AFCEE director Dennis Firman retires Published Oct. 20, 2010 By Jennifer Schneider AFCEE Public Affairs LACKLAND AIR FORCE BASE, Texas -- U.S. Air Force photos by Nick Lutton Maj. Gen. Timothy Byers, Air Force Civil Engineer, congratulates Dennis Firman at his retirement ceremony Oct. 1 at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas. Larger Version Dennis Firman smiles during his retirement ceremony Oct. 1 at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas. Larger Version Director Dennis Firman of the Air Force Center for Engineering and the Environment retired Oct. 1 following 36 years of civil service. Maj. Gen. Timothy A. Byers, the Air Force Civil Engineer, presided over the ceremony, which was attended by a large crowd of family, friends and colleagues, including previous AFCEE directors J.B. Cole and Gary M. Erickson. "I want to thank the Air Force civil engineering family and the many close friends who are here to pay tribute to a great citizen, a great American, who has done so much to support the Air Force over the last 36 years," Maj. Gen. Byers said. Mr. Firman started his federal service in 1974 with the Navy at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth, Va., where he worked for approximately a year before accepting a position at Langley Air Force Base, Va., as a design engineer. He went on to serve as the deputy base civil engineer at Misawa Air Base, Japan, from 1983 to 1985, and was the roofing subject matter expert for the Air Force in the late 1980s. Prior to AFCEE, Mr. Firman served in many supervisory positions, such as the executive director of the Air Force Civil Engineer Support Agency in the late 1990s, and chief of the Construction Division at the Civil Engineer Directorate at Headquarters Air Combat Command at Langley Air Force Base from 2000 to 2007. Before his appointment as AFCEE's fifth director in 2007, the organization underwent a major mission expansion, assuming management of the Air Force's Military Construction, Military Family Housing, and Environmental Restoration Account programs. During his three years at AFCEE, Mr. Firman led the charge in institutionalizing and streamlining the agency's business processes, and embracing environmental sustainability as a major agency initiative. While he is proud of many accomplishments during his time at AFCEE, Mr. Firman said it has been the people that have meant the most to him during his career. "It isn't the awards, the decorations, the recognitions, the positions I've held ... it isn't any of that," he said. "It's all in the relationships I've experienced along the way." He said he has enjoyed working for the Air Force, and holds a high level of regard for the organization's core values. "I have thoroughly enjoyed working for the Air Force, whose stated number one core value is 'Integrity first,'" he said. "'Excellence in all we do' directs us to develop a sustained passion for continuous improvement and innovation. Gen. Byers' slogan, 'make it better, make it last,' is the essence of this core value. 'Service before self' has caused me to make many sacrifices, as it has for many of you. From this point forward, my wife and I are pledging to each other that, whatever we decide to do, our first priority will be that we will do it together." In his retirement, Mr. Firman plans to focus on spending more time with his family and will be returning to his home state of Virginia to the small fishing village where he grew up. "I have a list of opportunities my wife and I are going to explore," he said. "For 36 years, she has been hearing, 'It's best for the Air Force,' and she has followed me in that. From this step forward, I'll be following her." A new AFCEE director has not yet been named.