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 a master’s 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 provided management and engineering services, primarily to 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…
Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro amended the service branch’s regulations to include sea command positions for information warfare officers. Information warfare combines electronic capabilities, cyber operations, and data awareness and manipulation for both offensive and defensive action. The update makes information warfare personnel eligible for command at sea.
Commander of Naval Information Forces, Vice Admiral Mike Vernazza, said that the naval secretary’s action represents a “pivotal evolution in how the Navy views and employs IW capabilities across all domains of naval warfare.”
Admiral Vernazza stated, “While the information age has been net positive, it has also provided malign actors numerous new outlets and mediums to spread disinformation, propaganda and lies.” He continued, “Our ability to influence is critical across the spectrum of conflict, competition and crisis.”
He added that the new command opportunities are a “direct acknowledgment of the centrality of information as a warfighting discipline.”
