At a glance, when I first looked at this story, I thought, “typical “Joe” behavior.” Then I read the article and was taken by some surprise.
The U.S. Navy found itself grappling with an unusual scandal involving a senior enlisted leader who went to great lengths to ensure personal internet access while deployed. Senior Chief Grisel Marrero, serving aboard the USS Manchester, secretly had a Starlink satellite dish installed on the warship, all to provide herself and other senior leaders with unrestricted internet access. This unauthorized setup, as revealed by a recent investigation, was used to scroll social media, watch movies, and check sports scores while the ship was underway.
Internet access aboard Navy ships is tightly controlled, primarily to conserve bandwidth for critical military operations and safeguard against cybersecurity threats. Marrero, however, saw a loophole, and in April 2023, before the Manchester’s deployment, she and other senior leaders bought a $2,800 Starlink High Performance Kit.
Marrero, a former information systems technician, and more than a dozen chief petty officers used the unauthorized network to keep in touch with home, access news, and even enhance the signal range by purchasing amplifiers during a stop in Pearl Harbor.
Here’s where they messed up even though they were going to get caught not matter what.
It turned into a private network reserved for the ship’s leadership, excluding rank-and-file sailors.
That’s right the scrubs had to suffer so you know what that means? Somebody told.
Here’s another crazy thing, the group went so far as to use funds from the Chief Petty Officer Association’s debit card to foot the bill—approximately $1,000 a month.
To maintain secrecy, Marrero took extraordinary steps, including renaming the network as a printer and intercepting complaints that might alert the ship’s commanding officer. However, her deceit unraveled, leading to her downfall. In March 2024, Marrero was court-martialed and convicted of dereliction of duty and providing false statements. She was demoted to chief petty officer and subsequently relieved of duty, losing the Navy’s confidence in her leadership abilities.
The Navy and the Army have been rocked by some serious upper enlisted and officer issues. Recently, the Navy relieved the captain in the crazy photo that showed him shooting with the scope backward from duty. Also, the Army fired and disciplined several Sergeant Majors for unbecoming leadership.
At the very least, it’s good to see the Navy and Army taking steps to make their senior leadership available because it all goes downhill.
