William Toti
William Toti | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | January 15, 1957 Youngstown, Ohio |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Service | United States Navy |
| Years of service | 1974–2006 |
| Rank | Captain |
| Commands | USSIndianapolis Submarine Squadron 3 |
| Awards | Legion of Merit(7 awards) Defense Meritorious Service Medal Meritorious Service Medal(2 awards) |
William Joseph "Bill" Toti(born January 15, 1957) is an American author, photographer, military technology corporate executive, and former naval officer. Toti was the final captain of theLos Angeles-classsubmarineUSSIndianapolis(SSN-697)and also served as commodore ofSubmarine Squadron 3inPearl Harbor,Hawaii. He is known for his role in the exoneration of CaptainCharles B. McVay IIIof theWorld War IIcruiserUSSIndianapolis(CA-35),as well as for his actions during the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack on the Pentagon. He authored the 2022 book,From CO to CEO: A Practical Guide for Transitioning from Military to Industry Leadership.[1]
Early life and education
[edit]Toti was born inYoungstown, Ohioand grew up inCampbell, Ohio,graduating from Memorial High School in 1974. He later entered theUnited States Naval Academy,graduating in 1979 with a degree in physics. Subsequently, he entered the US Navy's nuclear power program[2]and after completing his nuclear power training and submarine school, Toti joined the submarine force in 1980.[1]
Toti attended theNaval Postgraduate SchoolinMonterey, Californiafrom 1984 to 1986, graduating with the first group of Space Systems Engineers in 1986. He was nominated by the US Navy for Astronaut Mission Specialist in 1987, but failed NASA vision screening and therefore did not enter astronaut training.[3]
Career Events
[edit]US Navy
[edit]Toti took command of the submarineUSSIndianapolisin January 1997. He deployed with his ship from April to October 1997, during which time the Indianapolis was awarded theBattle Efficiency Eand aNavy Unit Commendation,and Toti was awarded the first of his sevenLegion of Meritawards for achievement during that deployment. Toti was then called on todecommissionIndianapolisonly 18 years into its 30-year life, the ship being a victim of the post-Cold Warpeace dividend.[4]In 1999, Toti became the Special Assistant to the Vice Chief of Naval Operations and was stationed atthe Pentagon.
As the United States prepared for its invasion of Iraq, in 2003 Toti organized and led amilitary exercisethat utilized submarines and special forces in a counter-terrorism operation.[5]called "Giant Shadow." During that event, Toti was featured in theCBS Newsprogram "60 Minutes"in 2003 with correspondentScott Pelley.[6]
Toti served ascommodoreofSubmarine Squadron 3inPearl Harbor,Hawaii from 2003 to 2004. At the time of Toti's command, Submarine Squadron 3 was the largest submarine squadron in the US Navy, with sixLos Angeles-class nuclear fast attack submarines assigned, to includeHonolulu,Louisville,Olympia,Columbia,Chicago,andKey West.[7]
Toti's final active duty assignment was to establish and serve as the first commanding officer of FleetAntisubmarine Warfare(ASW) Command,Norfolk, Virginia.During this tour, in 2005 Toti authored a new maritime doctrine titled "Full Spectrum ASW."[8]Widely regarded as a sea change in the method by which naval forces countered submarines,[9]his treatise on the subject also received wide attention internationally. During this assignment, Toti was also called upon by the Navy to defend the use of activesonarfor antisubmarine training, arguing for the practice during controversial public hearings near populations affected by the beaching of marine mammals.[10][11]
Exoneration of Captain McVay
[edit]While serving as commanding officer of the submarineUSS Indianapolis (SSN-697),Toti was recruited by the survivors of the World War II cruiserUSS Indianapolis (CA-35)to assist in their effort to clear the name ofCaptain Charles B. McVay III,who was captain of the cruiser at the time it was sunk by Imperial Japanese Submarine I-58, and who had been court-martialed following their ship's sinking.
