CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — In the bustling hallways of the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center's Construction Engineering Research Laboratory (ERDC-CERL), you may cross paths with a jack of all trades without knowing it. Meet Trey Burchfield, a CERL employee whose journey through life reads like a series of adventurous chapters in a book. With a career history that includes titles such as Soldier, brewer, drill sergeant, chocolatier and farmer, Burchfield brings a wealth of diverse experience to CERL in his current role in the Materials and Structures Branch.
Burchfield started his career in a conventional way. Born in Mississippi and raised in Okolana, Arkansas, his upbringing in a ranch shaped his early ambitions.
"I grew up on a ranch in middle southwest Arkansas," Burchfield shared. "I got a loan when I was a kid through Farm Bureau and bought a bunch of cow calf pairs, a bull, goats and chickens, so we raised a cow herd. And that was my college fund."
While he originally planned to pursue psychology at the University of Arkansas, his life took a sharp turn after the events of September 11, 2001.
"I went into my class the next day and the professor broke down crying, that's when I knew I needed to go do something else. I'm going to join the Army."
Following in his grandfather's footsteps, Trey embarked on a journey through Infantry service including testing cutting-edge equipment with the Air Assault Expeditionary Force at Fort Moore.
"I was there four years and was part of a couple of different platoons and companies, but the main one was the Air Assault Expeditionary Force," he explained. "We tested a large amount of new equipment for the Infantry."
After seeing one of his fellow Soldiers get hurt in an accident, he felt a pull into the medical field.
"I wanted to go back in as a medic, but there was going to be a multitude of waivers, and I already couldn't hear well, so I just became a drill sergeant instead." Burchfield said.
As he switched hats from black to round and brown, he felt purpose behind what he explains as facilitating the transformation from a civilian to Soldier.
"You get to teach every little thing about how to be a Soldier," he said. "From teaching people how to cut their toenails to how to shoot a machine gun and everything in between, it's the most rewarding job I've ever had."
After spending a year training troops at Fort Knox, Burchfield headed back to Arkansas and reclassed to Tactical Psychological Operations. He deployed with them before moving back to Oklahoma and joining an Observer Unit Coach/Trainer (OCT) Unit. For the next five years, he would hop between an OCT Unit and Tactical Psychological Operations.
But when Burchfield moved to Colorado, he decided to put down his Army hats and check an item off his bucket list— brewing beer.
"I was a brewer in Colorado for a year," Burchfield shared. "When I was at Fort Knox, I learned to brew beer from our Battalion’s Chaplin Assistant, and I really enjoyed it. I went to 40 breweries handing out my resume until somebody gave me a chance."
Colorado became a career playground for Burchfield. After brewing beer, he became a Chocolatier, making chocolate at a factory. Then, Burchfield briefly explored the world of home water filter sales before jumping back into his Willy Wonka stint with another gig making a variety of cookies at a food manufacturing facility.
As if those roles weren't interesting enough, he dipped his toes into a completely different field.
"I had the wild idea to be an organic farmer," he shared with a grin. "That was fun, yet very hard work. We farmed 17 acres right beside Boulder, Colorado."
Following his summer as an organic farmer, Burchfield followed his wife to Champaign when she became professor at the University of Illinois. Meanwhile, he reverted into his role as a Commercial Brewer at Champaign's popular Blind Pig Brewery.
But despite how much he loved brewing, he felt a pull to apply for a full-time branch support assistant position at CERL.
It didn’t take long for him to get his bearings, and Burchfield quickly became a highly valued employee at ERDC.
"I feel a lot of purpose at CERL, and one of the first things I noticed when I started was the potential of the new hire training program," he explained. "It was pretty loose, so I wrote a new one."
Burchfield's plan was pushed up the chain to ERDC Headquarters, and he's working with ERDC HQ to revamp the new hire training protocol. Burchfield serves as the right-hand man to CERL's Materials and Structures Branch Chief Danielle Williams on all things that keep the branch running smoothly, thanks to his experience in both military and civilian fields.
“I cannot say enough positive things about Trey. He brings professionalism and a positive attitude to work daily,” Williams said. “He has been at ERDC-CERL for less than a year and has been involved in many activities beyond what is required for the position. With his Army background and various job endeavors, he brings a wealth of experience to the job that shows in everything he does.”
But Burchfield's story does not end there. In addition to his role at CERL, Burchfield remains active in the Army Reserves as a Senior Drill Sergeant, ready to head to a new group of Soldiers at the drop of a hat. He wanted to be a part of the transformation from civilian to Soldier, one more time.
"I just want to make sure I could do it one last time, so I don't have a midlife crisis. This is my victory lap," he joked. "I'm about to retire out of the Reserves, and I really love it here at CERL. I'm ready to be an Army civilian for another 20 years and counting."