Phil Silvers plays Ernie Bilko, a motor pool sgt in the US army. He is based at Fort Baxter, a small camp hidden away near a town called Roseville, in the wilds of Kansas. The camp is supposedly run by Colonel Hall, but it's Bilko that calls the shots. Whether it's poker games, betting on the horses, or when ever he was short of money, which was just about all the time, getting his platoon to cough up. Along with the other Sgt's from the Mess Hall, Signals, and Supply, Bilko is continually at war with Colonel Hall, who is desperately trying to put a stop to the gambling once and for all.