After retiring from the navy in 1978, Holloway was a consultant to Paine Webber, Inc. and served until 1988 as president of the Council of American-Flag Ship Operators, a national association of U.S. merchant marine companies. In 1980 he chaired the Special Operations Review Group which investigated the aborted Iranian hostage rescue attempt. In 1985 he served as executive director of Vice President George H. W. Bush's Task Force on Combating Terrorism, and was a member of the President's Blue Ribbon Commission on Defense Management. In 1986, he was appointed as a Special Envoy of the Vice President to the Middle East. Later, he was a member of the Commission on Merchant Marine and Defense and the Defense Commission on Long Term Integrated Strategy. In 1985 Holloway was the technical advisor to the film "Top Gun".