The Cruise

Master Chief Petty Officer, Clay Berkeley, USN, reports to Naval Communications Station Santa Cruz Spain. His arrival is less than auspi?cious; he faints aboard the aircraft when his bride of three months tells him that she is pregnant. He is confronted at his new command with a host of personnel problems. The executive officer belongs to a religious sect that disapproves of most things enjoyed by humans. He particularly dislikes female sailors in responsible billets and considers Clay=s boss a slut because he believes she is an unwed mother. Clay acts to end the XO's harassment of his boss. Her degree of trust in Clay becomes such that she informs him she is secretly married to an enlisted man, which makes her guilty of fraternization. Clay, with the assistance of his wife, Patty, devises a means whereby his boss is able to make her marriage legal in the eyes of the Navy. His interactions with his sailors cause him to take several 'crippled kitties' beneath his wing. Disaster strikes when his Patty suffers a miscarriage.