# William A. Navas Jr.

William A. Navas Jr. (born December 15, 1942) is a retired United States Army major general who served as the director of the Army National Guard. He is also the first Puerto Rican to be named an Assistant Secretary of the Navy.

## Early life and education

Navas was born in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, on December 15, 1942. His family has a long tradition of military service, including his grandfather, Colonel Antonio M. Navas, who served in both World Wars. His father, Captain William A. Navas Sr. served in World War II 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 at Mayagüez, and received his Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering. He joined the Beta-Activo chapter of Phi Sigma Alpha 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, and Infantry 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. Navas also completed the Program for Senior Managers in Government at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government.

## Career

Navas completed the ROTC program while in college, and joined the United States Army as a second lieutenant of Engineers. He served more than five years on active duty, primarily in West Germany. From 1968 to 1969 he served in Vietnam 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. 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 as deputy director of the Army National Guard and promoted to brigadier general.
In 1990 he was chosen for the position of Vice Chief of the National Guard Bureau and promoted to major general.
Navas served as Vice Chief until 1992, when he became executive officer of the Reserve Forces Policy Board.
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.
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 to serve as the Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Manpower and Reserve Affairs). 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 first individual to hold this position.

## Later work

Since 2011, Navas has been a senior advisor at Dawson & Associates, a Washington, D.C. consulting firm.

## Military decorations and awards

* Defense Distinguished Service Medal
* Army Distinguished Service Medal
* Defense Superior Service Medal
* Legion of Merit (with 1 Oak Leaf Cluster)
* Bronze Star
* Defense Meritorious Service Medal
* Meritorious Service Medal (with 1 Oak Leaf Cluster)
* Air Medal
* Army Commendation Medal (with 3 bronze Oak Leaf Clusters)
* Army Reserve Components Achievement Medal (with 2 bronze Oak Leaf Clusters)
* National Defense Service Medal (with one bronze Service Star)
* Humanitarian Service Medal (Puerto Rico Flood Relief Operations 1985)
* Vietnam Service Medal (with 4 bronze Service Stars)
* Armed Forces Reserve Medal (with bronze Hourglass)
* Army Service Medal
* Army Overseas Service Ribbon
* Army Reserve Components Overseas Training Ribbon (with award numeral 3)
* Meritorious Unit Commendation
* Army Superior Unit Award
* Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation with Palm
* Vietnam Civil Actions Medal
* Vietnam Campaign Medal
Badges:
* Office of the Secretary of Defense Identification Badge
* Army Staff Identification Badge
* Regimental Insignia
* The Venezuelan Bar of Honor Insignia

### Other recognition

* In 2001, Navas was honored with the Achievement Award by Hispanic magazine.
* In 2008 he was awarded the "Caballero Sigma" medal by Phi Sigma Alpha fraternity.
* In 2017 William A. Navas Jr. was inducted to the Puerto Rico Veterans Hall of Fame.

## Effective dates of promotions

| Rank | Date |
| Major general | November 1, 1990 |
| Brigadier general | October 16, 1987 |
| Colonel | July 23, 1981 |
| Lieutenant colonel | October 13, 1976 |
| Major | October 2, 1972 |
| Captain | June 2, 1970 |
| First lieutenant | April 1, 1967 |
| Second lieutenant | December 28, 1965 |