A senior officer has been court-martialed after she and senior crew members secretly installed Wi-Fi on a US warship to watch movies, text and check sports scores.
Grisel Marrero was command senior chief of the USS Manchester when an investigation by the Navy found she and other members of her crew had hidden a Wi-Fi device in a printer while deployed in the western Pacific with the US 7th Fleet.
The scheme involved installing a Starlink satellite dish on top of the ship at a cost of $2,800 (£2,131) and organising a payment plan of $1,000 a month for the Starlink bill.
Starlink, an Elon Musk company, uses satellites to provide high-speed internet access in remote locations. Ms Marrero claimed the Wi-Fi system was to boost morale, but the investigation found it was a breach of security.
“The danger such systems pose to the crew, the ship and the Navy cannot be understated,” the investigation said. “The installation and usage of Starlink, without the approval of higher headquarters, poses a serious risk to mission, operational security, and information security.”
The investigation found the scheme was led by Ms Marrero and involved the entire, 15-member chief’s mess. Rank-and-file sailors nor the ship’s command were involved.
‘The gig is up’
The scheme was uncovered when junior sailors suspected there was Wi-Fi onboard but the password was hidden from them. Despite several searches by the ship’s commanding officer, it was the Manchester’s combat systems officer who took a photo of the dish on the ship’s weather deck.
“The gig is up,” Ms Marrero texted one of the scheme’s participants.
When questioned about the network, Ms Marrero offered lies, false documents and misleading information to cover up the misdeed.
At a court martial earlier this year, Ms Marrero pleaded guilty to wilful dereliction of duty charge specifications, the Navy Times reported. Her rank was reduced to chief petty officer.
The officers who knew about but did not report the Wi-Fi were given administrative non-judicial punishment at commodore’s mast.
“This agreement was a criminal conspiracy, supported by the overt act of bringing the purchased Starlink onboard USS Manchester,” the investigation said.
