Service Above Self

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 – COVER STORY –

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Trever Nehls is a 33-year veteran of not only our Armed Forces, but also a 30-year veteran of Fort Bend County law enforcement. He has called Fort Bend County home since 1992 where he and his wife, Kerri, have lived and raised their three children. After two terms as the elected Fort Bend County Precinct 4 Constable, Trever entered the private sector where he serves as the President of a Richmond-based biotechnology company. And now, having recognized the desperate need for leadership, Trever is vying for a new role: Fort Bend County Judge.

Trever began his Texas law enforcement career in 1993 with the Sugar Land Police Department (SLPD).  During his time with Sugar Land Police Department, he met his wife Kerri on a blind date arranged by his sister Tammy. “I vividly recall our first date,” said Trever.  “I drove to her apartment in Houston, she opened the door, and I had to look up at her. The rest is history or rather the beginning – of the story.  We’ve been married 22 years.”

Trever and Kerri were married in 2000 while Trever was still serving with Sugar Land Police Department. He continued with SLPD in various roles until he was elected as Fort Bend County Precinct 4 Constable in 2012. After four successful years in his first term, Trever was re-elected in 2016 where he served for an additional four years. During his tenure as a two-term elected official, Constable Nehls cut unnecessary waste in his precinct, instituted body cameras for his deputies, and kept our communities safe.  He and his deputies, along with his identical twin brother, then Sheriff Troy Nehls, served on the front lines during Hurricane Harvey rescuing dozens of people and pets during the flood.

A Family Legacy of Service

Service is a way of life for the Nehls’ family as Trever comes from a long and distinguished line of military and law enforcement family professionals.  At the age of 20, Trever followed in the legacy of his father’s service and enlisted in the Wisconsin Army National Guard.  He, along with brothers Todd and Troy, have dedicated their lives to selflessly serving our country.  His father, Edwin Nehls, served with the U.S. Army in Korea and was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, our nation’s second highest medal for heroic actions, for his bravery in hand-to-hand and small arms combat exchanges in Pau-gol Korea. Following military service, Edwin joined the Dodge County, Wisconsin Sheriff’s Office, where he became the elected Sheriff.

Trever’s older brother, Todd, also served in the U.S. Army for over 36 years retiring with the rank of Colonel. Additionally, Todd served with the Dodge County, Wisconsin Sheriff’s Office as the elected Sheriff. Trever’s identical twin brother, Troy Nehls, served in the U.S. Army for 21 years, retiring as a Major.  Troy later joined the Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Office where he was later elected to serve as the Sheriff. After two terms as a highly successful Sheriff, Troy was elected as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, Congressional District 22. Combined, the Nehls’ family has over 100 years of law enforcement service and over 90 years of military service. Few families can claim close to 100 years of public service, whether military or law enforcement service.

Serving our Nation

A decorated combat veteran and recipient of three Bronze Star Medals, Colonel Nehls has numerous overseas deployments to Iraq, Afghanistan and the Arabian Peninsula. Throughout extended absences away from family during combat tours, Trever describes his experiences as “challenging and trying.”

When asked, how did you and Kerri get through the numerous mobilizations and stresses as a result of being away from loved ones for 9 to 12 months?  “Extended time away from family in a combat zone can be trying, especially with small children,” Trever recalled. “My first tour in 2004, Madison was three months old, and I knew that she wouldn’t remember much. I was in Iraq for 12 months, and she was walking when I returned.  Missing moments like her first steps were never easy, but I knew that service to our country in its time of need is necessary.” Kerri and their firstborn drove to Fort Bragg to pick up dad, and he vividly recalls his daughter Madison not truly recognizing her father. “It took a few weeks for Madison and I to get reacquainted with one another again,” Trever said.

For Trever, it did not get any easier. “In 2008, I deployed to Afghanistan and Kerri and I were now parents to three young children. Madison was five years old, Wyatt was three years old, and Parker was one.” At this age, Trever’s children weren’t old enough to fully grasp what was taking place – that dad was going into a dangerous combat zone. “Personally, I never put too much thought into not returning home. I was always at peace knowing God was and is in control, and I was proud to serve our great country.”

As the three Nehls’ children grew older, Dad’s deployments became more challenging as they better understood the gravity of his service. “Kuwait in 2019 was probably the most difficult of the overseas tours, as I was gone nine months,” shared Colonel Nehls.  “That was during the adolescent years, and as any parent knows, that’s when they really need you.”

Rising to the Challenge

The gravity, complexity and dedication of serving three combat tours in Iraq, Afghanistan and Kuwait defending our freedom as a soldier is an immense honor and responsibility. But over the course of his extensive 33-year military career, Colonel Nehls has gone above and beyond by rising among the ranks honing his leadership skills and commanding troops at the company, battalion and brigade level.  Additionally, he graduated from the U.S. Army War College, the Joint Forces Staff College and the Command General Staff College in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. His extensive military experience, leadership training and abilities under the most extreme, hostile conditions earned him high praise amongst his leaders and peers, ultimately retiring with the rank of Colonel.

