Ensign Clifford Bender, a recent graduate of the United States Naval Academy, reports aboard the Appleby, his first ship. He is an eager, by-the-book officer, and the Appleby′s crew receives orders to "shape up" for his arrival — but O'Toole decides that Bender needs a proper initiation to the U.S. Navy, so he sets out to convince Bender that he has come down with a strange nautical disease.