Navy chief loses job for installing satellite on warship so she could 'scroll social media'
Topics: Military, Technology, Social Media, Space X
Joe Yates
Featured Image Credit: Naval Surface Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet / LSD 49
Topics: Military, Technology, Social Media, Space X
A Navy boss took doomscrolling to an all new level after she secretly installed a satellite dish onboard the warship she was in charge of.
The decision was made in secret so that she and her crew could 'scroll social media' but it ultimately scuppered her career in the military.
An investigation into the dismissal of command senior chief of USS Manchester Grisel Marrero has revealed the reason the decision to demote her was made.
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But why did she do it?
Well, you'd struggle to get any sort of signal while cruising the oceans.
Serving sailors spend weeks, months, even years at a time floating aboard their vessels deep at sea, and so aren't regularly kept up-to-date with the outside world, football scores, how their family is coping and whatnot.
So you'd understand why Marrero decided to install WiFi on her ship.
Although, it comes at the expense of the ship's safety along with others.
The reason warships aren't designed and created with satellites aboard is to prevent any harm from coming to crew's mission through cyber attacks.
Let's get into it.
In April last year, Marrero and more than a dozen chief petty officers forked out $2,800 between them to install the Starlink High Performance Kit - engineered by SpaceX.
Starlink's High Performance Kit is designed to deliver high-speed, low latency internet while in motion. It features a wide field of view and enhanced GPS capabilities to ensure consistent connectivity on the go.
It sounds like they pretty much bought the best satellite money can buy, the investigation heard.
They then opted to secretly install it on the ship before it left San Diego.
Senior officers were then able to keep in touch with their friends, but only in certain parts of the warship - which wasn't enough.
Marrero and her team bought signal boosters and installed them around the ship when they visited Pearl Harbour, Hawaii.
But how could they get away with it as the WiFi would show up on your phone if you looked?
Well, they sneakily disguised it as a printer, and set up payment plans for the chief's mess to fund it.
Marrero was relieved of her duties after she was found out after lying to her commanding officer.
This March, she was demoted to chief petty officer following a trial in which she pleaded guilty to providing false official statements to commanders.
UNILAD has contacted the US Navy for comment.