
then promoted to brigadier general in May of 2005 in Iraq. In 2012, he 
was then appointed to his current position of adjutant general.
  Collins is a distinct and resilient leader that has worked alongside 
many soldiers, airmen and civilians. I thank him for his dedication to 
Mississippi and America over the last 35 years. He is an inductee into 
the University of Mississippi Alumni Hall of Fame and a 2006 inductee 
into the Mississippi Military Academy Officer Candidate School Hall of 
Fame. He is a highly decorated official, having earned prestigious 
awards from Mississippi as well as numerous nationally recognized 
awards. General Collins has an incomparable record of leadership and I 
sincerely appreciate his long-standing efforts to protect the state and 
people of Mississippi.
  I would like to extend by best wishes to Major General Augustus L. 
Collins upon his retirement from the Mississippi National Guard and 
future endeavors.

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