Candidate for
United States Representative; District 5

Born in Lithuania in 1938, the family was persecuted for religious beliefs by the Communists. When the Germans occupied Lithuania in 1942, the family escaped to Germany, only to be sent to a concentration camp for his father's criticism of Hitler. They were liberated by the Americans, and in 1948, came to America, realizing his father's lifelong dream to reach the beacon of freedom, security and opportunity for his children. They settled in Houston, Texas, where Serge Chernay grew up.

Military Career

After graduating from Texas Tech University in 1964, he completed pilot training at Reese AFB, Texas. Colonel Chernay flew B-52's and numerous other aircraft. After serving in Viet Nam, where he flew 455 combat missions as a Forward Air Controller, he was assigned to the Air Force Office of the Vice Chief of Staff, the Pentagon. He later served with the Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Office of the Secretary of Defense. During the 12 years in Washington, he was involved in policy formulation for expanding US economic and political ties with the USSR, Eastern Europe, and China; and with Nuclear Arms Control negotiations. He also taught at the Air War College.

Col. Chernay participated in the negotiations of the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT), and during the Reagan Administration served as the Military Advisor to the Representative of the Secretary of Defense, and as Executive Secretary of the US START Delegation in Geneva, Switzerland.

A recognized authority on US-Soviet relations, Col. Chernay retired from the US Air Force in 1988, with 24 years of service with the rank of Colonel.

His military decorations include:

Defense Superior Service Medal Air Medal, 10 Oak Leaf Clusters (OLC)
Legion of Merit Meritorious Service Medal, 2 OLC
Distinguished Flying Cross Vietnamese Medal of Honor
Bronze Star

Serge Alexander Chernay

After retiring from the Air Force, he served as President of Chernay International Inc., a consortium of 60 American medical manufacturers whose products were sold in countries of the former Soviet Union. Through the medical consortium, Chernay International furbished Russian hospitals and arranged training of Russian physicians from Siberia and the Russian Far East. He also established the Chernay Foundation, which brought many Russian children to UC Davis Medical Center for life saving heart surgery. He closed the Company in 1998, due to rampant corruption in Russia. Today he serves as an International Business Consultant. He is married, with three children and four grandchildren, living in Sacramento.

Mr. Chernay holds a bachelors degree in Business Administration (Finance) from Texas Tech University and a masters in Political Science from Auburn University.