Actor Ben Affleck greeted hundreds of sailors and Marines on Monday aboard the USS Enterprise aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf.

Affleck toured the carrier in a bid to boost the morale of around 5,300 men and women on board as they prepare to spend Christmas away from home.

"Thank you for your dedication, your service to the navy and to this country," Affleck said from the bridge on the nuclear-powered carrier. "You are loved and missed back home and we await your safe return."

The actor shared a meal with the sailors, and cracked jokes about the recent capture of Saddam Hussein.

The crew of the carrier has been on active service in the Persian Gulf since their deployment in August.

Affleck posed for photographs and signed autographs for the sailors, who were treated to a special showing of his new thriller "Paycheck."

Affleck later visited the USS Gettysburg, guided-missile cruiser.

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