A U.S. Navy officer has been demoted after secretly installing a Starlink satellite dish on a warship to access the internet for personal use. Grisel Marrero, who served as a command senior chief on the USS Manchester was found guilty of dereliction of duty and providing false statements to commanders, resulting in her demotion to chief petty officer.
Ironically, Marrero’s actions were exposed when the Navy discovered the unauthorized Starlink dish while installing a legitimate Starshield system from SpaceX.
According to an official Navy investigation, first reported by the Navy Times, Marrero and her fellow officers purchased a Starlink High Performance Kit for US$2,800 and installed it on the USS Manchester in April 2023 before their deployment from San Diego.
The dish was installed to a wood pallet and was secured on the weatherdeck of the ship with white tie down straps.
Once installed, the system provided a group of more than 15 officers with a private internet connection that allowed them to stay connected with family, check sports scores, and watch movies during downtime. The officers also invested in signal amplifiers during a stop in Pearl Harbor to ensure the wireless Starlink connection extended to other parts of the ship.
Complicating matters further, the US$1,000 monthly Starlink bill was also covered by the Chief Petty Officer Association’s debit card.
Marrero went to great lengths to hide the unauthorized satellite internet system. The network was renamed to make it appear as though it was a printer, and when questioned, she denied its existence. Investigators also found that Marrero intercepted a comment about the network that had been left in the commanding officer’s suggestion box, further attempting to conceal the operation.
The internet access was limited to Marrero and her group of senior officers and was not shared with lower-ranking sailors.
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Marrero’s downfall came in August 2023, when Navy personnel installing an authorized Starshield satellite dish aboard the USS Manchester stumbled upon the hidden Starlink dish. With her cover blown, Marrero confessed to her actions and was court-martialed in March 2024.
She pleaded guilty to charges of dereliction of duty and providing false official statements. As a result, she was demoted to chief petty officer and relieved of her duties due to a loss of confidence in her leadership.
