It seems more like a old sea story/joke told throughout the years with the
ship names changed to make it seem current.

As far the cNO [SIC] message quotation, I don't see any evidence of an
actual event.  I heard the same story last week in a sermon, used as an
illustration regarding trying to move the immovable.  The CNO may have
also been trying to illustrate the same kind of point, in a motivational
message, just before he shot himself.

(Assuming this was the United States CNO and not another country.)