In response, Toti authored the article on the McVay affair, titledThe Sinking of the Indy and the Responsibility of Commandpublished in the US Naval Institute Proceedings in October 1999.[4]Later Toti helped Admiral Donald Pilling prepare his testimony in front of aUS Senatecommittee hearing on the McVay court-martial. McVay was exonerated in 2000. Toti's role in the McVay affair was described in the booksIn Harms Wayby Doug Stanton andIndianapolisby Lynn Vincent and Sara Vladic. As a result, Toti was named an Honorary Survivor by the USS Indianapolis Survivors' Organization in 2005.[12]
Toti's role in helping to clear McVay's name was covered in the 2016 documentary filmUSS Indianapolis: the Legacy Project,directed by Sara Vladic.[13]The documentary won several awards atGI Film Festivalsin both Washington, DC, and San Diego, California. In September 2017, Toti was also featured in a PBS live broadcast titledUSS Indianapolis, Live from the Deep,and in 2019 he was featured in the PBS long-form documentaryUSS Indianapolis: Final Chapter.
Response during the September 11, 2001 Attack on the Pentagon
[edit]Toti was on duty in the Pentagon at the time of theSeptember 11 attackby terrorists who took control ofAmerican Airlines Flight 77.[14][15]Some of his activity during the rescue effort was captured inABC Newsvideo footage of the event. Toti was awarded his thirdLegion of Meritfor his actions following the attack.[16][17]In October 2001, he received theLegion of Meritfrom Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Vern Clark for his actions during the attack. His narrative from that day, titled "Antoinette," was incorporated into the introduction of the 2006 book "Operation Homecoming,"edited byAndrew Carrolland published byRandom House.A video recording of his narrative was created for the history project titled "Voices of 9.11."[18]He was featured in the 2016 PBS documentary,9/11: Inside the Pentagon,[19]in the 2020 History Channel documentary "9/11: The Pentagon,"and in episode three of the 2021 National Geographic 6-episode docuseries"9/11: One Day in America."Toti is a lifetime member of the National Eagle Scouts Association, and in 2002 was awarded the BSA Honor Medal by the National Council for his actions during the 9/11 attack.
Industry career
[edit]In 2006, Toti joined Raytheon as Deputy Vice President of Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance Systems. He was promoted to the Vice President of Mission Support Operations in 2009.[20]In 2011, he joined Hewlett Packard as the Vice President and Account Executive of Navy and Marine Corps Accounts, where he led the management of largest network in the world (NMCI). At Hewlett Packard he won the FedScoop 50 Industry Leadership award in 2012.[21]
Toti left Hewlett Packard in 2014 to become president of Cubic Global Defense (CGD).[22]He left Cubic in 2016 to join Hewlett Packard Enterprise as vice president, Defense.[23]In April 2017 HPE combined with CSC to form DXC Technology, whereupon Toti was named Vice President of the US Defense business at DXC,[24]then as president of Maritime Sensor Systems at L3 Technologies. In May, 2019 he began service as President & CEO of Sparton, a defense manufacturing company focused on maritime and naval systems, retiring from that position in January 2022.
Author
[edit]In the mid 1990s Toti was assigned as a Federal Executive Fellow at theBrookings Institutionin Washington, DC, where he authored op-ed pieces, published inThe Washington Post,The Washington Times,The Baltimore Sun,andThe Wall Street Journal,mostly on the topic of Asian political-military affairs, particularly as it pertained to the 1996 Taiwan Straits crisis and theRevolution in Military Affairs.
In 1995,Lawrence Korbwrote an article in the magazineForeign Affairs,titledOur Overstuffed Armed Forcesquestioning the need for and scale of US defense spending by comparing American defense spending to that of other nations. Toti reacted to this article by writing a rebuttal which was published inThe Washington TimesentitledWhat Does Brookings Know About Defense?[25]The article advanced the idea that because of the need of American armed forces to cross two vast oceans surrounding the United States to bring the fight to the enemy, any comparison of what the United States spends relative to spending by other nations that do not have to cross those oceans, is specious. Toti's article was countered by a strong rebuttal on March 19, 1996, also inThe Washington Times,writtenMichael O'Hanlonand Korb, then both senior fellows at Brookings.
