There are two options: One - he made it up. Two - somebody yanked his chain, and he fell for it.
I would put my money on option 2. Having worked for DoD, and just knowing people in general, I have seen a LOT of gullibility and ignorance in this world. I once knew a marine who honestly believed that browned and wilted vegetation by the security fencing around a nuclear facility was due to radiation exposure, and the fence kept the radiation inside. Of course, the vegetation had been cut and sprayed to allow visual access to the fencing for security checks (something he SHOULD have known), and that is not how to contain radiation. I spent 10 to 15 minutes trying to explain this to him, and he seemed to condescendingly agree, but the deer in the headlights look remained.