Brigadier General José M. Portela (Ret.), (born June 16, 1949), is a retired officer of the United States Air Force who recently retired from the position of Assistant Adjutant General for Air, which he held while also serving as commander of the Puerto Rico Air National Guard. In 1972, Portela became the youngest C-141 Starlifter aircraft commander and captain at age 22. Portela is also the only reservist ever to serve as director of mobility forces for Bosnia. He is also the first native of Puerto Rico to hold the rank of Brigadier General in the United States Air Force Reserve. Early years Portela was born on June 16, 1949, and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico, where he received his primary and secondary education. He enrolled in the University of Puerto Rico after he graduated from high school and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in business administration in 1969 at the age of 19. Military career Portela joined the United States Air Force Reserves and was commissioned a Second Lieutenant through the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps while still 19 years of age. In June 1969 he received his undergraduate pilot training at Webb Air Force Base in Texas and earned his pilot wings in June 1970. Promoted to first lieutenant, he was assigned to the 41st Military Airlift Squadron at Charleston AFB, S.C. and flew C-141A Starlifter during which time he became the youngest C-141A aircraft commander at age 22. On June 8, 1972, he was promoted to captain and, in September 1972, served with the 3rd Military Airlift Squadron which briefly operated the new Lockheed C-5A Galaxy at Charleston Air Force Base, South Carolina. B. General Portela served at CAFB, S.C. until July 1973, when he joined the Air Force Reserves as a C-5A Initial Cadre pilot with the 312th Airlift Squadron at Travis Air Force Base, California. He served in a variety of flying, command and staff positions from November 1982 to November 1984, during which time he was promoted to the rank of major (June 8, 1983) and served as a C-5 flight examiner, 326th Military Airlift Squadron at Dover Air Force Base in Dover, Delaware. In 1984, Portela took the Marine Command and Staff War Course and was reassigned to the 433RD Airlift Wing at Kelly Air Force Base, Texas, where he served as a C-5 standardization/evaluation chief and airlift control flight