Today’s Navy sailors are likely familiar with the jarring loss of internet connectivity that can come with a ship’s deployment.
For a variety of reasons, including operational security, a crew’s internet access is regularly restricted while underway, to preserve bandwidth for the mission and to keep their ship safe from nefarious online attacks.
But the senior enlisted leaders among the littoral combat ship Manchester’s gold crew knew no such privation last year, when they installed and secretly used their very own Wi-Fi network during a deployment, according to a scathing internal investigation obtained by Navy Times.
As the ship prepared for a West Pacific deployment in April 2023, the enlisted leader onboard conspired with the ship’s chiefs to install the secret, unauthorized network aboard the ship, for use exclusively by them.
So while rank-and-file sailors lived without the level of internet connectivity they enjoyed ashore, the chiefs installed a Starlink satellite internet dish on the top of the ship and used a Wi-Fi network they dubbed “STINKY” to check sports scores, text home and stream movies.
The enjoyment of those wireless creature comforts by enlisted leaders aboard the ship carried serious repercussions for the security of the ship and its crew.
“The danger such systems pose to the crew, the ship and the Navy cannot be understated,” the investigation notes.
Led by the senior enlisted leader of the ship’s gold crew, then-Command Senior Chief Grisel Marrero, the effort roped in the entire chiefs mess by the time it was uncovered a few months later.
Marrero was relieved in late 2023 after repeatedly misleading and lying to her ship’s command about the Wi-Fi network, and she was convicted at court-martial this spring in connection to the scheme.
She was sentenced to a reduction in rank to E-7 after the trial and did not respond to requests for comment for this report.
The Navy has yet to release the entirety of the Manchester investigation file to Navy Times, including supplemental enclosures. Such records generally include statements or interview transcripts with the accused.
RELATED
But records released so far show the probe, which wrapped in November, found that the entire chiefs mess knew about the secret system, and those who didn’t buy into it were nonetheless culpable for not reporting the misconduct.
Those chiefs and senior chiefs who used, paid for, helped hide or knew about the system were given administrative nonjudicial punishment at commodore’s mast, according to the investigation.
All told, more than 15 Manchester chiefs were in cahoots with Marrero to purchase, install and use the Starlink system aboard the ship.
“This agreement was a criminal conspiracy, supported by the overt act of bringing the purchased Starlink onboard USS MANCHESTER,” the investigation said. “Any new member of the CPO Mess which then paid into the services joined that conspiracy following the system’s operational status.”
Records obtained by Navy Times via a Freedom of Information Act request reveal a months-long effort by Marrero to obtain, install and then conceal the chiefs Wi-Fi network from superiors, including the covert installation of a Starlink satellite dish on the outside of the Manchester.
When superiors became suspicious about the existence of the network and confronted her about it, Marrero failed to come clean on multiple occasions and provided falsified documents to further mislead Manchester’s commanding officer, the investigation states.
Unauthorized Wi-Fi systems like the one Marrero set up are a massive no-no for a deployed Navy ship, and Marrero’s crime occurred as the ship was deploying to the West Pacific, where such security concerns become even more paramount among heightened tensions with the Chinese.
“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 states.
‘Deep manipulation’ and ‘corrupt dealings’
Marrero’s background is in Navy intelligence, and she earned a master’s degree in business administration with a concentration in information security and digital management, according to her biography.
The investigation notes that she should have known better.
“Her time in service and specialized training makes it clear the member knew or should have known the risks associated with an unauthorized Wi-Fi system,” the investigation states.
No officers aboard the Manchester had access to the unauthorized network, nor did any lower-ranking sailors, according to the investigation.
“The deep level of manipulation is only overshadowed by the level of corrupt dealings in which CMC Marrero used to conceal the system,” the investigation found.
While Marrero claimed the Wi-Fi system was secretly installed for morale purposes, the investigation notes that such a claim “is undermined by the selective availability of the Wi-Fi and strict control of its access to the CPO Mess only.”
The Manchester’s secret Wi-Fi network was born in March 2023, when Marrero and a co-conspirator got to work buying and installing the Starlink system before the ship’s deployment began the following month.
The Starlink dish was installed on the Manchster’s O-5 level weatherdeck during a “blanket” aloft period, which requires a sailor to hang high above or over the side of the ship.
