Colonel Samuel Richard "Sam" Trautman is a fictional character in the Rambo novel and film series, and other media in the franchise. His first appearance was in David Morrell's novel First Blood. His character was expanded on in the film series where he was played by Richard Crenna.

The character has been variously described as a father figure to the main character, and as a symbol for the military or the American government and its relationship with soldiers. In the original novel of First Blood, Trautman serves as an allegory for "Uncle Sam", i.e., the United States Government which created Rambo to serve their military needs. In both First Blood and Rambo: First Blood Part II Trautman primarily exists as a background figure engaging in arguments with other figures who are pursuing or using Rambo for their own purposes, while in Rambo III, Trautman becomes a more central figure in the physical action of the film.

Kirk Douglas was initially cast in the part, had been outfitted and shown up on the first day of shooting. Douglas had previously expressed displeasure with the scripted ending, and as filming commenced he decided more rewrites were required. Director Ted Kotcheff and producers Mario Kassar and Andrew G. Vajna strongly disagreed and Douglas left the production after 3 weeks. Rock Hudson was then offered the role, but was scheduled to undergo heart surgery and had to turn it down. Richard Crenna was then contacted and arrived on set the next day, learning his lines on the flight to the film set. Marketing stills of Kirk Douglas in the uniform of Col. Trautman exist and are now part of the extras on the DVD of First Blood.

Trautman is first introduced as a character in the 1972 novel, First Blood. As Rambo is being hunted by Sheriff Wilfred Teasle, Trautman arrives and introduces himself as director of the Green Beret program that trained Rambo. Trautman helps reorganize the National Guard units to better track Rambo. In the end, when Rambo has returned to Teasle's town and both men have been mortally wounded, Trautman finishes Rambo off with a shotgun, and then tells the dying Teasle this.

Trautman's relationship to Rambo in the novel sharply contrasts that portrayed in the movie of the same name. In the book, Rambo barely remembers Trautman, and in fact, after hearing his voice, he strains to recall him. Trautman then identifies himself as "Director of the school that trained you" over the car radio. In the book, Rambo does not reply to him, and, in fact, says to himself, "The Bastard. Turning on your own kind [referencing Trautman's assistance to Teasle]." Their one significant interaction comes at the end of the book, when Trautman tells Teasle that he "took the top of his [Rambo's] head off with this shotgun."

According to the DVD special features to the film First Blood, Trautman's dossier records him as being born on July 6, 1929, in Columbus, Ohio. He graduated from Hilldale High School in Columbus in 1946. Trautman began his career in the United States Army after completing officer training at the University of Texas in 1950, where he also graduated with a bachelor's degree in Sociology. Commissioned a second lieutenant, Trautman was an infantry officer stationed at Fort Bragg in North Carolina. He was promoted to captain in 1956 and later to major in 1959. Between 1960 and 1963, Trautman underwent cross-training and became a CIA officer. He went on to join Covert operations in Chile, Guatemala and Cuba.

Trautman first served in the Vietnam War as a First Division member of the Special Forces ("Green Berets") in 1964. He was first deployed to the Southern Vietnamese Theater May 1966. Four years later, he was promoted colonel in 1970. From 1970 to 1973, Colonel Trautman was unit commander of "Team Delta" that included his boot camp protégé John Rambo. He directed CIA operations near the Cambodian border from 1973 to 1979. It is likely that between 1979 and 1982, Trautman was assigned stateside to work in the Department of Defense as he alluded in the film to Rambo he "wasn't spending much time in Bragg lately" as his superiors had him in Washington D.C. "shining a seat with his ass." As an accomplished combat officer Trautman was a recipient of several awards including the Distinguished Service Medal, the Silver Star, the Soldier's Medal, the Legion of Merit, two Bronze Stars, and the Purple Heart to name a few. At the time of Rambo's 1982 incident with local Washington state authorities, Trautman was listed as divorced with no children.

Trautman is flown in from Fort Bragg to warn the Hope, Washington, sheriff's department of the extent of Rambo's fighting and survival capabilities once Rambo starts a one-man war against the brutal deputies. The officers do not take Trautman's warnings seriously, though Trautman is the only one who can effectively communicate with Rambo. One source notes that Trautman, when describing the situation to the local officials as "a war you can't win", was echoing warnings previously made against continuing involvement in the Vietnam War.