Martha Rainville is a former Vermont National Guard

Vermont National Guard

The Vermont National Guard is composed of the Vermont Army National Guard and the Vermont Air National Guard. Green Mountain Boys, despite the inclusion of women in both branches since the mid-twentieth century. Flag of the Green Mountain Boys as their banner...

 Adjutant General

Adjutant general

An Adjutant General is a military chief administrative officer.-Imperial Russia:In Imperial Russia, the General-Adjutant was a Court officer, who was usually an army general. He served as a personal aide to the Tsar and hence was a member of the H. I. M. Retinue...

, and retired Air Force Major General

Major General

Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...

. In 2006 she ran as the Republican

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 candidate for Vermont's at-large congressional district

Vermont's at-large congressional district

Vermont has been represented in the United States House of Representatives by a single at-large congressional district since the 1930 census, when the state lost its second seat. There were once six districts in Vermont. Bernie Sanders held the seat from 1991 until 2007, when he became a U.S....

. She was defeated by Democratic

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

 candidate Peter Welch.

Education and National Guard service

After graduating from the Chamberlain-Hunt Academy

Chamberlain-Hunt Academy

Chamberlain-Hunt Academy, founded in 1879, is a private Christian military boarding school in rural Port Gibson, Mississippi, USA, for boys in grades 7 through 12...

 (1975), Rainville received a Bachelor of Arts

Bachelor of Arts

A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...

 in Education

Education

Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...

 from the University of Mississippi

University of Mississippi

The University of Mississippi, also known as Ole Miss, is a public, coeducational research university located in Oxford, Mississippi. Founded in 1844, the school is composed of the main campus in Oxford, four branch campuses located in Booneville, Grenada, Tupelo, and Southaven as well as the...

 (1979). Following graduation, she entered the United States Air Force

United States Air Force

The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...

, and was a 1979 Distinguished Graduate of the United States Air Force Officer Basic Military Training Program at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas. She served on active duty from 1978–1984, then transferred to the 174th Consolidated Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, New York Air National Guard, Syracuse, N.Y. She also served in the Air Force Reserve in Minneapolis, Minn. and the Vermont Air National Guard before becoming the adjutant general of the State of Vermont in March 1997. The position of adjutant general carried with it the rank of Major General

Major General

Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...

.

Politics

In 2005, Rainville began consulting with members of the Republican and Democratic parties regarding a possible run for the U.S. House of Representatives or the U.S. Senate. She was courted by members of both parties. It was later rumored that Rainville was prepared to throw her hat into the House race as a Democrat on the condition that no other Democrats ran. Senate President Peter Welch, a Democrat, had already declared that he was a candidate. Rainville announced her candidacy in the early spring of 2006 as a Republican, stressing government reform, ethics

Ethics

Ethics, also known as moral philosophy, is a branch of philosophy that addresses questions about morality—that is, concepts such as good and evil, right and wrong, virtue and vice, justice and crime, etc.Major branches of ethics include:...

, homeland security

Homeland security

Homeland security is an umbrella term for security efforts to protect states against terrorist activity. Specifically, is a concerted national effort to prevent terrorist attacks within the U.S., reduce America’s vulnerability to terrorism, and minimize the damage and recover from attacks that do...

, a strong national defense, and unqualified support for President George W. Bush

George W. Bush

George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....

’s policy in the Iraq War.

Campaign

Rainville’s campaign, though a positive one, made some early gaffes and struggled to get off the ground. A plagiarizing scandal (originally documented by Julie Waters, a Vermont blogger) involving one of her staffers resulted in a drop in the polls. She signed a Clean Campaign Pledge in which she vowed to not attack her opponent Welch, and condemned negative TV ads by third parties in the race.

A strong national anti-Republican wave, based partially on dwindling support for the post-invasion Iraqi occupation, combined with a desire to restore an oversight role to the Congress, made winning the seat an uphill battle. On Election Day, Welch was elected with a 9 percent lead. It was Rainville’s first run for office.

There was discussion in the state, to the effect, that if Rainville had caucused with the Democrats (even as an independent) she may have fared better. However, Senator Jim Jeffords

Jim Jeffords

James Merrill "Jim" Jeffords is a former U.S. Senator from Vermont. He served as a Republican until 2001, when he left the party to become an independent. He retired from the Senate in 2006.-Background:...

 summed this up “I must advise that while I think Martha Rainville is a talented leader, I feel very strongly that the country will be better served with Democrats gaining control of the House of Representatives in the 110th Congress. Therefore, for this election, I believe Peter Welch is a better choice for Vermont.”

Family

Rainville is the daughter of the late Nick and Lucille Trim of Port Gibson, Mississippi

Port Gibson, Mississippi

Port Gibson is a city in Claiborne County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 1,840 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Claiborne County.- History :...

. Martha Rainville resides in Virginia and has three children. She is divorced, but is now married to Paul McHale

Paul F. McHale, Jr.

Paul F. McHale, Jr. is an American politician. He was the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Homeland Defense and from 1993 to 1999, he represented Pennsylvania's 15th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives....

, a former Assistant Secretary of Defense and member of the Democratic Party

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

.

FEMA service

After her defeat in the U.S. House race to Peter Welch, Rainville was appointed to FEMA as a case studies specialist, who makes recommendations on how to best respond to domestic disasters in the United States. Rainville assumed her role at FEMA on April 16, 2007.

External links

• http://www.ngb.army.mil/ngbgomo/library/bio/rainville_mt.htm National Guard General Officer Biography