from humor in uniform in Readers Digest several years back and my
fuzzy memory....

A CPO steward is retiring after thirty years of service. An admiral
has decided to attend the ceremony since the CPO was his personal cook
for several years, The admiral is recalling how the steward would be
summoned to the bridge with a cup of coffee and always arrived with
the cup full to the brim no matter how rough the seas were. The
admiral wanted to know how the steward managed such a difficult task.

The steward answered: "Well, I always took a big swig before I left
the galley".