I'd say 'yes', Trask's rank is most probably deeply ingrained fanon - However, Thompson is supposed to be a government official with the authority to shut Bureau 39 down and General Newcomb 'admitted' to being involved professionally with Trask. If Trask was simply a vigilante or 'just' a nut case, Thompson (or Newcomb for that matter) would have turned him over to the police or had him arrested for impersonating a federal agent.
Trask's age is right to be a colonel and it 'feels' right.
