Editing Michael Collins (astronaut) (section)

===Fighter pilot===
Collins began basic flight training in the [[T-6 Texan]] at [[Columbus Air Force Base]] in [[Columbus, Mississippi]], in August 1952, then moved on to [[Camp Gary|San Marcos Air Force Base]] in [[Texas]] to learn instrument and formation flying, and finally to [[James Connally Air Force Base]] in [[Waco, Texas|Waco]], Texas, for training in jet aircraft. Flying came easily to him, and unlike many of his colleagues, he had little fear of failure. He was awarded his [[United States Aviator Badge|wings]] upon completion of the course at Waco, and in September 1953, he was chosen for advanced [[day fighter|day-fighter]] training at [[Nellis Air Force Base]], [[Nevada]], flying [[F-86 Sabre]]s. The training was dangerous; eleven people were killed in accidents during the 22 weeks he was there.{{sfn|Cullum|1960|p=605}}{{sfn|Collins|2001|pp=8–9}}

This was followed by an assignment in January 1954 to the [[21st Fighter-Bomber Wing]] at [[George Air Force Base]], California, where he learned ground attack and [[nuclear weapons delivery]] techniques in the F-86. He moved with the 21st to [[Chambley-Bussières Air Base]], France, in December 1954. He won first prize in a 1956 gunnery competition.{{sfn|Cullum|1960|p=605}}{{sfn|Collins|2001|pp=8–9}} During a [[NATO]] exercise that year, he was forced to eject from an F-86, near [[Quartier Général d'Aboville|Chaumont-Semoutiers AB]], after a fire started aft of the cockpit.{{sfn|Barbree|2014|p=184}}

Collins met his future wife, Patricia Mary Finnegan from [[Boston]], Massachusetts, in an officers' mess. A graduate of [[Emmanuel College (Massachusetts)|Emmanuel College]], where she majored in English, she was a social worker, dealing mainly with single mothers. To see more of the world, she was working for the Air Force service club. After getting engaged, they had to overcome a difference in religion. Collins was raised nominally [[Episcopal Church in the United States|Episcopalian]], while Finnegan came from a staunchly [[Roman Catholic Church|Roman Catholic]] family. Collins converted to Catholicism before their marriage. After seeking permission to marry from Finnegan's father, and delaying their wedding when Collins was redeployed to [[West Germany]] during the [[1956 Hungarian Revolution]], they married in 1957.{{sfn|Hansen|2005|pp=346–347}} They had a daughter, actress [[Kate Collins (actress)|Kate Collins]], in 1959,{{sfn|Chaikin|2007|p=599}} a second daughter, Ann, in 1961 and a son, Michael, in 1963.{{sfn|Collins|2001|p=43}}

After Collins returned to the United States in late 1957, he attended an aircraft maintenance officer course at [[Chanute Air Force Base]], [[Illinois]]. He would later describe this school as "dismal" in his autobiography; he found the classwork boring, flying time scarce, and the equipment outdated. Upon completing the course, he commanded a Mobile Training Detachment (MTD) and traveled to air bases around the world.{{sfn|Collins|2001|pp=11–12}} The detachment trained mechanics on the servicing of new aircraft, and pilots how to fly them. He later became the first commander of a Field Training Detachment (FTD 523) back at Nellis AFB, which was a similar kind of unit, except that the students traveled to him.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.westpointaog.org/page.aspx?pid=547|title=1998 Distinguished Graduate Award|date=May 13, 1998 |publisher=West Point Association of Graduates|access-date=March 3, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180304172721/https://www.westpointaog.org/page.aspx?pid=547|archive-date=March 4, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>