During a “blanket” aloft, duties are not documented in the deck logs or the officer of the deck logs, according to the investigation.
It’s unclear who harnessed up and actually installed the system for Marrero due to redactions in the publicly released copy of the probe, but records show Marrero powered up the system the night before the ship got underway to the West Pacific waters of U.S. 7th Fleet.
Marrero and her cohorts paid $2,800 for a Starlink High Performance Kit with a personal credit card, and contacted Starlink to expedite shipping so the system would arrive in time for the deployment.
Starlink offers plans ranging from $90 to $5,000 a month, and allows users to control network settings via a cell phone app. The Navy is installing such authorized capabilities aboard some ships in the fleet.
That was not the case aboard Manchester, where Marrero set up payment plans for the chief’s mess to pay for the system — either $62.50 a month or a one-time fee of $375 — that the ship’s Chief Petty Officer Association treasurer collected into a chiefs mess checking account.
Those involved also used the Chief Petty Officer Association’s debit card to pay off the $1,000 monthly Starlink bill, and Marrero warned the chiefs to only use the network in their rooms.
Marrero served as the gatekeeper of the system, records show, downloading and maintaining the Starlink app from her phone and naming it “STINKY.”
Only she could add others to the network, and would directly type the password into their devices, according to the investigation.
After Manchester got underway from San Diego, Marrero and the chiefs soon realized the Wi-Fi signal didn’t cover all areas of the ship, so the senior chief purchased signal repeaters and cable at the Navy Exchange store in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, during a port visit in late April or early May, according to the investigation.
A ‘STINKY’ network
Little stays secret within the close quarters of a deployed ship, and shortly after getting underway, scuttlebutt started swirling among some sailors about the unauthorized Wi-Fi network, the investigation states.
The ship’s former executive officer, Cmdr. Matthew Yokeley, caught wind of the rumors in May and notified the commanding officer, Cmdr. Colleen Moore.
Moore confronted Marrero about whether the chief’s mess had an unauthorized Wi-Fi network that same month.
Another unidentified crew member approached Marrero about a Wi-Fi network aboard the ship after finding available networks on a device that started with the name “STINKY.” It’s unclear who found the “STINKY” network, due to redactions.
In both instances, Marrero denied that such a Wi-Fi network existed. But she soon changed the “STINKY” Wi-Fi network name to another moniker that looked like a wireless printer — even though no such general-use wireless printers were present on the ship, the investigation found.
Moore and Yokeley conducted an inspection inside the ship but did not find any evidence of an unauthorized Wi-Fi system. They did not check the exterior of the ship.
Separately, the Navy relieved Yokeley days later on May 19, 2023. The Navy has said his relief was unrelated to Marrero’s crimes.
About a month later, in the middle of June, the unidentified crew member again confronted Marrero again about the Wi-Fi network, because junior sailors suspected the password was being hidden from them.
Once more, Marrero denied such a network existed.
That same month, Marrero seized a comment placed in the CO’s suggestion box regarding the Wi-Fi network so that it wouldn’t end up in Moore’s hands, according to the investigation.
But Moore received another comment in the suggestion box about the network weeks later, in the middle of July, and again approached Marrero about the network. Again, Marrero denied its existence.
Moore and the ship’s acting executive officer, Cmdr. Samuel Moffett, then conducted another sweep inside the ship.
Although the network that appeared to be a wireless printer appeared on their personal devices during their search, neither made additional inquiries regarding that network, according to the investigation.
Moore told the crew during an all-hands call on July 14, 2023, that no covert Wi-Fi network existed aboard the ship.
While those interviewed claimed Marrero misled the chiefs mess into thinking Moore knew about the Wi-Fi system and had signed off on it, the investigating officer wrote that such statements “lack credibility,” given that only chiefs had access to the system and Marrero renamed the network at one point.
“Any reasonable Chief should have known that with those conditions, CMC Marrero’s assertions that the CO was aware and authorized the system was unreasonable,” the investigation states. “To think otherwise would mean they believed CDR Moore intentionally authorized a concealed Wi-Fi network only for the CPO Mess, excluding all others from usage.”
Weeks after the all-hands call, in August, Moore and Moffett conducted a third, internal inspection of the ship after an outgoing crew member claimed that a secret Wi-Fi network did exist.
