SAN DIEGO— According to investigators, a US Navy chief wanted internet access so she and other enlisted officers could scroll social media, check sports scores, and watch movies while deployed. She installed an unauthorized Starlink satellite dish on a warship and lied to her commanding officer to keep it a secret.
Internet connectivity is blocked while a ship is at sea to ensure adequate bandwidth for military activities and to protect against cybersecurity risks.
The Navy quietly dismissed Grisel Marrero, a command senior chief on the littoral combat ship USS Manchester, in August or September 2023, and published details of the probe this week.
The Navy Times was the first to report the details.
According to the study, Marrero, a former information systems technician, and top management spent $2,800 for the Starlink High-Performance Kit, which was installed in April 2023 before the San Diego-based Manchester was deployed.
According to the study, she and more than a dozen other senior petty officers used it to send messages home and keep up with the news, and they purchased signal amplifiers during a stay in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, when they found the wireless signal did not cover the entire ship.
Those implicated also used the Chief Petty Officer Association’s debit card to pay their $1,000 monthly Starlink subscription.
The network was not accessible to rank-and-file sailors.
According to the investigation, Marrero attempted to conceal the network, which she dubbed “Stinky,” by renaming it a printer, denying its existence, and intercepting a comment about the network left in the commanding officer’s suggestion box.
Marrero did not respond to an email from the Associated Press on Friday seeking comment.
She was convicted in March at a court martial after pleading guilty to dereliction of duty and making false official statements to commanders, according to the Navy Times. She was demoted to chief petty officer after the trial.
Marrero was released “due to a loss of confidence in her leadership abilities,” spokesman Cmdr. Cindy Fields stated in an email.
“Navy senior enlisted leaders … are expected to uphold the highest standards of responsibility, reliability, and leadership, and the Navy holds them accountable when they fall short of those standards,” according to Fields.
Last week, the commander of the warship USS John McCain was removed of duty after being caught in a photo firing a gun with a scope placed backward. The photograph drew widespread derision on social media.
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