1950
Charles Garrett enlists in the U.S. Navy and attends a 6-month Electrician’s Mate School, which begins his formal education in electronics. He quickly advances to the rank of Electrician Mate 2nd Class Petty Officer and is placed in charge of the 14-man electrical department on board the USS Bottineau (APA 235), an attack troop transport, during the Korean War.

1955
After his service in the Navy, Charles Garrett marries Eleanor Smith of Pennington, Texas. Eleanor is an elementary school teacher with the Nederland, Texas, school system. Garrett enrolls at Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas, and begins working towards his Bachelors of Science degree in electrical engineering.

1959
Following Charles’ graduation from Lamar University, the family moves to Dallas, Texas, where Garrett begins working for Texas Instruments. He becomes an integral part of the company’s Space and Electronics division and helps design the solid-state amplifiers and power supplies for a data encoder which is used in the Mars-bound Mariner II spacecraft. He also designs the electronic radar scanning templates and controls for the F111 aircraft.