Allen William Thiele (May 28, 1940 – September 23, 2017) was the fifth

Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard The master chief petty officer of the Coast Guard (MCPOCG) is the senior enlisted member of the U.S. Coast Guard and the principal advisor to the commandant of the Coast Guard on all enlisted personnel matters. The holder of this position is ...

, serving from 1986 to 1990.

Career

Thiele enlisted in the Coast Guard in

Green Bay, Wisconsin Green Bay is a city in Brown County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. It is located at the head of Green Bay (Lake Michigan), Green Bay (known locally as "the bay of Green Bay"), a sub-basin of Lake Michigan at the mouth of the F ...

in 1958. After completing basic training in

Cape May, New Jersey Cape May (sometimes Cape May City) is a City (New Jersey), city and seaside resort located at the southern tip of Cape May Peninsula in Cape May County, New Jersey, Cape May County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Located on the Atlantic Ocean ...

, he was stationed in

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

. In 1959, he was transferred to the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. After returning to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, he was stationed at Coast Guard Stations in

Algoma, Wisconsin Algoma ( ) is a city in Kewaunee County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 3,243 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Algoma is part of the Green Bay metropolitan area. History The Ahnapee settlement, which eventually beca ...

and Plum Island, Wisconsin and aboard the USCGC Mesquite (WLB-305). He was then Officer-In-Charge of the Boating Safety Detachment in

Two Rivers, Wisconsin Two Rivers is a city in Manitowoc County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 11,271 at the 2020 census. It claims to be the birthplace of the ice cream sundae (though other cities, such as Ithaca, New York, make the same claim). The c ...

. In 1969, Thiele was stationed at the Coast Guard Station in

Kauai, Hawaii Kauai (), anglicized as Kauai ( or ), is one of the main Hawaiian Islands. It has an area of 562.3 square miles (1,456.4 km2), making it the fourth-largest of the islands and the List of islands of the United States by area, 21st-largest ...

as Executive Petty Officer. He then served aboard the USCGC Owasco (WHEC-39) until 1973. In 1976, he was assigned as Officer-In-Charge of the recruiting office in

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

. In 1979, Thiele became Command Enlisted Advisor of the Fourteenth Coast Guard District. He was then Officer-In-Charge of the USCGC Wyaconda (WLR-75403) from 1982 until 1986, when he became Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard. Thiele retired in 1990. Awards he received during his career include the

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a Awards and decorations of the United States military, military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievemen ...

, the

Joint Service Commendation Medal The Commendation Medal is a mid-level United States military decoration presented for sustained acts of heroism or meritorious service. Each branch of the United States Armed Forces issues its own version of the Commendation Medal, with a fift ...

, the

Coast Guard Commendation Medal The Commendation Medal is a mid-level United States military decoration presented for sustained acts of heroism or meritorious service. Each branch of the United States Armed Forces issues its own version of the Commendation Medal, with a fift ...

with

Operational Distinguishing Device The Operational Distinguishing Device ("O" device) is a miniature silver inch letter "O" that is authorized by the United States Coast Guard as a ribbon device which may be authorized for wear on certain awards and decorations of the United Stat ...

and

award star A inch star (9.7mm) is a miniature gold or silver five-pointed star that is authorized by the United States Armed Forces as a ribbon device to denote subsequent awards for specific decorations of the Department of the Navy, Coast Guard, Public H ...

, the

Commandant's Letter of Commendation Ribbon The Commandant's Letter of Commendation Ribbon is a personal military award of the United States Coast Guard. The award was established in March 1979 by Admiral John B. Hayes. Criteria The Commandant's Letter of Commendation Ribbon is awarded to ...

, the

Coast Guard Unit Commendation The Coast Guard Unit Commendation is the highest peacetime unit award that may be awarded to military commands of the United States Coast Guard. The decoration was first created in 1963 and is presented to members of any Coast Guard unit that di ...

with Operational Distinguishing Device, the

Coast Guard Meritorious Unit Commendation The Meritorious Unit Commendation (MUC; pronounced ''muck'') is a mid-level unit award of the United States Armed Forces. The United States Army, U.S. Army awards units the Army MUC for exceptionally meritorious conduct in performance of outstand ...

, the Coast Guard Bicentennial Unit Commendation, the

Coast Guard Good Conduct Medal The Good Conduct Medal is one of the oldest military awards of the United States Armed Forces. The U.S. Navy's variant of the Good Conduct Medal was established in 1869, the Marine Corps version in 1896, the Coast Guard version in 1923, the Arm ...

with silver and three bronze

service stars A service star is a miniature bronze or silver five-pointed star in diameter that is authorized to be worn by members of the eight uniformed services of the United States on medals and ribbons to denote an additional award or service period. T ...

, the

National Defense Service Medal The National Defense Service Medal (NDSM) is a service award of the United States Armed Forces established by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1953. It was awarded to every member of the U.S. Armed Forces who served during any one of four s ...

, the Coast Guard Sea Service Ribbon with two service stars, the

Restricted Duty Ribbon The Restricted Duty Ribbon is a decoration of the United States Coast Guard which was created on March 3, 1984. The award recognizes those Coast Guard personnel who have completed a permanent tour of duty at specific shore units where accompany ...

and the Cutterman Insignia. Master Chief Thiele died on September 23, 2017, at

Washington Island, Wisconsin Washington Island is an island of the state of Wisconsin situated in Lake Michigan. Lying about northeast of the tip of the Door Peninsula, it is part of Door County, Wisconsin. The island has a year-round population of 708 people according t ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thiele, Allen William Master Chief Petty Officers of the Coast Guard Recipients of the Legion of Merit 2017 deaths 1940 births People from Manitowoc, Wisconsin