The Admiral and the Master Chief

A newly appointed Navy Admiral was touring a destroyer, determined to find a single flaw in the ship’s legendary discipline. He marched into the engine room and spotted a weathered Master Chief leaning against a bulkhead, calmly sipping a cup of coffee that looked thick enough to strip paint.

The Admiral, looking sharp in his pressed whites, stopped right in front of him. "Chief, if I told you there was a fire in the galley, a leak in the hull, and an enemy sub on the sonar, what is the first thing you would do?"

The Master Chief didn't even put down his mug. He took a slow sip, wiped his mustache, and looked the Admiral dead in the eye. "Sir, I’d finish this coffee. Because by the time I’m done, someone with a lower pay grade will have already fixed two of those things, and I’ll need the caffeine to deal with the paperwork for the third."

The Admiral huffed, "And what if I told you I was the one who started the fire?"

The Master Chief shrugged. "Then I’d definitely finish the coffee, Sir. I never interrupt a superior officer when they’re finally doing some actual work."