Petty Officer First Class Robin Nicole Collins was born on August 9, 1994, and raised in Manchester, Missouri.
As an athlete through her school years, Collins’ biggest passions were cross country running and lacrosse. She graduated from Parkway South High School in 2013. After graduation, she and her twin Kristin attended Stetson University for two years before transferring over to Eastern Florida State.
While attending Eastern Florida, Collins and her sister both decided to join the military. In January 2016, she enlisted in the United States Navy as a Cryptologic Technician.
At her first station, she was promoted to Third Class Petty Officer and Second Class Petty Officer. She had a tenacious work ethic and took on challenges far beyond her paygrade and at one point led a team of two to complete the workload of a 14-Sailor division to ensure her work center was ready and capable of getting underway.
In the time she wasn’t working, Collins loved to explore. At her first station in Japan, she jumped at opportunities to go ice wall climbing, hiking, river rafting, skiing, and zip lining. After her tour in 7th Fleet, she was selected for Advancement to First Class Petty Officer, and reported to Naples, Italy in September 2020. While here, she visited Florence, Rome, Matera, and hiked Mount Vesuvio.
On July 18, 2021, Collins was participating in a mission in an undisclosed country when a freak windstorm hit the structure her team was operating from. The chimney of the building collapsed, killing Collins who was only three days into her deployment. Citing operational security, the Navy declined to say where she was deployed at the time of her death. Petty Officer First Class Robin Nicole Collins was 26.
Collins was remembered as a genuine leader who truly cared for people. She threw baby showers and gender reveal parties for her fellow sailors, taught friends how to bake, and even handmade her sailors’ favorite desserts for their birthday. Collins is remembered for her beautiful smile and outgoing nature that always put others before herself.
Sources:
https://www.baue.com/obituaries/robin-nicole-collins
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