Summary Senior US Navy officer demoted for unauthorized Starlink network on ship. Starlink satellite installed on the vessel's weather deck without permission. Former Command Master Chief covered up the network's existence with a web of deception.
A senior US Navy officer has been demoted after setting up an unauthorized Starlink network on a naval warship. Grisel Marrero, former Command Master Chief (CMC) of the USS Manchester, had the dish installed on the ship's weather deck and shared access to the satellite network with other senior enlisted leaders onboard. US Navy chief rebuked for Starlink racket According to a report by NavyTimes , Marrero and other Navy chiefs conspired to install a Starlink satellite onboard a US Navy ship - the USS Manchester, an Independence-class littoral combat ship - prior to its deployment in the West Pacific in April 2023.
Private internet access can be hard to come by as a US Navy sailor, with intermittent connectivity and low bandwidth the norm when sailing the high seas. Manchester's ship leaders came up with a clever yet unauthorized solution by installing their own satellite dish for private use. Apparently, the entire Chiefs' Mess - consisting of over 15 senior enlisted personnel - was aware of the secret WiFi system, despite the obvious security threat it could pose to the ship's operations.
A US Navy investigation stated, "The installation and usage of Starlink, without the approval of higher headquarters, poses a serious risk to mis.