Page 12 - March 2017

Lieutenant Robert Smith

On Tuesday, February 21, at approximately 1700 hours, Lieutenant Robert D. Smith, Commander of the State Police Air
Wing Section, closed the final chapter of a long and prosperous book. After 36 years of honorable service, Lt. Smith retired.

Rob Smith entered into State Police service as
a member of the 63rd RTT on February 16, 1981.
Upon completion of the academy in Framingham,
Rob started his career in Troop A. Over the next
several years, he would find himself assigned to
barracks in Lynnfield and Peabody and to the Troop
A “55 Team.” The capstone of his patrol career
would be an assignment to SP-Salisbury Beach.

In April 1988, then-Trooper Smith found his true
passion when he was transferred to the State
Police Air Wing Section at Norwood Airport. As
a private pilot, Rob faced a large learning curve
adapting to his newly assigned duties. He began
training on becoming an FAA commercial pilot and
went on to become a unit instructor pilot. One
year later, in May 1989, Rob was re-assigned to the
newly opened airbase at Westover Air Force Base Rob Smith hauling out the Jet Ranger Helicopter

in Chicopee. In a move that many troopers make,
Rob ultimately moved from eastern Massachusetts to his new and permanent home in the western part of the state. For
several years, Rob was typically the only crewmember assigned to the Westover airbase, responding to most calls for the
helicopter by himself, without another crewmember onboard.

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