I muri i tana tohu i Syracuse, ko ia tetahi o nga wahine e wha i tohua mo te Akoranga Paerata Paerata i te Vance Air Force Base, Oklahoma. I muri i tana whiwhinga i ona parirau paerata, i noho ia ki Vance mo nga tau e toru hei kaiako kaiako T-38 Talon i mua i tana whakawhiti ki te C-141 Starlifter i Travis Air Force Base, California. Mai i te 1986 ki te 1989, i tukuna ia ki te US Air Force Academy i Colorado, i reira ia he kaiako awhina i te pāngarau me te kaiako kaiako T-41. I te 1989, ko Collins te tuarua o nga kaiarataki wahine ki te haere ki te US Air Force Test Pilot School me te tohu 89B. I tohua ia mo te kaupapa astronaut i te 1990. I marenatia a Collins ki a Pat Youngs i te 1987; e rua nga tamariki.
e toru tau