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| -Short Attention Span Theater- |
| Navy leader demoted after she conspired with chiefs to run illegal Wi-Fi network on warship |
| 2024-09-05 |
| [FoxNews] Marrero lied to commanding officers about the network at least three times A U.S. Navy command senior chief was demoted for conspiring with other Navy chiefs to install an illegal Wi-Fi network on a warship that they used to check sports scores and watch TV shows. Grisel Marrero, a senior enlisted Navy officer, reportedly installed a Starlink network on the USS Manchester called "STINKY." The command senior chief installed and operated the unauthorized network during a deployment in 2023. She charged the $1,000-a-month cost of the network to a leadership association debit card. Marrero lied and misled her commanding officer about the network at least three times, according to a charge sheet reviewed by Fox News Digital. As the Manchester prepared for a West Pacific deployment in April 2023, Marrero conspired with the ship’s chief to install the secret network. It would be exclusive to them: They didn’t share it with rank-and-file sailors who were forced to deploy without connectivity. The chiefs used the network to check sports scores, text and stream movies, according to an internal investigation obtained by Navy Times. Marrero was demoted from senior chief petty officer to chief petty officer after being found guilty of dereliction of duty and providing false official statements to commanders on May 29. Before her trial, Naval Surface Force Pacific, or SURFPAC, quietly relieved her of her leadership position aboard the Manchester, according to Navy Times. SURFPAC spokesman Cmdr. Arlo Abrahamson told Navy Times that other sailors were disciplined in connection to the unauthorized WiFi but declined to provide further details. Using such a wireless network for entertainment could cause a serious security breach, the investigation warned: "The danger such systems pose to the crew, the ship and the Navy cannot be understated." Prosecutors said Marrero "failed to prevent the USS Manchester’s exposure to operational security risk, as it was her duty to do." Marrero had paid for the $2,800 Starlink dish on her personal credit card and was the network administrator. She and another chief installed the dish during an "aloft" time period when duties aren’t recorded in the ship’s logs, according to Navy Times. She named the network "STINKY" to make it sound like a wireless printer, though there were no such printers on the ship. When junior sailors and commanding officers began to notice the network, Marrero denied its existence, according to the sheet. She also altered a data display image for the Starlink account to reflect lesser data usages. The Starlink dish was discovered on Aug. 18 of that year by a civilian installing an authorized satellite communication system. "The gig is up," Marrero texted a crew member at the time, according to the investigation. After being confronted, she and the other chiefs tried to remove the dish, then told commanders they only used it while in port. Marrero finally admitted to being behind the illegal network to her commanding officer on Aug. 26, 2023. Court records show Marrero pleaded guilty to two counts of dereliction of duty and one count of obstruction of justice. |
| Posted by:Skidmark |
| #16 Fat, female and Hispanic, her defensive trifecta, and if she is by chance gay, she would be pretty nigh invulnerable in today's Navy it seems. |
| Posted by: NoMoreBS 2024-09-05 14:44 |
| #15 She has enough time in to retire 'for the good of the service'. The decision is will they allow it and even if so at the current rank or do they want to make it painful with a reduction. I remember they went after that Navy Seal. At least he didn't endanger an entire ship with EM signals. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2024-09-05 12:02 |
| #14 How could she not be in prison? How could she not be booted from the force? Are there no security officers who routinely monitor signals incoming-and-outgoing and not notice the irregularity? How did the $1,000 a month credit card charge go un-noticed? I haven't seen a "Starlink dish", but aren't there routine patroles on such vessils looking for "stuff that shouldn't be here" (like just part of maintaining a ship that spends 24/7 outdoors)? Is that what passes for chain-of-command these days? |
| Posted by: Crusader 2024-09-05 11:43 |
| #13 where are "rum, lashes, and sodomy" in this story? That would come under the " streaming 'movies' " part. And to be fair, that could account for the persistence and enthusiasm of the miscreants. It does not, however, diminish the security hole. |
| Posted by: SteveS 2024-09-05 11:36 |
| #12 So, where are "rum, lashes, and sodomy" in this story? |
| Posted by: Grom the Reflective 2024-09-05 11:20 |
| #11 How about "whipping around the fleet"? |
| Posted by: Heavy+G 2024-09-05 11:12 |
| #10 Which the Cylons would use if not to find a way to hack the ship, simply use a homing weapon. Suppose a geolocate was on too. If we are going to unlearn the ways and do modern pop stupid culture hires, can they at least be shown season 1 of the 2000's Battlestar Galactica? |
| Posted by: swksvolFF 2024-09-05 10:56 |
| #9 Reading the CDR Salamander link in #7, it is hard not to marvel at the persistence of the chief perps (no pun!) and the number of people involved in maintaining this network, even to the extent of re-installing it after they were found out. Kinda sorta makes me wonder if this was a foreign intelligence op. |
| Posted by: SteveS 2024-09-05 10:47 |
| #8 Am I being overly harsh in suggesting that a dishonorable discharge and some time in prison would in order. |
| Posted by: EMS Artifact 2024-09-05 10:18 |
| #7 See CDR Salamander on the subject. |
| Posted by: James 2024-09-05 09:35 |
| #6 This would be funny as a high school prank, but on a Navy warship? Jeez Louise! Judging by recent news stories, the Navy sure ain't what it used to be. It pains me see the USN becoming part of the Inshittification of Everything. |
| Posted by: SteveS 2024-09-05 09:24 |
| #5 Saw this story a couple of days ago; yes why is she still in the service and while the results of the NJPs for the E-7/8/9s involved ( I refuse to call them Chiefs) have not been released, every one needs busted back to E-5/6. Broke the trust. I also suspect that the CO was, to some degree complicit; her ‘investigation’ into the rumors of this network appear halfhearted; why didn’t any of the ETs or Radarmen see a strange antenna mounted on the ship? She (the CO) in my opinion, was covering ‘for the sisterhood.’ And just why did the XO get transferred? Asking too many uncomfortable questions? The last chapter to this story isn’t written yet. |
| Posted by: USN, Ret. 2024-09-05 08:59 |
| #4 ^ Diversity is our strength. Check out her pic |
| Posted by: Frank G 2024-09-05 08:08 |
| #3 What amazes me is she is still in the Navy. |
| Posted by: Whiskey Mike 2024-09-05 07:30 |
| #2 What they did exposed the ship to TCSM and other attacks. But it also indicates how isolated, bored and the general morale must be on ship. |
| Posted by: NN2N1 2024-09-05 04:17 |
| #1 ...Take a look at the CMC's bio. She was used to certain comforts that she didn't want to give up just because she was out on that icky boat. And worse, the rest of the goat locker went along with her and paid money for the privilege. Mike |
| Posted by: MikeKozlowski 2024-09-05 02:46 |