Senior ESC civilian retires - Career path marked by acceptance, friendship, accomplishment

  • Published
  • By Chuck Paone
  • 66 ABW Public Affairs
HANSCOM AFB, Mass. --  Before showing up for the interview that would ultimately launch a soaring 31-year civilian Air Force career, then-24-year-old Fran Duntz purchased an "appropriate" outfit.
"I never wore it afterward, but I wore it for the interview, and I guess I must have done okay because they picked me for the job," she said during a recent interview. "But on the first day of work, I showed up in a long floral dress with big hoop earrings and sandals; and my boss at the time didn't blink. He didn't blink and he took me for what I was, and he proceeded to be a wonderful mentor."

Looking back on that time, the Electronic Systems Center's top civilian said, "I often wonder, 'how could they possibly have accepted this hippie?' But they were amazing. And right off the bat, I thought, wow, the Air Force is a very accepting place, and that has proven true over 30 years."

Mrs. Duntz, who will end her federal career when she retires Aug. 1, never envisioned, at least at the outset, a career path that would take her to the heights she's reached. A Senior Executive Service member, Mrs. Duntz has run major programs, worked key staff jobs and served as executive director and deputy for acquisition of a 9,000-person, multi-billion dollar enterprise.

"I never thought, first of all, that I would make it to SES. I never had SES as my goal. But I thought, about 10 to 12 years ago, that I really had a good shot at it," she said. "It becomes clear after a while that it's possible, but I never set out with that goal."

Nor does she count it as the most important aspect of her federal tenure.

"To me, the most important thing is the people and the relationships I've made along the way. I've met some wonderful people and made some great friendships, and I believe we've accomplished a lot together."


It isn't easy to select any one or two highlights from a career filled with so many. Mrs. Duntz, instead, talked of great experiences and accomplishments at each of her 16 Air Force assignments.

Given that she took on so many different jobs, it might surprise some to learn that her lone career regret was staying in a couple of jobs for too long, including one stint that lasted eight years.

"My advice for mid-career professionals is, if you want to stay in the location you're at, you need to see how you can broaden at that location," she said. "Every three to four years, move around, find something new to do. I think that after that, you probably become a little stale at what you do, and you need that reinvigoration."

Mrs. Duntz also offered three rules she has used to govern her own career. First, never turn down a hard job. Second, give every task your best effort. And finally, treat people the way you'd like to be treated.

That last rule is perhaps especially important for leaders, she said, who sometimes feel that, to be effective, they have to be tough with people.

Her own philosophy is to draw people in rather than pushing them away. "But I think it's hard for some leaders to know how to do that, to learn how to do that," she said. However, she believes the Air Force trend is toward more inclusive, people-centric management and away from harsher styles that may have been more prevalent in the past.

Leaders who positively influenced Mrs. Duntz's career include a handful of retired general officers. Among them: former commanders of Air Force Materiel Command Gen. Lester Lyles and Gen. Greg Martin, and former Aeronautical Systems Center Commanders Lt. Gen. Robert Raggio and Lt. Gen. Richard Reynolds.

She also cited as her first real mentor a senior civilian named Robert V. Brown, who during Mrs. Duntz's early days at Wright Patterson AFB, not only accepted her "hippie garb," but was also "very understanding with a trainee's inexperience and easy to talk to."

Because she often found such support and found herself increasingly able to offer it to others, and because of the sense of accomplishment her various jobs provided, Mrs. Duntz never thought about leaving federal service. Even when industry overtures surfaced, she "never seriously considered them."

In 1977, when she first considered applying for that trainee job at Wright Patterson, she asked herself: "What's wrong with a civil service career?" And while some of her peers questioned her decision, she never did.

"I think people who [enter civil service] may not want to serve specifically in uniform, but they're patriotic and they're willing to learn and to work hard," she said. "When I look at the trainees we're bringing in today, that's what I see."

The people - junior, mid-level and senior alike - really do make the difference at ESC, Mrs. Duntz said.

"When I first got here in 2005, it was a little scary and confusing because I hadn't been around the C2 and ISR business before, but I have met the most wonderful people. They have helped me, they have taught me, and they have showed me the way, and I've been trying to absorb everything they've shared with me.

"If I've been able to bring them something in return, I'm thrilled with that," she said.

Although she's working feverishly with many of these people right up to last minute, ESC's outgoing executive director said she believes she's done everything the Air Force has asked of her and is now "ready for another chapter."

The decision to retire was very difficult, Mrs. Duntz said. "I did a lot of thinking, a lot of soul searching, but I'm making it for the benefit of my family, and now that I've made it, I'm ready to move on."

Next up is a move back to Ohio, where her most immediate focus will be on setting up her house and getting her son, Mark, settled into high school. Beyond that, for the time being at least, retirement will really mean retirement.

"For the next six to 12 months, I intend to stop and smell the roses," she said. After that, "I'll probably have to think about what to do with the rest of my life."

She's not interested in working full time and considers it unlikely that she'll take on the same types of work she's performed for the Air Force. Teaching and leadership training are particular interests, and areas she'd consider pursuing.

And while such thoughts show that she's begun to turn the page already, Mrs. Duntz acknowledges that leaving isn't easy.

"I want to thank everyone here for all they've done for me, for all they've taught me," she said. "I wish them all the very best."

Although she officially retires Aug 1, Mrs. Duntz's farewell luncheon and formal ceremony will be held at Hanscom's Minuteman Club Aug. 8.