First Blood characters

Appears from the start

A young Vietnam veteran traveling alone through rural Kentucky. He has no fixed home and reacts strongly when police chief Wilfred Teasle decides he does not belong in Madison. Quiet, watchful, and marked by his experience of war, he refuses to accept Teasle's order to leave town.

Appears from the start

The police chief of Madison, Kentucky, and a veteran of the Korean War. Proud of the orderly town he oversees, he decides that the unkempt drifter Rambo does not belong there. He regards moving Rambo beyond the town boundary as a reasonable exercise of his authority.

First appears in chapter 3

A Madison police officer whose hostility toward Rambo helps turn an arrest into a violent confrontation. He treats the prisoner roughly and is more interested in enforcing submission than in understanding why confinement is making Rambo panic.

First appears in chapter 3

One of Teasle's dependable Madison officers. He helps keep the station functioning while Teasle handles Rambo and serves as a reliable link between the chief and the rest of the local police.

First appears in chapter 14

An experienced local hunter and a father figure to Teasle. His knowledge of the mountains makes him a natural choice to help lead the civilian search party after Rambo, and his personal loyalty turns the pursuit into more than official police business.

First appears in chapter 20

A state-police commander who takes a practical view of the widening crisis. He brings additional personnel and a broader command structure, while recognizing that Teasle's personal stake in the pursuit may complicate efforts to contain it.

Also known as The Colonel

First appears in chapter 24

The military officer sent to advise the authorities about Rambo. He understands the veteran's capabilities because he supervised the kind of training that shaped them. Calm and unsentimental, Trautman warns that ordinary police tactics are poorly suited to an opponent trained to survive behind enemy lines.