Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2005 | ||
Bad Links? | Navas to speak at Gordon CollegeU.S. Assistant Secretary of the Navy William Navas will speak at Gordon College Sept. 22 as part of the Barnesville schools International Lecture Series. The speech will begin at 2 p.m. in the Student Center Auditorium on campus with a reception for Navas to be held in the student center lobby following the talk. Navas is the second speaker in the lecture series, which began in April with an inaugural address by Thomas Duenas, Costa Rican Ambassador to the United States. College president Lawrence Weill launched the lecture series in an effort to expand students understanding of international affairs and as a tribute to the schools international students, several of whom attend each year. Weill has been aided in planning the series by Gordon alumnus Luis Guinot, former U.S. ambassador to Costa Rica. Navas, a native of Puerto Rico, was selected for his current U.S. Navy post in 2001. His duties span manpower and reserve affairs, including personnel policy, personnel readiness, quality of life and health care programs and issues effecting active duty and reserve sailors, Marines and Navy civilians. When he retired from military service in 1998, Navas was a major general and director of the Army National Guard. In that job, he managed a $6 million budget and was responsible for more than 362,000 citizen soldiers across 54 states and territories. Navas has also served in a variety of senior level positions in the Department of Defense, such as the deputy director of the Army National Guard, vice chief of the National Guard bureau, military executive of the reserve forces policy board and as the deputy assistant secretary of defense/chief of staff for reserve affairs. Navas was commissioned as a regular Army officer in 1965. As a lieutenant, he first served with U.S. forces in Germany and later commanded a combat engineer company in Vietnam. He left active duty in 1970 and after joining the Puerto Rico Army National Guard, commanded a combat engineer company, military police and infantry battalions. His military decorations include the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, Army Distinguished Service Medal, Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit (two awards), Bronze Star Medal, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal (two awards), Air Medal, Army Commendation Medal (three awards), and numerous state awards. In addition to an undergraduate degree in civil engineering, Navas holds a master of science in management engineering from the University of Bridgeport in Connecticut. He has attended numerous military schools, including the Command and General Staff College, and the Inter-American Defense College. In addition, Navas attended the program for senior managers in government at Harvard University. Navas has served as a member of numerous organizations including the American Veterans for Puerto Rico Self Determination, Minuteman Institute for National Defense Studies and the Army Engineer Association. Navas and his wife Wilda reside in Arlington, Va. They have two married children, William A. III and Gretchen, and one granddaughter. |
|
Copyright 2005-Fayette Publishing, Inc. |