Carlos Del Toro
Secretary of the Navy
Carlos Del Toro was born in 1961 in Havana, Cuba. He immigrated to the United States with his parents as a child and grew up in Hell’s Kitchen, Manhattan. He earned an undergraduate degree in electrical engineering from the United States Naval Academy. He would later earn an M.A. in national security studies from the Naval War College and an M.P.S. in legislative affairs from George Washington University.
He served 22 years in the United States Navy, retiring with the rank of commander. He served in the Office of the Secretary of Defense and was a special assistant to the director and deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget. He was the commanding officer of the USS Bulkeley, a destroyer.
After retiring from the Navy, he founded a company that dealt with management and engineering, primarily working with government clients.
Del Toro was nominated by President Joe Biden to be Secretary of the Navy. He was confirmed by a voice vote of the Senate and assumed office in August 2021.
He is married to Betty and they have four children.
In the News…
Leaders within the U.S. Navy have voiced concerns about the ability of defense contractors to keep up with the needs of their military branch. Aid sent in support of Ukraine in the war with Russia, combined with supply chain issues and labor shortages, could cause the U.S. fleet to run low on necessary assets, especially if the war in Ukraine continues.
Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro said, “If the conflict goes on for another six months to another year, it certainly continues to stress the supply chain in ways that are challenging.” He said that the U.S. is not yet to the point where support for Ukraine must be suspended.
But he said defense companies “need to invest in their workforce, as well as the capital investments that they have to make within their own companies to get their production rates up.”
