#Remembering the Warlord

Col. John M. Collins retired from the Army in late June 1972 on a Friday. The following Monday, he began his new job as a senior specialist in national defense in the Congressional Research Service, a nonpartisan research and analysis agency for the U.S. Congress. He was 51. The day after Labor Day

Like many of his friends, I first “met” John Collins online. In early 2004, I was serving as the operations officer of a tank battalion task force in Al Anbar, Iraq. I was mentioned in a New York Times article, and soon after received an email from a man who identified himself as “WARLORD.” John

Editor’s Note: As part of “Remembering the Warlord,” a series honoring the memory of John Collins, we are republishing remarks by Collins delivered at Georgetown University in 2012 and republished on War on the Rocks the following year. Please click here to read the rest of the series.   Not many

Editor’s Note: This is the second installment of “Remembering the Warlord,” a series dedicated to the memory of John Collins. Read the introduction to the series here. I was introduced to Col. (ret.) John Collins in 2012 when I joined the august ranks of the Warlord Loop, a unique national security

Henry Ford once said, “Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is probably the reason why so few engage in it.” John Collins, who passed away recently at the age of 97, agreed. Most people knew him as a notable national security thinker and founder of the Warlord Loop. I knew him as Dad. […]