In March 2023, senior enlisted sailors aboard the littoral combat ship USS Manchester installed a Starlink High Performance terminal without Navy authorization and used it for private internet access during a West Pacific deployment. The chiefs’ network, called “STINKY,” was not unrestricted crew Wi-Fi: access was limited to participating chiefs, while ordinary sailors and officers were excluded.
What happened aboard USS Manchester
According to a Navy investigation obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request and reported by Navy Times on September 3, 2024, then-Command Senior Chief Grisel Marrero and a co-conspirator bought a Starlink High Performance Kit for $2,800 using a personal credit card. They arranged for the terminal to be installed aboard Manchester as the ship prepared for a West Pacific deployment.
The resulting network was known as “STINKY.” The investigation, as recounted by Navy Times, says chiefs used it to check sports scores, text family members and stream movies. Marrero controlled access, maintained the Starlink application and gave the password directly to approved users. Rank-and-file sailors and officers did not have access.
How the hidden terminal was discovered
The Starlink dish remained undetected until August 18, 2023, when a civilian working aboard Manchester noticed it while installing an authorized Starshield communications system. The terminal was removed that day, but the reporting says it was later reinstalled. Marrero ultimately confessed to the commanding officer on August 26.
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The investigative account describes a broader concealment effort. It says participants repeatedly denied the network existed, changed its name to resemble a printer, diverted a suggestion-box comment, made false statements and altered usage charts to suggest the system had been used only in port. The report says actual billing-cycle records showed Starlink activity while the ship was underway. These details are allegations and findings attributed to the Navy investigation as reported by Navy Times.
Why an unauthorized Starlink terminal was a serious Navy issue
The central problem was not simply that sailors had another way to watch movies. A privately installed satellite terminal creates an unapproved communications path on a military vessel, outside the technical, command and security controls that govern Navy systems.
| Issue | What the reporting establishes |
|---|---|
| Authorization | The Starlink installation was not approved by higher headquarters. |
| Operational use | Investigators found evidence of use while underway, despite later in-port-only explanations. |
| Access | The network was controlled by chiefs and was not available to the full crew. |
| Security concern | The Navy investigation identified mission, operational-security and information-security risks. |
| Confirmed damage | The public reporting does not establish a specific breach, compromise or quantified operational loss caused by STINKY. |
The investigation summarized the danger this way: “The danger such systems pose to the crew, the ship and the Navy cannot be understated.” It also said that installing and using Starlink without higher-headquarters approval “poses a serious risk to mission, operational security, and information security.” Those are the investigation’s conclusions about potential exposure, not proof that a particular enemy obtained information.
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How many chiefs were involved?
Navy Times reported that more than 15 Manchester chiefs were involved in purchasing, installing, using, concealing or knowing about the network without reporting it. The public account does not provide a complete, person-by-person list of offenses or punishments.
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What happened to Grisel Marrero?
Marrero was the principal defendant in a March 2024 special court-martial. A June 3, 2024 Navy Times report says she pleaded guilty to willful dereliction-of-duty specifications and two false-official-statement specifications, and was found guilty of obstruction of justice. The court-martial reduced her rank to E-7.
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Her case was separate from the consequences imposed on other chiefs. The reporting does not say that all involved chiefs were court-martialed.
What punishment did the other chiefs receive?
According to the investigation as reported by Navy Times, chiefs who used the system, paid for it, helped conceal it or knew about it and failed to report it received administrative nonjudicial punishment at commodore’s mast. The publicly reported material does not give a complete accounting of each person’s specific penalty.
| Group | Proceeding or action | Publicly reported result |
|---|---|---|
| Grisel Marrero | Special court-martial in March 2024 | Guilty pleas/findings on dereliction, false official statements and obstruction; reduced to E-7. |
| Other involved chiefs | Administrative nonjudicial punishment at commodore’s mast | Punished for roles such as use, payment, concealment or failure to report; individual penalties not fully listed. |
What is known—and not known—about the investigation
The September 3 account was based on Navy investigative records obtained under FOIA. Navy Times said it had not received the complete investigation file and supplemental enclosures at the time of publication. Its June 3 report used charge and trial-summary records and Navy comment. Futurism published a secondary summary on September 6, but the Navy Times accounts are the primary published basis for the details above.
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- The records support a finding that an unauthorized terminal was installed and used for private connectivity.
- They describe concealment, misleading explanations and altered usage records.
- They identify prospective mission, operational-security and information-security risks.
- They do not publicly document a specific resulting cyber compromise or quantify damage.
Why the case matters beyond one ship
Starlink equipment is commercially available, but a warship cannot treat a consumer satellite service as an ordinary personal hotspot. Any transmitter, antenna or network connected to a deployed vessel can affect emissions control, network separation, geolocation, command oversight and the handling of sensitive operational information. Approval and security review are therefore part of the system, not optional paperwork.
STINKY also exposed a leadership problem: a network reserved for chiefs created an unofficial privilege system, and multiple people reportedly helped hide it instead of reporting the unauthorized installation. The case combines communications-security risk with accountability failures inside the chain of command.
Bottom line
USS Manchester’s scandal was an unauthorized, chiefs-only Starlink network installed before deployment and used at least in part while underway. Marrero was court-martialed, convicted on the reported specifications and reduced to E-7; other involved chiefs received administrative punishment. The Navy’s documented concern was the serious risk created by an unapproved communications path—not a publicly proven breach caused by the terminal.
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