Lifestyle & HR
Forum.

Dennis Damp is the lifestyle forum host, a retired federal manager, Air Force veteran, and author of 28 books. He retired at age 55 after 35 years of federal service — and built federalretirement.net from the ground up based on that direct personal experience navigating the federal retirement system from the inside.

Dennis's career began when he joined the Air Force in 1968, shortly after receiving his draft notice. He served three years on active duty and an additional seven years with the Air National Guard, then was hired by the Department of Defense to maintain aircraft avionics systems after leaving the service. In 1975 he joined the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), where he built a career spanning electronics systems, training, computer-based instruction, project engineering, and eventually supervisory and management roles.

There is considerably more to retirement than meets the eye. This forum is devoted to helping you think about the entire picture — not just your annuity and when you can leave.

His last position was technical operations manager at the Greater Pittsburgh International Airport's air traffic control tower. The last 20 years of his career included numerous management positions responsible for recruiting, rating, interviewing, outreach, and hiring. He retired at 55 and began writing and speaking on federal retirement, eventually becoming one of the most widely cited resources in the field.

Dennis's books have been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, New York Times, and U.S. News & World Report. He has appeared as a guest on hundreds of radio talk shows and on CNN's Your Money. The eleventh edition of The Book of U.S. Government Jobs was selected Best Career Title by the Benjamin Franklin Awards committee.