Homer gets fired from the nuclear plant and decides to join the Naval Reserve. Other reservists include Moe, Barney, and Apu. Meanwhile, Bart gets an earring to look cool, but Homer makes him quit wearing it and ends up taking it with him to sea. Because of Homer's nuclear experience, he is assigned to a nuclear submarine. The Captain likes Homer because of his witty and wise remarks and he promotes him. During a war game exercise, the Captain leaves Homer in charge; things get bad, when the Captain becomes incapacitated. Homer makes some bad decisions and nearly starts a war. Bart's earring comes in handy when the ship springs a leak.

Mulder visits a former FBI agent named Arthur Dales, who may be able to shed some light on why a murder suspect's last word was the young agent's name. Dales tells him a story about the agents assigned to a would-be X-File in the Cold War era of the 1950's.