The flagship $4.5 billion carrier, a 100,000 ton floating city with a crew of 5,000, was despatched four months earlier than planned to bolster the United States Navy's already formidable force in the region, the Fifth Fleet.

Alcohol is strictly forbidden, prayers are said over the ship's intercom, and although dating is allowed - there are 600 women on board, and the average age of ratings is about 19 - "intimacy" is not. Time off is spent catching up with sleep or watching the ship's 24-hour movie channel.