Tim Collins (British Army officer)

Infobox Military Person


name=Tim Collins
lived=1960
|caption=
nicknames=
placeofbirth=Belfast
placeofdeath=
allegiance=United Kingdom
branch=British Army
serviceyears=1981 - 2004
rank=Colonel
unit=
commands=C/o 1st Battalion, Royal Irish Regiment
battles=Iraq War
awards=Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire
relations=
laterwork=Colonel Tim Collins OBE (born Belfast, Northern Ireland, April 1960) is a former colonel in the British Army. He is best known for his role in the Iraq War in 2003, and his inspirational eve-of-battle speech, a copy of which apparently hangs in the White House's Oval Office.

Early life

Collins was born into a Protestant (Presbyterian) family and raised in Northern Ireland, where he grew up during the very worst of the Troubles. His secondary education was at the Royal Belfast Academical Institution - universally known as "Inst" - before he attended Queen's University of Belfast, where he gained a degree in social sciences. His school career was notable not so much for high academic achievement as for a focussed involvement with the Inst Combined Cadet Force (CCF) contingent and the school Rifle Club, which he captained at Bisley. Collins was notable for solemn determination, considerable achievement, and an impatiently sceptical attitude towards authority, a combination of traits which later brought him success as a regimental soldier and occasioned abrasive relationships with some superior officers.

Military career

After graduating from university, Collins was accepted into the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst from which he was commissioned into the Royal Signals. He transferred to the Royal Irish Rangers in 1982. Later, in 1994, he graduated as Master of Arts after completing a course at the Army Command and Staff College.

He served in Germany, Cyprus, the Falkland Islands, and Gibraltar. Collins also completed two tours of duty in his native Northern Ireland, in south Armagh and eastern Tyrone. He passed selection into 22 SAS in 1988, going on to serve two operational tours with the regiment and one tour at HQ Special Forces in Duke of York Barracks, London. Collins was appointed commanding officer of the 1st Battalion, Royal Irish Regiment in 2001, and his character and determination earned him the nickname "Nails" among his men. It was in the capacity of 1 R Irish's commanding officer that he rose to prominence while serving in Iraq.

Eve-of-battle speech

As Lieutenant Colonel (Commanding Officer) of the 1st Battalion, Royal Irish Regiment of the British Army, Collins gave a rousing eve-of-battle speech to his troops in Kuwait on Wednesday 19 March 2003. The speech was extemporised, and was recorded in shorthand by a single journalist, Sarah Oliver. No recording or film of the speech appears to exist. [cite news | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/3608181.stm | title = Iraq war colonel awarded OBE | work = BBC News | date = 2004-04-07 | accessdate = 2007-11-16 ]

It was said that U.S. President George W. Bush subsequently had a copy of the speech tacked up on the wall of the Oval Office; and commentators claim to have detected a number of Biblical and Shakespearian influences.

peech excerpt

From the speech:cquote|We go to liberate not to conquer. We will not fly our flags in their country. We are entering Iraq to free a people and the only flag which will be flown in that ancient land is their own. Show respect for them.

There are some who are alive at this moment who will not be alive shortly. Those who do not wish to go on that journey, we will not send. As for the others I expect you to rock their world. Wipe them out if that is what they choose. But if you are ferocious in battle remember to be magnanimous in victory.

Iraq is steeped in history. It is the site of the Garden of Eden, of the Great Flood and the birthplace of Abraham. Tread lightly there. You will see things that no man could pay to see and you will have to go a long way to find a more decent, generous and upright people than the Iraqis. You will be embarrassed by their hospitality even though they have nothing. Don't treat them as refugees for they are in their own country. Their children will be poor, in years to come they will know that the light of liberation in their lives was brought by you.

If there are casualties of war then remember that when they woke up and got dressed in the morning they did not plan to die this day. Allow them dignity in death. Bury them properly and mark their graves.

It is my foremost intention to bring every single one of you out alive but there may be people among us who will not see the end of this campaign. We will put them in their sleeping bags and send them back. There will be no time for sorrow.

The enemy should be in no doubt that we are his nemesis and that we are bringing about his rightful destruction. There are many regional commanders who have stains on their souls and they are stoking the fires of hell for Saddam. He and his forces will be destroyed by this coalition for what they have done. As they die they will know their deeds have brought them to this place. Show them no pity.

It is a big step to take another human life. It is not to be done lightly. I know of men who have taken life needlessly in other conflicts, I can assure you they live with the Mark of Cain upon them. If someone surrenders to you then remember they have that right in international law and ensure that one day they go home to their family.

