Bernard Fontaine (born March 2, 1940) has served in the United States Army and as a volunteer firefighter, Search and Rescue, and deacon. He spent 30 years of his life in the military, working on many large engineering projects with the staff at the Pentagon level. This includes the Army Mountain Warfare School Training Facility at the Camp Ethan Allen Training Site in Jericho, Vermont, and Army Tank and Armored Vehicle Centralized Wash Facility at Fort Stewart, Savannah Georgia. In early 2014 he qualified for the U.S. House of Representatives in the State of Georgia's 9th Congressional District election. He is challenging the incumbent for the Republican Party primary. He is serving with the Georgia State Defense Force as the Senior Advisor to the Commanding General for Search and Rescue Operations. He also served as a Union County (Georgia) Firefighter ‒ NPQ 2. He is on the board of directors for the National Association for Search and Rescue (NASAR), and is an instructor, lead evaluator SARTECH I, Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) instructor, and CPR instructor. Biography Early life Fontaine grew up in a rural farming community during World War II. He spent his early years working on local farms, saving his money to buy a junk car, and taught himself mechanics to work on them. He attended and received a degree at the local College of Agriculture. Soon joining the US Army and working his way through the ranks. Military service Fontaine entered the US Army as a Private in 1960 at the age of 20. He then ascended the ranks to Sergeant, while serving in West Germany during the Cold War. After returning to the US he attended further training in the US Army at Fort Dix, New Jersey, for radio and Officer Candidate School, graduating as a Second Lieutenant. He continued his Army training with Airborne School at Fort Benning (Columbus, Georgia) and U.S. Army Ranger School (Dahlonega, Georgia) in 1966. He remained in the US at Fort Huachuca (southeast Arizona), until he was ordered to serve in the Vietnam War in 1967. During a time of turmoil in the U.S., he served his tour of duty. During the 1970s and 1980s he ascended through the ranks as Captain, Major, Lt. Colonel, and Colonel as an Engineer Officer and Management. After 30 years military service he retired as a brigadier general in 1990. Small business/farm owner After