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, Mayagüez Campus, 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