The ones who wish to fight, well, we aim to please.

If you harm the regiment or its history by over-enthusiasm in killing or in cowardice, know it is your family who will suffer. You will be shunned unless your conduct is of the highest for your deeds will follow you down through history. We will bring shame on neither our uniform or our nation.

[Regarding the use by Saddam of chemical or biological weapons] It is not a question of if, it's a question of when. We know he has already devolved the decision to lower commanders, and that means he has already taken the decision himself. If we survive the first strike we will survive the attack.

As for ourselves, let's bring everyone home and leave Iraq a better place for us having been there.

Our business now is north.

The "Mark of Cain" line from the speech inspired the title of the 2007 Film4 Productions drama "The Mark of Cain". In the film a commanding officer makes a speech based on Collins' to his men. [cite news | url = http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2007/04/03/do0304.xml | title = Why I was driven to write a soldier's tale | first = Tony | last = Marchant | authorlink = Tony Marchant | work = The Daily Telegraph | date = 2007-04-03 | accessdate = 2007-11-16 ]

False accusations from Iraq

Collins was promoted to full colonel after the Iraq war, and was accused by US Army reservist Major Re Biastre of the mistreatment of Iraqi civilians and prisoners of war. Following an investigation by the Special Investigation Branch of the Royal Military Police he was cleared of any wrongdoing. He later won substantial undisclosed libel damages from both the "Sunday Express" and the "Sunday Mirror" newspapers. [cite news | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/3593027.stm BBC News | title = Colonel wins libel damages | work = BBC News | date = 2004-04-02 | accessdate = 2007-11-16 ]

On 31 October, 2003 it was announced he was to be made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire, for services to the British Army, and he received his OBE on 7 April, 2004.

Post-military career

In January 2004, Collins announced his resignation from the army, citing bureaucracy, chronic underfunding, and the MoD's lack of support over the mistreatment allegations. Later the same year he published his military autobiography, "Rules of Engagement" (Hodder), which was generally well received by reviewers but regarded as disappointingly anodyne by some supporters.

Collins has been approached by both the Conservative Party and the Ulster Unionist Party to run for Parliament. As of 2005, he has yet to make a commitment to either party, or to party politics at all, but has expressed an interest in facing this challenge in the future. During the 2005 Ulster Unionist leadership election he was cited by a number of prominent Ulster Unionists as an outside figure who would make a good leader, but Collins declined as he felt he had "no experience of politics." [cite news | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/4072956.stm | title = UUP peer hints at outsider leader | work = BBC News | date = 2005-06-08 | accessdate = 2007-11-16 ]

Collins is a signatory of the founding statement of principles of the Henry Jackson Society, which advocates a pro-active approach to the spread of liberal democracy through the world. He has recently been critical of the Iraq war: "the UK and US pour blood and treasure into overseas campaigns which seem to have no ending and no goal ... Clearly I was naive". [cite news | url = http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1572844,00.html | title = This is a mess of our own making | first = Tim | last = Collins | work = The Guardian | date = 2005-09-18 | accessdate = 2007-11-16 ]

Since leaving the army Collins' views on the Iraq conflict and other military issues have been widely sought by UK and international news media, and a succession of outspoken comments have meant that he has seldom been far from controversy. In 2006, for example, he criticised the effectiveness of today's Royal Air Force and called for it to be disbanded. [cite news | url = http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/05/14/nraf14.xml | title = Disband the RAF, says Iraq war's inspirational colonel | first = Adam | last = Lusher | coauthors = Adam Stones; Jonathan Wynne-Jones | work = The Daily Telegraph | date = 2006-05-13 | accessdate = 2007-11-16 ]

Collins is married to Caroline, with whom he has four sons and a daughter. He is an Honorary Patron of Trinity College's University Philosophical Society in Dublin.

In 2008, Collins was host of a three-part documentary called Ships That Changed the World [ [http://www.bbc.co.uk/northernireland/tv/programmes/ships/index.shtml BBC Northern Ireland: Ships That Changed the World] ] for BBC Northern Ireland, which explored the history of shipbuilding from the period of the Industrial Revolution onward, paying particular attention to the contribution of Belfast's shipyard Harland and Wolff and presented SAS: The Originals for the History Channel.

He supported David Davis in his successful July 2008 by-election campaign. [ [http://www.daviddavisforfreedom.com/index.cfm?fa=contentNews.newsDetails&newsID=62124&from=list David Davis for Freedom - News > Formal launch of David Davis campaign ] ]

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