Navy Chief Demoted After Investigation Of Unauthorized Satellite Dish

You’ve got to wonder what was going through the mind of a Navy chief who thought sneaking a Starlink dish onto a warship for Netflix and sports updates was a good idea.

In one of the more bizarre military scandals to surface, Chief Grisel Marrero, serving aboard the USS Manchester, was caught installing an unauthorized satellite dish so she and other senior enlisted leaders could enjoy some off-duty internet time. And the lengths she went to keep it hidden? Well, that’s where the story really takes a turn.

Here’s the setup: Internet access on Navy ships isn’t like your home Wi-Fi. It’s restricted to maintain bandwidth for military operations and prevent cybersecurity risks. But Marrero, apparently tired of these restrictions, got creative.

Along with several other chief petty officers, she spent $2,800 on a Starlink High Performance Kit and had it secretly installed in April 2023 before the ship deployed. The goal? Keep up with the news, send messages home, and of course, scroll through social media.

But things didn’t go as smoothly as planned. The wireless signal didn’t cover the entire ship, so during a stop in Pearl Harbor, Marrero and company picked up some signal amplifiers to extend their newfound internet paradise.

To top it all off, they used the Chief Petty Officer Association’s debit card to cover the $1,000 monthly Starlink bill. The rest of the crew? Left in the dark—literally and figuratively. This private network wasn’t shared with rank-and-file sailors.

When suspicion started to arise, Marrero went into full cover-up mode. She reportedly renamed the network “Stinky” to disguise it as a printer and even intercepted a comment left in the commanding officer’s suggestion box about the mysterious network. But secrets like this have a way of unraveling, and soon enough, Marrero’s operation came crashing down.

Following an investigation, Marrero was convicted at a court-martial in March 2024 for dereliction of duty and lying to her commanders. She pleaded guilty, was demoted, and ultimately relieved of her duties for what the Navy described as “a loss of confidence in her leadership abilities.” Navy spokesperson Cmdr. Cindy Fields was clear: “Navy senior enlisted leaders… are expected to uphold the highest standards of responsibility, reliability, and leadership.”

In a strange twist, Marrero’s saga came to light around the same time another embarrassing Navy story hit the internet. A commander aboard the USS John McCain was relieved after a photo surfaced of him firing a rifle with the scope mounted backward—a gaffe that sparked social media ridicule.