Fictious? Just because there's no online source doesn't mean it didn't happen. In case you don't get it, the Admiral is in charge of TF-77, and the Captain is in charge of the ship. And both officers can order anyone visiting off the ship at any time. Which they did. And, if this snot had tried making the same argument to the squadron COs aboard the flagship, guess what? They'd be in a mood to have him hung from the yardarm. Why? They and their guys are the ones going in over the beach every day, into some very tough defenses, and knowing there are guys willing to risk their own hides to pull them out from either death (bad) or captivity (worse) makes you feel better when you're going out.
And from a google book on military quotations: the Admiral who uttered these words was RADM Daniel V. Gallery, who captured the U-505 in 1944:
" The Pentagon Whiz Kids are, I think, conscientious, patriotic people who are experts at calculating odds, figuring cost-effectiveness and squeezing the last cent out of contract negotiations. But they are heavy handed butchers in dealing with that delicate, vital thing called "morale". This is the stuff that makes ships like the Enterprise, puts flags on top of Iwo Jima and wins wars. "
Rear Admiral Daniel V. Gallery:
Eight Bells and All's Well, 1965
And pick up a copy of the book by Nicholson and Tilman while you're at it. I have a copy, and it does describe the opposition by said Whiz Kids to CSAR operations over NVN. Anyone who advocated such a course of action fully deserved then, and does now, to get kicked off the ship. At least one of the carrier skippers in The Hook article (not online-sorry, but lots of historical sources are not in the e-verse) says the story about ComTF-77 kicking the Whiz Kid off the ship is quite true. It should be: the man was the skipper of the carrier in question (Kitty Hawk). As far as I'm concerned, the Whiz Kid attitude to fighting a war should be disposed of.