Unauthorized satellite dish on warship lands Navy chief Grisel Marrero in hot water with demotion
A U.S. Navy official was relieved of her duties and demoted, after having an unauthorized Starlink High Performance satellite dish installed on a warship and lying about it to her commanding officer.
Grisel Marrero, a command senior chief of the littoral combat ship USS Manchester, was demoted in either August or September 2023.
Marrero reportedly wanted the dish so she and other enlisted officers could better access social media, online content and sports scores.
Navy investigators learned Marrero lied to her superior officer about the dish, which she nicknamed “Stinky,” when asked about it. She also disguised the network by renaming it as a printer.
Naval officers have restricted internet access while at sea, in order to maintain bandwidth for military operations and to guard against cybersecurity breaches.
Marrero was convicted in March at a court-martial proceeding. She pleaded guilty to dereliction of duty and providing false official statements to commanders, and sentenced to a reduction in rank.
