[2] He graduated from the United States Military Academy, West Point, New York, with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1938 and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the infantry.

Upon reviewing some of the more optimistic portions of his predecessor General William R. Peers' debriefing report, he questioned the existence of any discernible progress during the past two years.

"Frankly," Collins observed, "I do not know what happened between 1968–1970," believing that "if the ARVN combat units had improved as much as indicated by General Peers, somewhere along the line they had again slipped back a long way."

Upon his arrival in February 1970, Collins judged that the local Vietnamese forces were "woefully weak because of lack of leadership at the regimental and battalion level," and he exhibited little of Peers' optimism.

[7] This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Army Center of Military History.