Commander of the Federation starship U.S.S. Hood. Lt. Commander William Riker served as DeSoto's first officer in the early 2360s after having served aboard the Potemkin and prior to joining the Enterprise-D as first officer. Captain DeSoto spoke very highly of Riker, despite an incident in which Riker refused to let DeSoto beam into a hazardous situation. In 2366, DeSoto and the Hood were assigned to transport mission specialist Tam Elbrun for a priority rendezvous with the Enterprise-D.