While Colonel Nehls describes his Iraq tour as “eye-opening for him,” due to the extremely challenging environment, he says it wasn’t nearly as complicated as Afghanistan. “Afghanistan is a country that is several decades behind Iraq.  While deployed to Afghanistan in 2008, I witnessed systemic corruption, a lack of education, a lack of governance, little to no rule of law and non-existent infrastructure.  I was the senior U.S. Army officer in charge of a remote compound consisting of U.S. military personnel and civilians from the Department of State, United States Agency for International Development and the Army Corp of Engineers.  I served as the liaison between the provincial governor and military forces. We experienced improvised explosive devices; it was a very dangerous time.” Colonel Nehls continued to stress the lessons learned about enemy capabilities and their ability to adapt. “The Taliban continually used primitive and brutal tactics to instill fear amongst the local population. A small amount of liquid explosive, a battery, wire and other easily accessible home goods were used as improvised explosives and placed us on a heightened state of alert wherever we traveled.”

After his return from Afghanistan in 2008, Colonel Nehls received a very important phone call: he was among a handful of Reserve officers who had been selected to attend the Command and General Staff College in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. “It was a true honor for me to be selected to attend such a prestigious college,” shared Colonel Nehls.  “The tough part was I had to break the news to my wife and children I was leaving again.”

The Nehls family decided to move together to Fort Leavenworth while Trever pursued completing the Command and General Staff College and also earning a Masters Degree from Central Michigan University in Public Administration. “The time in Kansas was highly rewarding for me and my family,” recalled Colonel Nehls.  “They experienced the rigors of military life.  My daughter Madison remembers this time very clearly.”

Following his graduation from the Command and General Staff College in 2010, Trever was informed he would again be deploying to Afghanistan. “The situation in Afghanistan was deteriorating, especially in the Southern and Eastern regions of Afghanistan, so I was redeployed because of my extensive and valuable experience in the Zabul Province.” Colonel Nehls worked closely with his unit commander coordinating operations in remote areas and served as the liaison for his unit and an Afghan Army Commander.

While deployed Colonel Nehls recalls utilizing an interpreter equipped with a communication device, which monitored Taliban chatter, to pass a message to the Taliban telling them to stop hiding like cowards. “The Taliban were tracking my movements and knew exactly where I went. When I visited villages, the Taliban would monitor all my movements and enter the village in the dark of night posting ‘night letters’ on doors, which threatened the lives of anyone who worked with coalition forces.” Towards the end of his deployment in 2011, Trever was promoted to Lt. Colonel. “It was a distinct honor for me to be promoted in a combat zone.”

After returning from Afghanistan in 2011, Trever continued his military service stateside with two battalion commands in 2012 and 2015, and graduated from the U.S. Army War College in 2015 and the Joint Forces Staff College in 2017. In 2017, Nehls was also promoted to the rank of Colonel and board selected for Brigade command, Trever’s greatest military achievement and something he set as a goal 15 years earlier as a young Captain. In 2019, while finishing out his Brigade command, Colonel Nehls was informed he would deploy to Kuwait. In 2020 after nine months in Kuwait, Colonel Nehls returned stateside, and in 2021 he retired from the U.S. Army Reserve, concluding 33 years of dedicated service to our country. And now, Colonel Nehls wants to put his extensive leadership experience to work for Fort Bend County as County Judge.

The Future of Fort Bend

“My goal is to unite Fort Bend residents and officials with an aim to work towards a Fort Bend future,” said Nehls.  “It’s my extensive leadership experience that will bring that goal to fruition. We must work together in the best interest of Fort Bend County.”

Unity toward a common goal is a recurring theme in Trever’s career.  It’s the only way a mission is successfully accomplished, and he feels strongly a sense of community working together with open mindedness is essential for success.  “Particularly since COVID, we have faced many challenges. Families have been torn apart as a result of information and disinformation – vaccination or no vaccination, mask or no mask, shut down your business or don’t shut down. There’s been a polarization of people based on political affiliation and very little gets accomplished in that environment.  We don’t have to agree on a party’ but we need to learn to work together again.”

Trever noted the county judge has two primary responsibilities. First, as the presiding officer of Commissioner’s Court, and second, as the executive head of the Office of Emergency Management during times of disaster. “My training in law enforcement and three decades of military experience qualifies me to lead in both these areas. I witnessed the devastation of Harvey and was waist deep in water conducting evacuation operations. I’ve also worked with the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers during disasters and on military missions.”

Currently, Trever is the President of a Fort Bend-based biotechnology company where he oversees the business’s numerous employees, budget, international and domestic sales, research and development. He is a small business advocate supporting public private sector partnerships.

And now, he is ready to continue his legacy of successful service as the next Fort Bend County Judge. “The military produces some of the best leaders in the world. I want to utilize my unique combination of private and public sector leadership experience to make Fort Bend County the very best community to raise a family, start or run a business or retire.”