Steve “Elroy” Colby Retires

Originally from Bloomfield Connecticut, Steve “Elroy” Colby joined the USAF in 1979 as a helicopter mechanic at Malmstrom AFB in Montana. While there, he pursued becoming a professional pilot and completed his A&P and civilian pilot’s license. After leaving his initial station, Elroy would get married and move around the country with his wife and 3 kids as he continued to grow in his flying career, ultimately landing in the HH-60G at Holloman AFB, NM. After Holloman, and several Kuwait deployments later, Elroy embarked on a new journey with his family to Iceland where he became a Weapons Officer for the 56th RQS. When it was time to leave Iceland, they headed towards warmer weather at Nellis AFB, in Las Vegas where Elroy lead the 422 Test & Evaluation Squadron through significant combat capability upgrades. While this role was difficult, it was also rewarding and ultimately led to a few more assignments before retiring in 2007. 

But retirement was brief, and Elroy soon entered the civilian defense world, quickly landing at Lockheed Martin assisting with flight tests and proposals. While at Lockheed, Elroy was able to continue his love of flying on both the AW-139 and EC-225 before ultimately landing with Sikorsky upon the merger with Lockheed. 

Now in his current role with GMRE he flies both the HH-60G and HH-60W as an FCF pilot. Ironically, this landed him next to his son, flying in the same unit together at Moody AFB. It was here they had the recent opportunity to fly their first helicopter flight together and the last flight of the HH-60G. 

As he heads into retirement, Elroy is looking forward to traveling internationally with his wife and pursuing old hobbies again. Thank you, Elroy, for all your dedication and hard work. GMRE was lucky to have you and wishes you the best on your new path forward!