User:Neal havoc/Seaman Kowalski

Seaman Kowalski is a fictional character played by Del Monroe in the 1964–68 ABC television series Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea.

Personal life
Starting with the mystery of his first name, details on Kowalski’s personal life are, at best, sparse. What is known of him is that he has an older brother, who refers to him as “kid”, is a highly skilled US Navy deep sea diving specialist. Kowalski speaks fluent Russian, and he is well-liked by the other members of the crew as well as the command staff aboard the SSRN Seaview. Kowalski naturally exudes an air of a “regular guy”, especially when off-duty. He is even known, from time to time, to kid around even to point of light horseplay with other crewmen during breaks or between assignments. He is also known for completely enjoying his time off on shore leave. But when he is on duty, Kowalski is almost a strictly no-nonsense sailor. In short, when he plays—he plays; when he is at works—he works.

Experience and military rank
Kowalski’s complete military experience is not fully known. Though he is frequently referred to as "Seaman", it seems fair to surmise that he operates withing the hierarchy of Seaview's command structure more like a mid-level Petty Officer such as a Petty Officer 2nd Class or First Class due to his frequently being placed in charge of details by the captain or executive officer. Although it is not clear as to whether or not he is an active duty although he has given a strong indication that he is an active duty sailor when he once referred to missed getting Captain Mast, which is the Navy’s term for Non-Judicial Punishment (NJP) as he revealed in the episode “Terror on Dinosaur Island”. NJP is used only by each branch of the armed forces of the United States. It is clear that Kowalski is a highly skilled submariner who continually demonstrates a high degree of flexibility working virtually any station aboard a submarine. He is qualified to inspect and prepare the Diving Bell for deep sea operation. In the episode "Jonah and the Whale", Kowalski is so skilled at the job of inspecting and readying a significantly damaged Diving Bell for service, even Admiral Nelson had developed a trust of his opinion as to whether the Bell was ready for another deep-sea deployment after a collision with a whale. Kowalski is excellent at Damage Control, Sonar, and Missile Room operations. Kowalski is held in highest regard as a Control Room station keeper. Aside from Chief Sharkey and a handful other enlisted crewman, Kowalski, is a certified Flying Sub (FS-1) pilot. In the episode “Night of Terror”, Kowalski demonstrated his Flying Sub piloting skills when he flew the craft while Captain Crane used a pair of binoculars to focused his attention on searching for Admiral Nelson’s, whose Diving Bell party ended up stranded on an island. In the episode “Fires of Death”, circumstances forced Kowalski to pilot the Flying Sub through a field of lava. Though Kowalski is prone to bursts of temper, it is always transitory especially when he is on the job. No matter how stressful the situation becomes, Kowalski always manages to re-focus attention on the mission at hand. This is the single characteristic that makes Kowalski a reliable asset aboard Seaview. He is also that member of the crew that the Captain and Executive Officer have come to trust on potentially dangerous assignments away from the boat. Kowalski’s his real talent lies in his supreme combat skills. He is very skillful in hand to hand combat. Kowalski’s brother Stan said as much as in the episode “Deadly Waters”. Stan Kowalski had an encounter with a sailor by the name Kruger (not to be confused by the character Captain Kruger). In that encounter, Kowalski, with an injured arm, prevented Kruger from taking his frustration out on Stan. Kruger undeterred contemplated taking on Kowalski; however, Stan warned Kruger not to get in a fight with Kowalski. He told Kruger that even with a bad arm, Kowalski could take him. Kowalski also known for his expert handling of various weapons. He is clearly an expert marksman; it does not matter whether he fires a pistol or a machine gun—Kowalski rarely misses. Actually, it is because he is so accurate with his shooting, when Kowalski believed he shot Captain Kruger, it nearly drove him out of his mind when he realized he did not in addition discovering there was no body to be found. Along with Chief Sharkey, Kowalski is held in high regards by the boat’s command staff. He is also one of the most trusted members of Seaview’s crew. This was especially true during the first season; Captain Crane as well as the admiral used Kowalski to help extract shore parties out of the hairiest situations where gunfire is a frequent factor.

Character traits
Kowalski is a professional sailor who can be counted on to perform whatever duties set before him.