Ahhhhhh this is not anything I have heard. And the tricks on Russian airliners sounds far fetched IMO.
Going 'to get a bucket of steam' said to a new recruit is more in line to any stories.
Someone is pulling your chain.
No US Navy personnel would play tricks with civilians, foreign or domestic.
I'll ask the guy more about it next time I run into him...we were at a bar, so it may have been just a bar story.