Martha Rainville

Martha T. Rainville (née Trim, born April 9, 1958) is a retired U.S. Air Force officer who attained the rank of major general. She was the first woman in U.S. history to become a state adjutant general when she served in that post with the Vermont National Guard.

In 2006 she ran as the Republican candidate for Vermont's at-large congressional district and was defeated by Democratic candidate Peter Welch. Rainville was later appointed to senior executive roles at FEMA, and then became Chief Operating Officer of Civil Support International LLC, a disaster preparedness and crisis response consulting firm.

Early life and education Rainville was born in New London, Connecticut while her father was serving in the United States Navy, and she was raised in Mississippi after her father's retirement. She graduated from Chamberlain-Hunt Academy in 1975, and received a Bachelor of Arts in Education from the University of Mississippi (1979).

Military career Following graduation, she entered the United States Air Force, and was a 1979 Distinguished Graduate of the United States Air Force Officer Basic Military Training Program at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas. In most states the adjutant general is appointed by the governor; in Vermont the state legislature chooses.

Military assignments September 1979 - March 1980, student, 3353 School Squadron, Chanute Tactical Training Center, Ill. March 1980 - September 1980, assistant officer-in-charge, 4756th Aircraft Generation Squadron, Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla. September 1980 - November 1981, assistant maintenance supervisor, 325th Equipment Maintenance Squadron, Air Force Base, Fla November 1981 - May 1982, unit logistics program officer, 49th Fighter Interceptor Squadron, Griffis Air Force Base, N.Y. May 1982 - October 1982, officer-in-charge, Plans Program and Mobility, 49th Fighter Interceptor Squadron, Griffis Air Force Base, N.Y. November 1982 - January 1984, officer-in-charge, Maintenance Control, 49th Fighter Interceptor Squadron, Griffis Air Force Base, N.Y. January 1984 - July 1985, officer-in-charge, Avionics Branch, 174th Consolidated Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, New York Air National Guard, Syracuse, N.Y. July 1985 - July 1987, education training safety officer, 934th Combat Support Squadron, United States Air Force Reserve, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn. July 1987 - July 1988, unit plans officer, 934th Combat Support Squadron, United States Air Force Reserve, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn. August 1988 - July 1991, aircraft maintenance officer, 158th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, Vermont Air National Guard, Burlington, Vt. July 1991 - February 1997, commander, 158th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, Vermont Air National Guard, Burlington, Vt. March 1997 - April 2006, adjutant general of Vermont, Camp Johnson, Colchester, Vt. She was courted by members of both parties She won the Republican nomination with 71 percent of the primary vote, to 28 for Mark Shepard, a member of the Vermont Senate.

Rainville was the Republican nominee against Democrat Peter Welch for the seat Bernie Sanders was leaving to run for the U.S. Senate. Rainville's campaign, though a positive one, made some gaffes including an incident in which one of her staffers was found to have plagiarized portions of issue position statements posted to Rainville's campaign website, which resulted in a drop for Rainville in pre-election public opinion polls.

A strong national anti-Republican wave, based partially on dwindling support for the post-invasion Iraqi occupation, combined with a desire to restore Democrats to a Congressional oversight role of the George W. Bush administration, made winning the seat an uphill battle. On Election Day, Welch won the seat 53.2 percent to 44.5, with minor candidates splitting the rest of the vote.

FEMA FEMA case studies specialist Rainville (center back) accompanies Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff in demonstration of U.S. Coast Guard Deployable Operations Group In 2007, Rainville was appointed counselor to the Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) administrator and deputy administrator for Continuity Programs. Rainville was responsible for ensuring that FEMA performed its role as Lead Agent for Federal Executive Branch Continuity Programs and served until 2009. She was married to Norman Rainville, whom she met while both served in the Air Force; they had three children and divorced in 2003.