KIRTLAND AFB, N.M — An Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center colonel has been nominated for the rank of brigadier general.

Col. Heath Collins was nominated by the President for the promotion the Air Force announced today, pending Senate confirmation.

Since February 2016, Collins has been the AFNWC system program manager for the acquisition of the new Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent, the first intercontinental ballistic missile to be developed since the 1980s. His program office at Hill AFB, Utah, manages the development, deployment and sustainment of next-generation ICBM systems, an estimated $85-billion portfolio.

“This is an awesome accomplishment for Heath,” said Maj. Gen. Shaun Morris, AFNWC commander, “but also reflects on the fantastic work being accomplished by the GBSD team.”

Prior to his current assignment, Collins was the deputy director for Remote Sensing Systems at the Space and Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles AFB, California. While there, he provided the nation space-based missile warning and defense systems, as well as battlespace, intelligence and weather-monitoring capabilities.

His career has spanned a wide variety of assignments, encompassing tactical air-to-air missiles; electronic countermeasures; space; radar; and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR). Collins also served in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence, overseeing the department’s Airborne ISR, Space and Special Programs.

Collins is a graduate of the Air Command and Staff College and the Industrial College of the Armed Forces. He has master’s degrees from Florida State University, Air University and National Defense University.

He entered the Air Force in 1993, receiving his commission through the ROTC program at Clarkson University, Potsdam, New York, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering.