THE GULF

By DOUGLAS WALLER/ABOARD THE U.S.S. NIMITZ

Navy ships are dry, no booze allowed. Well, almost. According to naval tradition, if a ship is at sea more than 45 days, each crew member is entitled to a ration of two cans of beer. Just two. One man, the captain, decides whether the crew gets them. As of Tuesday, the Nimitz will be at Day 45. It has 5,500 sailors, so flying in 11,000 cans of beer poses a logistical challenge. The clock is ticking, but the betting here is that the beer won't come until the crisis in Iraq has passed.

--By Douglas Waller/Aboard the U.S.S. Nimitz