CHATAN, Okinawa Pref. -- It's an early Tuesday evening at Morgan's, a popular bar along Gate Two Road, and the mood is festive.

Tonight is Irish sing-along night and, for U.S. Marines from nearby Camp Foster and U.S. Air Force personnel from the adjacent Kadena Air Base, it's a chance to relax after missions in Saudi Arabia to enforce the no-fly zone over southern Iraq.

Two dozen officers and enlisted men are at the bar, one of several in the area. Unlike some establishments, Morgan's is open to Japanese and foreigners and a few younger Japanese venture inside.