Choice of a ship for the operation narrowed between "Private Jose F. Valdez", then headed from the eastern Mediterranean to Gibraltar, and in port at Abidjan, Ivory Coast. The NSA selected "Liberty" because she had superior cruising speed (18 knots vs. 8 knots for "Private Jose F. Valdez"), because her VHF/UHF multichannel collection capability was better, and because she was, unlike "Private Jose F. Valdez", at the beginning of a deployment. On 23 May 1967 "Liberty" was diverted for duty in the eastern Mediterranean. "Liberty" stopped at Rota on 1 June and departed the next day for the eastern Mediterranean. Eastbound "Liberty" passed westbound "Private Jose F. Valdez" on the night of June 5/6. June 7 Contact X ("Private Jose F. Valdez" was Contact A ) removed from "Liberty"s navigation chart. Seven days after arriving Rota, "Liberty" was attacked by Israeli forces and suffered heavy damages, with 34 crew members killed and 171 injured (see USS Liberty incident). "Private Jose F. Valdez" arrived in Bayonne, New Jersey in June 1967.