Over 1,000 sailors are on board the Ark Royal, Brit ain's largest aircraft carrier in the Gulf. Jack Fairweather went on board as the crew prepares for war.
There was a poster beneath a picture of an evil looking genie, with a passing resemblance to Saddam Hussein, sitting on a carpet. "You can't win if you're not in," it said.
For the 1,100-crew members aboard HMS Ark Royal, the ship's raffle has brought a little normality to the aircraft carrier at the centre of British naval preparations for war against Iraq.
Among the prizes on offer, a holiday at an undisclosed sunny location. Not Iraq, is written underneath.
"I'm going to need a holiday after this," said Lieut Cdr David Crimmen, a helicopter pilot who flies surveillance flights around the 26-strong Amphibious Task Group which Ark Royal heads, on the lookout for enemy movement.
"And Saddam Hussein will certainly need his magic carpet to get past us," Lieut Crimmen said.
Onboard the 43,000-tonne aircraft carrier yesterday, the flight deck was in a state of constant flux as Chinook and Sea King helicopters took off and landed in the final phase of training exercises before a war begins.
Nearby sailed another aircraft carrier, HMS Ocean, and the Destroyer, HMS Liverpool, part of the battle group that stretches like a series of stepping-stones all the way across the Persian Gulf to Iraq.
Adapted from its usual role of carrying a squadron of FA2 Sea Harriers and GR 7 Harriers, the HMS Ark Royal will become a launch pad for 20 helicopters that will deliver 1,500 marines of 3 Commando Brigade into the heart of Iraq.
Once in Iraq, the marines have been earmarked for taking and holding Basra, the southern Iraqi port town, although according to the Amphibious Task Group's commander, Commodore Jamie Miller: "We still have a whole range of options open to us. The beauty of being at sea is that we're unpredictable. We can deceive, feint, move and attack our enemy where they least expect it."
Since arriving in the Gulf one month ago, the aircraft carrier has been in a state of heightened alert with defence watches set to give the crew eight hours on and eight hours off around the clock.
Over the last few days, however, there has been an air of finality in the preparations the crew has been making. In the words of one marine: "Iraq is beckoning."
"We're being told that we'll be given 36 hours' notice before we go to war," said Cpl Sven Richards, a member of the 120 marines based on board the ship.
"And we're waiting for that call any minute now. All our training and controlled aggression is just pent-up inside us at the moment."
For Donna Fleming, a 20-year old operations mechanic from Yorkshire, the past two months since Ark Royal left Portsmouth have been a steep learning curve.
"I was very nervous to begin when I was waving goodbye to my mother," she said.
"But now that I'm here I'm ready for war. In fact it's me who has been reassuring my family that things are going to be OK," she said, with a battle bag slung over her shoulder, containing life jacket and protective clothing ready to be put on at a moment's notice. "I've told them we've got a job to do and I think they understand why we're going to war in Iraq." But although they have the support of their families, the ship's crew are keenly aware that there is a lack of support for war against Iraq among the British public.
Informal "briefings" are held every night by the officers to keep the crew up to date with the latest developments in the build-up to war.
"We have chats about it every night with our officers to hear about what's happening and to get things off our chest," said Marine Dean McCarthy. "But we just hope that everyone will get behind us when the war starts so that we can focus on our job."
Capt Alan Massey, in command of the ship, said: "I've got a lot of 18-year-olds on board and young sailors who have never been deployed in a combat zone. We've been trying to build them up to have a real sense of purpose. I think we've succeeded."