488 private links
SAN DIEGO — A U.S. Navy chief who wanted the internet so she and other enlisted leaders could scroll social media, check sports scores and watch movies while deployed had an unauthorized Starlink satellite dish installed on a warship and lied to her commanding officer to keep it secret, according to investigators.
Internet access is restricted while a ship is underway to maintain bandwidth for military operations and to protect against cybersecurity threats. //
She and more than a dozen other chief petty officers used it to send messages home and keep up with the news and bought signal amplifiers during a stop in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, after they realized the wireless signal did not cover all areas of the ship, according to the investigation.
Those involved also used the Chief Petty Officer Association’s debit card to pay off the $1,000 monthly Starlink bill.
The network was not shared with rank-and-file sailors.
Marrero tried to hide the network, which she called “Stinky,” by renaming it as a printer, denying its existence and even intercepting a comment about the network left in the commanding officer's suggestion box, according to the investigation.