Toti authored other articles on the revolution in military affairs during that decade, including a piece titledStop the Revolution I want to Get Off,which earned him the United States Naval Institute's Author of the Year award in 2000.[26]Toti also wrote the foreword and afterword of a book on the history of the cruiserUSSIndianapolis,titledOrdeal by Seaby Thomas Helm and published byPenguin Books.[27]
In 2022 he released his first book, titled "From CO to CEO: A Practical Guide for Transitioning from Military to Industry Leadership,"published byForefront Booksand distributed bySimon & Schuster.According to the introduction of the book, his stated purpose for writing the book is that, over the course of his fifteen years in industry, he saw veterans who left the military and transitioned to industry make the same mistakes over and over again. Toti says in the opening of the book that he believes the military's transition training is defective and actually creates problems for transitioning veterans, and his intent is to teach veterans how things really work in industry so they can reduce their level of stress in transition.[1]
Photographer
[edit]In addition, beginning in 2013, Toti began to achieve recognition as a landscape photographer. His photos have been published in Landscape Photographer, Destinations, and N-Photo magazines. He was featured in Nikon Asia magazine, in an article titledTranscending Appeal.In 2015, Toti published a book of photographs,Safari: Images of African,andhis photographofTunnel ViewatYosemitewas published in theNational Parks Conservation Associationbook, "A Century of Impact."
Podcaster/YouTube Host
[edit]Captain Toti hosts the YouTube podcast "Unauthorised History of The Pacific War"https://www.youtube.com/@UnauthorizedHistoryPacificWarwith former chief historian for The National WWII Museum Seth Paridon. They release an episode weekly, talking about famous to lesser known events of said war; often with guests that are leading specialists such as Jon Parshall and John McManus.
Crimson Tide
[edit]In 1993 while Toti was serving asexecutive officer(second in command) of the submarineUSSFlorida(SSBN-728) Gold Crew, a group of filmmakers fromHollywood PicturesincludingJerry BruckheimerandDon Simpsonembarked in USSFloridato conduct research into the storyline of a film to be titledCrimson Tide,about another Trident submarine,USSAlabama.Toti helped them in correcting the direction of the plot of the movie.Crimson Tidewas released globally in 1995, andCrimson Tidescreenwriter Michael Schiffer attended the 1997 ceremony when Toti took command of USSIndianapolisatPearl Harbor,Hawaii.
Inspired by his relationship with screenwriter Schiffer, Toti then authored a sequel toCrimson Tide,titledThe Genocide Game.The plot-line ofThe Genocide GameinvolvedCrimson Tidelead character Hunter (played byDenzel Washington), with Hunter, in command ofLos Angeles-class fast attack submarine USSIndianapolis,the same submarine which Toti himself would later command. InThe Genocide Game,Hunter discovers an Iranian submarine that has been taken control of byal-Qaedaterrorists, who then use the Iranian submarine to threatenNew York City.Toti shared the script with Schiffer, and the two of them collectively pitched this story to Bruckheimer, who rejected the idea of doing a sequel. Toti then entered the screenplay into theAcademy of Motion Pictures Arts and SciencesNicholl Screenwriting Contest[28]whereThe Genocide Gamefinished as a 2001 semi-finalist.[29]
Documentaries
[edit]| Year | Title | Produced By |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | USS Indianapolis: The Legacy | Tiny Horse Productions |
