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WTF?! Navy personnel deployed for months at sea miss certain creature comforts, including a reliable internet connection. Starlink, with its ability to connect just about anywhere on earth, including in the middle of the ocean, was too tempting for a group of chiefs to resist, so they illegally installed it as part of their preparations for a deployment. They were caught and prosecuted but the incident may also prompt a reevaluation of internet access policies on deployed vessels – or at least better safety protocols.
Service people deployed in remote locations suffer many hardships, including, in this digital era, limited or no internet access. A clandestine operation aboard the USS Manchester uncovered by the Navy Times shows the lengths some service members will go to maintain a digital lifeline to home. Through documents obtained via a Freedom of Information Act request, the publication exposed how senior enlisted leaders secretly installed an unauthorized Wi-Fi network powered by Starlink during a 2023 deployment.
The conspiracy began when then-Command Senior Chief Grisel Marrero plotted with the ship's chiefs to set up a secret internet connection as the combat vessel prepared for its West Pacific deployment in April 2023. They installed a Starlink satellite dish atop the ship that would allow them to stream movies, check sports scores, and text home while at sea. But they didn't change the default SSID for Starlink routers, which are dubbed "STINKY," a rookie mistake that would later help unravel the scheme.
The setup involved a Starlink High Performance Kit, costing around $2,800. This included a satellite dish that connected the vessel to Starlink's low-Earth orbit satellite constellation. The dish was surreptitiously installed on the ship's weather deck, connecting to a hidden router below, allowing the chiefs to create a private Wi-Fi network that was separate from the ship's authorized systems.
The crew eventually became suspicious despite Marrero's efforts to keep the network secret. Marrero repeatedly denied the existence of the mysterious "STINKY" network when questioned about it and eventually changed the network name to avoid scrutiny.
The scheme began to crumble in August 2023 when a civilian from the Naval Warfare Center, who had come onboard to install a communication system, noticed the Starlink dish. A series of investigations eventually exposed the full extent of the conspiracy.
The Navy's investigation concluded that over 15 members of the Manchester's chiefs mess were involved in establishing the illicit Starlink system. Marrero faced the most severe consequences. She was relieved of her duties in late 2023 after repeatedly lying to her superiors about the network's existence. In spring 2024, she was convicted at a court-martial and demoted to E-7.
It was a serious penalty for a serious crime as the Starlink connection jeopardized the safety of the entire ship and crew. "The threat these systems pose to the crew, the vessel, and the Navy cannot be overstated," the Navy said in its report.