Lieutenant Colonel Charles Clair Trout was commissioned a Second Lieutenant Officer of the Army upon graduation from Officer Candidates School, Class OC 1, 18 December 1959. His first duty assignment was Training Officer for the United States Army Signal School Electronic Training Detachment Number 1, Aberdeen Proving Grounds Maryland. | Lieutenant Colonel Charles Clair Trout enlisted in the United States Army 16 June, 1952, the day he graduated from High School. He went to Korea as an infantry man with Company A, 15th Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division. He entered Korea as a Private and departed Korea as a Sargent First Class in the capacity of a Platoon Sargent. While in Korea he was awarded two bronze stars with  “V” device for valor. Due to family considerations, Trout resigned from the military in 1961 to care for his mother who required full time attention due to a serious illness. | After his return to the military: In 1984 Trout enlisted in the National Guard of California and was assigned to the Chaplain’s Section of the 40th Infantry Division stationed at Los Alamitos, California. As assistant to the Division Chaplain, Trout was responsible for supervising some 33 chaplains/assistants as they provided spiritual support for the Division. During that time, Trout took an active part with the 40th Division during the Los Angeles Riots and the North Ridge Earthquake. In 1995, he retired from the National Guard. | In 1998, the military and civilian congregations of the Los Alamitos Chapel requested that Trout return to Los Alamitos to serve as their senior chaplain. Trout accepted, and in March, 2000 Trout received orders from the Governor of California as the Post Chaplain of the Joint Forces Training Base, Los Alamitos, California. | At the time of his induction, Lieutenant Colonel Charles Clair Trout was Post Chaplain of the Joint Forces Training Base, Los Alamitos, California.