Colonel Robert A. Dalton was commissioned an Infantry Officer upon graduation from Officer Candidate School Class 1-69, 20 December 1968. His first duty assignment was as Mortar Platoon Leader, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion, 61st Infantry, 5th Infantry Division (Mechanized), Fort Carson, Colorado. | His subsequent duty assignments include: Advisor, U.S. Military Assistance Command, Advisory Team 99, III Corps, Vietnam; Platoon Leader, Company C, 3rd Battalion, 137th Infantry regiment, 69th Brigade, Kansas Army National Guard, Chanute, Kansas; Executive Officer, Company C, 3rd Battalion, 137th Infantry Regiment, 69th Brigade, Kansas Army National Guard, Chanute, Kansas; Commander, Company D, 891st Engineer Battalion, Wichita, Kansas; Commander, 242nd Engineer Company, Wichita, Kansas; Intelligence Officer, Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, 226th Engineer Battalion,  Wichita, Kansas; Personnel Officer, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion,137th Infantry Regiment, 69th Brigade, Kansas City, Kansas; Recruiting and Retention Officer, State Area Command, Kansas Army National Guard, Topeka, Kansas; Plans and Operations Officer, State Area Command, Kansas Army National Guard, Topeka, Kansas; State Personnel Officer, State Area Command, Kansas Army National Guard, Topeka, Kansas; Chief of Staff, Kansas Army National Guard, Topeka, Kansas.