William A. Navas Jr. (born December 15, 1942) is a retired

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

who served as the director of the

Army National Guard The Army National Guard (ARNG), in conjunction with the Air National Guard, is an organized Militia (United States), militia force and a Reserve components of the United States Armed Forces, federal military reserve force of the United States A ...

. He is also the first Puerto Rican to be named an

Assistant Secretary of the Navy Assistant Secretary of the Navy (ASN) is the title given to certain civilian senior officials in the United States Department of the Navy. From 1861 to 1954, the Assistant Secretary of the Navy was the second-highest civilian office in the Depar ...

Early life and education

Navas was born in

Mayagüez, Puerto Rico Mayagüez (, ) is a city and the eighth-largest municipality in Puerto Rico. It was founded as Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria de Mayagüez, and is also known as ''La Sultana del Oeste'' (The Sultaness of the West), ''Ciudad de las Aguas Pura ...

, on December 15, 1942.U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee
Hearing Record
Nominations before the Senate Armed Services Committee, first session, 107th Congress, 2002, page 1009 His family has a long tradition of military service, including his grandfather,

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

Antonio M. Navas, who served in both World Wars. His father,

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

William A. Navas Sr. served in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and had a successful career in civil engineering upon his retirement from the military. Navas received his primary and secondary education in his hometown of Mayagüez. In high school he joined Zeta Mu Gamma fraternity. After graduating from high school, he enrolled in the

University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez Campus A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase ''universitas magistrorum et scholarium'', which rou ...

, and received his

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

degree in

civil engineering Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads, bridges, canals, dams, airports, sewage ...

.National Guard Bureau
Biography, William A. Navas Jr.
, accessed May 17, 2013 He joined the Beta-Activo chapter of

Phi Sigma Alpha Phi Sigma Alpha (), commonly known as La Sigma, is a Puerto Rican fraternities and sororities, Puerto Rican fraternity originally established as the Sigma Delta Alpha Fraternity (Sociedad de Amigos) on October 22, 1928, at the University of Puert ...

fraternity, and served as chapter president from 1963 to 1964. In addition to his degree from the University of Puerto Rico, Navas completed a Master of Science degree in Management Engineering at the University of Bridgeport. Navas completed Army qualification courses for the Engineer,

Military Police Military police (MP) are law enforcement agencies connected with, or part of, the military of a state. In wartime operations, the military police may support the main fighting force with force protection, convoy security, screening, rear recon ...

, and

Infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...

branches. He also completed specialty courses including Jungle Warfare. He was the Distinguished Graduate of his class at the United States Army Command and General Staff College, and graduated from the

Inter-American Defense College The Inter-American Defense College (IADC) is the educational entity of the Inter-American Defense Board, an independent entity of the Organization of American States. The College states that faculty, staff and student body are international, and ...

. Navas also completed the Program for Senior Managers in Government at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

John F. Kennedy School of Government The Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), officially the John F. Kennedy School of Government, is the school of public policy and government of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school offers master's degrees in public policy, public ...

Career

Navas completed the

ROTC The Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC ( or )) is a group of college- and university-based officer-training programs for training commissioned officers of the United States Armed Forces. Overview While ROTC graduate officers serve in all ...

program while in college, and joined the

as a

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

Engineers Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the limit ...

. He served more than five years on active duty, primarily in

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

. From 1968 to 1969 he served in

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

as commander of Company A, 168th Engineer Battalion. In 1970 Navas joined his family's construction business (Navas y Moreda), and became a member of the

Puerto Rico Army National Guard The Puerto Rico Army National Guard (PRARNG) — officially designated in Spanish as ''Guardia Nacional Terrestre de Puerto Rico'', but colloquially known as ''Ejército de la Guardia Nacional de Puerto Rico'' — is the Army National Guard of the ...

. He advanced through a series of command and staff assignments, including command of the 125th Military Police Battalion, 1st Battalion, 296th Infantry Regiment and Combined Task Force, 193rd Infantry Brigade, attaining the rank of colonel in 1981. In 1981 he became a full-time member of the National Guard. After serving in several assignments at the Headquarters of the Puerto Rico National Guard, in 1987 he was selected to succeed

Richard D. Dean Richard Daniel Dean (May 27, 1929 – April 8, 2016) was a United States Army brigadier general who served as Deputy Director of the Army National Guard. Early life Richard Daniel Dean was born in Sedalia, Missouri, on May 27, 1929. Dean joine ...

as deputy director of the

and promoted to

brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

. In 1990 he was chosen for the position of Vice Chief of the

National Guard Bureau The National Guard Bureau is the federal instrument responsible for the administration of the National Guard established by the United States Congress as a joint bureau of the Department of the Army and the Department of the Air Force. It was cre ...

and promoted to major general. Navas served as Vice Chief until 1992, when he became executive officer of the

Reserve Forces Policy Board The Reserve Forces Policy Board (RFPB) is a federal advisory committee established by statute within the Office of the Secretary of Defense. Its purpose is to "serve as an independent adviser to the Secretary of Defense to provide advice and recomm ...

. From September 1994 through October 1995 Navas was Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs. In October 1995, Navas was assigned as director of the Army National Guard, and he served until May, 1998. He was succeeded by

Roger C. Schultz Roger C. Schultz (born October 13, 1945) is a retired United States Army lieutenant general who served as director of the Army National Guard. Early life Roger Charles Schultz was born in Le Mars, Iowa on October 13, 1945. He graduated from L ...

. From June, 1998 until retiring from the military in October, 1998 Navas was a special assistant in the Office of the Vice Chief of Staff of the United States Army.

Assistant Secretary of the Navy

After retiring from the military Navas became the chairman of the American Veteran's Committee for Puerto Rico Self-Determination, an organization which he co-founded. On June 6, 2001, Navas was nominated by President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

to serve as the

Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Manpower and Reserve Affairs) The Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Manpower and Reserve Affairs) (abbreviated as ASN M&RA) is a civilian office in the United States Department of the Navy. The Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Manpower and Reserve Affairs) reports to the Under ...

. He was sworn in on July 17, 2001, and served through January, 2008. From 2008 to 2011 Navas served as executive director of the National Security Professional Development Integration Office at the

United States Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD or DOD) is an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government directly related to national secu ...

, the first individual to hold this position.

Later work

Since 2011, Navas has been a senior advisor at Dawson & Associates, a

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

consulting firm.

Military decorations and awards

Badges: *

Office of the Secretary of Defense Identification Badge * United States Army Staff Identification Badge

Army Staff Identification Badge * The Venezuelan Bar of Honor Insignia

Other recognition

* In 2001, Navas was honored with the Achievement Award by ''

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...

'' magazine. * In 2008 he was awarded the "Caballero Sigma" medal by

fraternity.

Effective dates of promotions

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Navas, William A. Jr. 1942 births Living people Puerto Rican military officers People from Mayagüez, Puerto Rico University of Puerto Rico alumni University of Bridgeport alumni United States Army Command and General Staff College alumni Harvard Kennedy School alumni Puerto Rican Army personnel National Guard (United States) generals United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War United States Army generals Recipients of the Legion of Merit Recipients of the Defense Distinguished Service Medal Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) Recipients of the Air Medal Recipients of the Defense Superior Service Medal Recipients of the Meritorious Service Medal (United States) Republican Party (Puerto Rico) politicians George W. Bush administration personnel United States Army reservists United States Assistant Secretaries of the Navy Puerto Rico National Guard personnel Recipients of the Humanitarian Service Medal