Sergeant King (Myron McCormick) thinks backwoods hillbilly-turned-new recruit Will Stockdale (Andy Griffith) might the dumbest private ever to join the Air Force. When King puts him permanently in charge of the latrines, Stockdale thinks it's a promotion. Somehow, all King's attempts to make Stockdale look foolish backfire, and one of them even finds the sergeant demoted to private by his superiors. Stockdale, meanwhile, squeaks through training, and soon begins wreaking havoc in the skies.