After 40 years of dedicated Civil Service, Mary Davis is ready to enjoy a well-deserved retirement.
At a ceremony held at Maxwell-Gunter on 17 December 2021, surrounded by friends and family, Davis bid farewell to an illustrious career that spanned decades. Though she’s held several positions during her time with the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center (AFLCMC), Business and Enterprise Systems (BES) Directorate, being Technical Advisor and Lead Assistant to Cyber Operations Support would be the last to complete her extensive resume’.
Among Davis’ long list of accomplishments are: implementing mission-critical software, network, and communications systems, helping establish and maintain global help desk operations that support over 200 Air Force bases worldwide, establishing the BES Software Requirements Review Board, and standardizing software purchased across the BES Directorate.
Colonel Dany Strakos, Chief of Operations for Business and Enterprise Systems, presided over the ceremony and directly tied the success of much of the Air Force in the past four decades to Davis’ work.
“The fact is, without these capabilities, the Air Force cannot operate around the globe and we simply wouldn’t have the information technology capability needed to support our global force,” Colonel Strakos told those in attendance.
Kenneth Heitkamp, the Keynote Speaker at the ceremony, served for more than 40 years in the Air Force Civil Service and has known Davis for much of that time. He said she always had the Airmen of the Air Force in mind when it came to how her job affected their daily lives.
“She was very caring about what their job was, the impact she was having on those people and making sure they would know what’s called the user experience and that the user experience was great,” Heitkamp said.
In her remarks, Davis thanked all of her fellow co-workers throughout the years and especially her family.
“I’ve enjoyed every minute. The 40 years have just flown by,” Davis said. She also had some parting words of advice for anyone following in her footsteps.
"God first, family, then work but with a lot of fun and satisfaction thrown in. If you don’t have that it’s not worth it. But I’ve had that.”
Davis said she plans to stay both physically and mentally active in retirement and to spend more time with her family.