| 2016 | 9/11: Inside the Pentagon | PBS |
| 2017 | USS Indianapolis: Live from the Deep | PBS |
| 2019 | USS Indianapolis: The Final Chapter | PBS |
| 2020 | 9/11: The Pentagon | The History Channel |
| 2021 | 9/11: One Day in America | National Geographic Channel |
| 2022 | The Lost Ships of World War II | Fox Nation |
 | This section of abiography of a living persondoes notincludeanyreferences or sources.(September 2014) |
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| Submarine Warfare Insignia | |||||
| Legion of Meritw/ 6 goldaward stars | Defense Meritorious Service Medal | ||||
| Meritorious Service Medalw/ 1 award stars | Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medalw/ 2 award stars | Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medalw/ 1 award star | |||
| Joint Meritorious Unit Award | Navy Unit Commendationw/ 1 bronzeservice star | Navy "E" Ribbonwith wreathedBattle E device | |||
| Navy Expeditionary Medal | National Defense Service Medalwith 2 service stars | Global War on Terrorism Service Medal | |||
| Navy Sea Service Deployment Ribbonw/ 4 bronze service star | Navy Expert Rifle Shot Medal | Navy Expert Pistol Shot Medal | |||
| Command at Sea insignia | |||||
| Joint Chiefs of StaffBadge | |||||
References
[edit]- ^abcToti, William (April 5, 2022)."From CO to CEO: A Practical Guide for Transitioning from Military to Industry Leadership".
- ^Toti, William (June 2010)."The Wrath of Rickover".US Naval Institute Proceedings.136.
- ^"USS Florida: The hunt for terrorists".
- ^abToti, William (October 1999)."The Sinking of the Indy & the Responsibility of Command".US Naval Institute Proceedings.125.
- ^"US Navy Tests Controlling Unmanned Aerial Vehicles from Submarines".
- ^"The Deadliest Weapon Ever".
- ^Affairs, This story was written by Journalist 3rd Class Corwin Colbert, Commander, Submarine Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet Public."Toti Relieves French as Commander, Submarine Squadron 3".Retrieved2016-09-25.
{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^"The Hunt for Full-Spectrum ASW".June 2014.
- ^"Full-Spectrum Anti-Submarine Warfare".
- ^"Why Do Whales Beach Themselves?".
- ^"Drowning in Sound".April 2006.
- ^Stanton, Doug (May 2003).In Harms Way.ISBN978-0805073669.
- ^"'USS Indianapolis: The Legacy' Documentary Began Two Decades Ago With A 13-Year-Old Girl's Dream ".2016-04-22.
- ^Kitchen, Matthew."'The Forgotten 9/11' Returning to the Pentagon 15 Years Later ".NBC News.NBC News.
- ^"Just like Korea is the forgotten war, the Pentagon is the forgotten 9/11".2016-09-05.
- ^"'The Forgotten 9/11': Returning to the Pentagon 15 Years Later ".
- ^"Inside the pentagon on 9/11".
- ^"William J Toti".2011-09-19.
- ^"9/11: Inside the Pentagon".
- ^"HP Appoints Bill Toti to Lead Services Initiative for U.S. Department of Navy".
- ^"Navy's NMCI network speeds warfighter's chance to get inside the adversary's OODA loop: An exclusive interview with HP's Bill Toti, Strategic VP and U.S. Navy Los Angeles class sub driver".
- ^"Bill Toti, Cubic Global Defense President, Chosen to Wash100 for Int'l Defense Market Vision".
- ^"Former Cubic Exec Bill Toti Named HPE Defense, Homeland Security VP".
- ^"Hewlett Packard Enterprise Completes Spin-Merger to Form DXC Technology".Forbes Online News.
- ^Toti, William (March 15, 1996). ""What does Brookings Know About Defense"".
- ^"William J. Toti".
- ^Helm, Thomas (2001).Ordeal by Sea: The Tragedy of the U.S.S. Indianapolis.ISBN978-0451204479.
- ^"Academy Nicholl Fellowships".
- ^"ACADEMY NICHOLL 2001 CEREMONY – 2001".
- ^Official Navy Photo