‘The gig is up’
On August 18, a civilian from the Naval Information Warfare Center installing an authorized Starshield satellite communication system on the Manchester notified the officer of the deck of the chiefs mess Starlink satellite dish on the O-5 weatherdeck.
Marrero and the chief’s mess knew ahead of time that the Starshield installation near their secret Starlink dish could expose their Wi-Fi network, but they agreed to keep the dish installed, according to the investigation.
The Manchester’s combat systems officer soon took a photo of the dish, and then called in another unidentified crew member to the stateroom to ask if he or she had any knowledge of the dish. The crew member pointed the combat systems officer to Marrero, and then texted Marrero that the combat systems officer knew about the dish and had snapped a photo of it.
“The gig is up,” Marrero texted back, according to the investigation.
Marrero’s secret Starlink dish was removed the same day, and Marrero told another unidentified crew member the next day that it was authorized for in-port use — prompting sailors to re-install the illegal Starlink.
Moore learned about the Starlink dish on Aug. 24, six days after its discovery, during a conversation with the operations officer who had heard second-hand information about the presence of an unauthorized Wi-Fi network.
Moore called the combat systems officer into the stateroom to ask what they knew about the network. The combat systems officer admitted to learning about the system on Aug. 18, but said they didn’t tell Moore about it after discussions with mentors.
It’s unclear which mentors were consulted, due to redactions.
Later that day, Moore approached Marrero again about the dish and whether it belonged to the chief’s mess.
Marrero responded that she “she was not tracking” and told Moore she would hold a meeting with the chief’s mess.
During that chiefs mess meeting, Marrero told her fellow enlisted leaders that Moore knew about their secret Wi-Fi, and two chiefs subsequently removed the dish from the O-5 weatherdeck.
An unidentified chief also volunteered to take responsibility for the network.
The next day, an unidentified chief provided Moore with false statements regarding the installation of the dish, and who was responsible.
It’s unclear due to redactions if the chief was referring to themselves, or another chief. The chief also told Moore that they only used the connection while in port.
Moore remained skeptical, however, and told Marrero later she didn’t believe that.
To bolster their lie that the Wi-Fi was only used in port, Marrero and another chief altered Starlink data usage charts from the service’s website to make it look like the chiefs mess only used the Wi-Fi network in port.
“The actual, un-doctored billing cycle statements show usage while underway,” the investigation states.
Marrero then shared these fabricated charts with Moore, but Moore “did not trust the data usage charts as they appeared to be poorly doctored,” investigators wrote.
Marrero finally confessed and apologized to Moore on Aug. 26, copping to the fact that she deceived her CO throughout the entirety of the deployment.
An unidentified crew member removed the Starlink cable following that meeting, and Moore contacted leadership from Littoral Combat Ship Squadron 3 and Destroyer Squadron 7 to fill them in.
That same day, the chiefs mess also met with Moore and revealed their use of the unauthorized Wi-Fi network in port and at sea. Although Marrero initially attended the meeting, she exited after the chief’s mess requested she leave.
The chiefs handed the system over to Moffett the next day, after he and the ship’s legal officer requested they turn it over.
‘Egregious misconduct’
At a special court-martial in March, Marrero pleaded guilty to willful dereliction of duty charge specifications, Navy Times previously reported. She also pleaded guilty to two false official statement charge specifications that involved her telling the CO that there was no Wi-Fi aboard the Manchester, according to her trial summary.
Additionally, she pleaded not guilty to an obstruction of justice charge, but was found guilty at trial, according to the trial summary record.
Marrero failed to safeguard the Manchester against operational security risks when she set up the secret Wi-Fi, the charge sheet says.
Marrero’s “egregious misconduct” with the illegal Wi-Fi “cannot be understated,” the investigating officer wrote, particularly given how Moore needed her to step up following the relief of the ship’s second-in-command that summer.
“In a time period in which the CO relied extensively on [Marrero] to recover the Command’s climate in the wake of the XO relief, CMC Marrero willfully and intentionally concealed the presence of an unauthorized system,” the investigator wrote. “Following the relief of the previous XO, it is reasonable that the level of trust and confidence with CMC Marrero increased, with heavier reliance on her to pick up the slack left behind.”
