In December 1985, Major Thiessen returned to Cherry Point and was assigned to VMA-231 as the Operations Officer, where he led a detachment of six AV-8Bs that deployed to the Mediterranean Sea as part of the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit.

Upon returning to the United States in 1988, Major Thiessen attended the Naval Command and Staff College in Newport, Rhode Island.

Following command of MAG-13, Colonel Thiessen served in the Aviation Plans and Policy Branch of Headquarters Marine Corps until July 2000, when he was appointed to the position of Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Expeditionary Force Programs.

Colonel Thiessen was promoted to brigadier general and assumed the duties as the deputy director of operations, National Military Command Center in October 2001.

[3] This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Marine Corps.