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Sheriff heads the Dodge
County Sheriff's Department, comprised of 188 employees and
an $18 million budget. The department consists of several
divisions, Communications, Criminal Investigation, Traffic
Patrol, and the 496 bed Detention Facility. Sheriff Nehls
was elected as sheriff after serving 15 years with the
department, most recently as Field Services Lieutenant.
Sheriff Nehls is a
graduate of Dodgeland High School, received his
Baccalaureate Degree in Criminal Justice from Mount Scenario
College and a Master's Degree in Management and
Organizational Behavior from Silver Lake College. He was
named Law Enforcement Officer of the Year in 1998, WeTip
Sheriff of the Year in 2005 & 2008, VFW Outstanding LE
Officer of the Year in 2007, and WI American Legion LE
Officer of the Year in 2009.
Sheriff Nehls also serves
as a Colonel in the Wisconsin Army National Guard. He is a
graduate of the Wisconsin Military Academy and U. S. Army
Command and General Staff College. In 2009 he attended and
graduated from the National War College in Washington, D.C.
earning a Masters in National Security Strategy. He is
currently assigned as the Chief of Staff for the Joint Staff
assigned to Joint Force Headquarters in Madison, Wisconsin.
He was activated in 2001
as Commander of Airport Security Operations and oversaw
security operations at Wisconsin's 11 largest commercial
airports in response to the attacks on 9-11. In 2004,
Sheriff Nehls was activated and served 12 months on
active-duty as a Senior Military Advisor in Afghanistan.
Sheriff Nehls returned in August, 2005 and was awarded the
Bronze Star and Army Achievement Medal with “V’ device for
valor in combat.
He is active in local
organizations to include Lowell VFW, Beaver Dam American
Legion and President of the 1,800 member Wisconsin National
Guard Association. He is active in the St. John's Lutheran
Church and his family's real estate business. He lives with
his wife Susan in Fox Lake, Wisconsin and has two sons,
Derrick and Taylor. | 
