Seaman Kowalski

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.
Military Experience/Skills
Kowalski’s complete military experience is not fully known. His actual military rank is not fully known as well though it is quite clear his experience is well beyond those of a standard American Seaman. Kowalski's experience is actually consistent with those of a senior Petty Officer like a 2nd Class or 1st Class Petty Officer. This may be due to the unique hierarchical structure of the Nelson Institute of Marine Research (NIMR), which doesn't recognize the ranks of 3rd to 1st Class Petty Officer probably to maintain the public account that the Institute is a civilian entity and not military. Although it is not clear as to whether or not he is an active duty sailor, Kowalski 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. 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
Seaman Kowalski is an extremely skilled sailor and qualified watch stander aboard SSRN Seaview. Kowalski's dependability and coolness during a crisis is a hallmark to his key characteristics. 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. 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.
Friends and acquaintances
Kowalski shares a collection of friends and acquaintances aboard Seaview as well as on the institute grounds of the Nelson Institute of Marine Research. Kowalski is known to have a very friendly relationship with Seaman Stuart Riley as well as has a cordial relationship with Seaman Patterson. When off-duty aboard Seaview, Kowalski spend most of his time playing card games with Chief Sharkey and Seaman Riley; their game of choice is normally Gin Rummy. Kowalski is also known to spend a number of off-duty hours with Chief Sharkey on shore leave as well as during breaks aboard Seaview.

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