Free Republic

You've heard of chartering a yacht for vacation, but how about the world's largest cruise ship? Royal Caribbean's Allure of the Seas will set sail Sunday from Port Everglades on its first charter with nearly 5,400 gay and lesbian passengers. The "world's largest gay cruise" sold out in just three weeks, according to the sponsor, Atlantis Events Inc. of Hollywood, Calif.

Special-operations troops think the elite force is facing difficulties by accepting open gays into one of the military's more politically conservative communities. Interviews with current and former commandos reveal that to maintain unit cohesion of Army Green Berets, Navy SEALs or other elite covert warriors, the military services and U.S. Special Operations Command need to make a special effort to ensure both homosexuals and heterosexuals know the rules of conduct. "I'm unsure how the Defense Department will define 'openly gay,' " said one Green Beret officer. "I can envision all sorts of new regulations or changes to existing ones, class...

Washington (CNN) -- When President Obama signed the bill repealing the so-called "don't ask, don't tell" policy, it did not immediately end the military's 17-year ban on gays serving openly. In fact, it will take a series of actions to make that happen, and no one at the Pentagon seems to know when the actual end date might be.