Chief Thierolf retires after 30 years of service

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Adawn Kelsey
  • 82nd Training Wing Public Affairs
SHEPPARD AIR FORCE BASE, Texas --  The 80th Flying Training Wing, friends and family came together to celebrate the retirement of Chief Master Sgt. Norman Thierolf, 80th FTW superintendent, April 16.

Chief Thierolf has served 30 years in the United States Air Force and has made numerous contributions not only in the Air Force but to the community as well.

Col. Kevin Schneider, 80th FTW commander, said the chief's retirement made the day bittersweet. He said there were three things he would like to highlight about the chief that he had noticed from the first time they met, and those things were our core values integrity first, service before self and excellence in all we do.

"From very early on you can see that he was trusted with a great deal of responsibility, even beyond his pay grade," Colonel Schneider said. "His supervisors noticed early on in his career that he was destined to be a chief master sergeant.

"Here at the 80th (FTW) his integrity was clear from the start. The way he does it, he leads from the front and leads by example. As a commander I couldn't ask for anything more than that."

Chief Thierolf said that there wasn't just one thing that he could share with his career experience, but what he could say about this part of his life was that he was able to work with some of the greatest people in the world.

"One thing I can say is that if you learn to adapt and adjust, you will be successful," the chief said. "Another thing I learned is that you never go to your boss to tell him that something is broken; you go to him and tell him something is broken and let him know how you are going to fix it."

The last bit of wisdom the chief left was to make sure "you play the hand you are dealt and play it well."

"We all try to manage our careers, our assignments or whatever, but it doesn't always work out the way that we wanted it to," the chief said. "So that's why I say you need to play it the way that it is dealt to you. There are things that you can't control. Always play it out to the best of your abilities and don't worry about the should've's, could've's or would've's."