The network was called 'STINKY.' Senior crew aboard a US warship were caught installing an unauthorised Starlink dish on a wooden pallet.

Restricted internet can be a hassle. I'd imagine that the US Navy would have some pretty strict restrictions on what can and cannot be done with an official connection aboard one of their ships, especially if on a sensitive mission within another country's water.

What can you do? You could just accept it and be cautious about your internet use. If you were a senior member of the USS Manchester crew, you could purchase a Starlink connection at $2,800 and strap it to a wooden pallet. Stick it on the exterior of your $500 million warship. Job done.

According to Navy Times, Grisel Marrero and other senior staff did exactly that. The dish was installed to allow those who knew how to use it to check sports scores, send home texts and stream movies while the US Naval vessel was deployed in the West Pacific.

The clever scheme was discovered when the WiFi network was named "STINKY", one of the default names a Starlink Connection could use. This would be along with "STARLINK", another obvious giveaway.

Elon Musk has a sense of humor. What initially appeared to be a joke on Twitter about the default name of the network, actually made it into production.

Marrero initially denied any knowledge of the network name, but then changed it to look like a general-use wireless printing device, despite the fact that there were no wireless printers on board. Marrero also removed questions that crew members had submitted to the commanding officer in the suggestion box.

Ironically, a worker at the Naval Information Warfare Center discovered the unauthorised Starlink dish while installing a Space X "Starshield". Marreno then tried to create fake data that showed the system had been used only while the vessel was docked. This fooled nobody, and US Navy investigators started looking into the entire affair.

Marrero was relieved from her post after she pleaded guilty in a subsequent court martial. All senior crew members who paid for or knew about the system received an "administrative nonjudicial punishment" at the commodore’s mast. This sounds suspiciously similar to being shouted down and made sit on the naughty steps for weeks.

We've learned a few things. Installing an unauthorised satellite connection on US Navy land is a terrible idea. Elon Musk's sense humour, as we have always, um, suspected, will be our downfall. It appears that it has at least helped torpedo the career of a Naval officer here.