Collins learned to fly at Vance Air Force Base in 1952, and worked as a test pilot for the Central Intelligence Agency’s “OXCART” and “Operation Black Shield” programs. He tested a new class of high-altitude spy plane, (the A-12  and SR-71) 80,000 feet over North Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and North Korea. Collins received three Distinguished Flying Crosses, the Silver Star, and the CIA Star for Valor. He became Deputy Chief of Staff for intelligence in the 15th Air Force, and retired in 1980. Because he was involved in illegal surveillance that violated international law, his identity was not declassified until 2007. His flights have been revealed in the International Spy Museum in Washington, D.C., documented in a book, filmed by the History Channel, and featured in the National Geographic Magazine. He was nominated to the National Aviation Hall of Fame in 2008.