Not many persons would relish a career in which the threat of death is constant.But Edward Orin Collins is one of the many special men and women who never flinched at the idea of putting their lives on the line in defence of their country.Add the burden of frequently being away from their families for extended periods not knowing if you will see them again and you will see why these men and women are special.We’re talking here about career soldiers, a vocation many of us will frown upon. And Edward Collins can be considered one of Guyana’s most patriotic soldiers.His career spanned decades during which Guyana faced many threats, both externally and internally.There were border skirmishes to the domestic situations, in which all his training and experience were brought to bear.From a Cadet Officer in the early 1970s, he rose to become the head of the Guyana Defence Force and retired as Brigadier General in 2007.Edward Orin Collins was born on September 26, 1952,Wholesale Jerseys, at No. 40 Village, West Coast Berbice. The sixth child and second son of a policeman, Edwin Collins,Cheap Jerseys From China, and Marjorie Collins, a housewife. He lived his early years in several Police Divisions along the Coast. Most of this time however, was spent in Vergenoegen,Cheap NFL Jerseys China, East Bank Essequibo, when his father was stationed at Leonora and Parika Police Stations.His first encounter with the military was in the 1960s when he encountered the British soldiers here in Guyana, followed by the Volunteer Corps.But although he had seen the military in two forms, first the white soldiers and then persons like himself (Volunteer Corps) he still was not attracted to the military then.A career in the army was not on Collins’s mind in his formative years, in fact, this confirmed Anglican appeared destined for a career in medicine, although his mother wanted him to become a priest.But economic constraints put paid to those early lofty dreams and Collins soon found himself among the ranks of the employed.His first job was teaching at the St. Jules Anglican School at Blankenburg, West Coast Demerara.He even enlisted in the Teachers’ Training College and at that time it seemed that Collins would have joined the list of distinguished teachers that were a feature at that time of Guyana’s history.But that career was short lived, for it was while at college that the idea of joining the Guyana Defence Force first surfaced for the aspiring teacher.But it was not just the desire to be in uniform that really inspired the young Collins, as he explained it was the higher remuneration that was being offered by the army that struck a chord in his mind.Collins swears before Commander in Chief, President Bharat Jagdeo after being appointed Chief of Staff of the Guyana Defence Force.“I was with some friends and Arlington Success talked about his brief period as a cadet and he indicated that at least you will get more money. What attracted me was, it was fifty dollars from teachers’ training college when compared with $380 being offered by the army. I said let me go for the Guyana Defence Force.”After going through the interview process, conducted by Colonel Ulric Pilgrim and the then Lt Col. Joseph Singh, he joined the Guyana Defence Force at the age of 21, as an Officer Cadet in 1973, and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant on July 24, 1974.But although the training was intense, Collins who considers himself a fitness fanatic came through with flying colours and by then he had grown to love the career he had chosen.“I was being exposed to training to become an officer. Imagine in those days a young 21-year-old giving orders… made quite a lot of sense to me,” he said with a slight chuckle.Then came one of the major turning points in his military career. Collins was one of three members of the GDF to be selected for a special course in China.During that stint in China, he was fortunate to witness the visit of US president Richard Nixon to the socialist country.“We were visiting the Great Wall (of China) together, myself, Colonel Harmon and Andy Worrell. And just being there and being exposed to a man of the stature of Nixon, and living what the Chinese called equality,Cheap MLB Jerseys Authentic, was overwhelming,Cheap NFL Jerseys China,”Coming from a small third world country like Guyana and being treated like royalty in China was something that would remain in the memory of the young army Lieutenant.“China lived socialism and we came back home loving socialism because the treatment we received was first class. Everywhere we went, whatever we wanted to do, they treated us well,” Collins said.The China course was organised by the then Prime M