Can Fedora Be Booted From an External USB Drive?

[rab]

I've heard about large hard drives or memory sticks that can be plugged 
into the USB port. Is it possible to configure a new(er) Gateway desktop 
to boot from a drive connected to the USB port? I've taken a new 
position and have found that the IT department here has more Nazis than 
the IT department at my previous position and I'm leery about adding 
Linux to a partition on my harddrive. (I think they would notice GRUB. I 
was "scolded" for adding Mozilla and OpenOffice to my computer. They 
want to add ALL software. Of course, all they know is Windows. 
Apparently we exist to serve the IT department not the other way 
around.) I'm not that familiar with Gateways and of course there are no 
manuals or Windows XP disks for the current system. I am getting a new 
Gateway in a week or so. Any insights would be greatly appreciated. 
(BTW, they want us to shutdown our computersevery night. What a world.)

Rick B.