The decision was made to board both vessels. Chief Warrant Officer Joe Salgado, the VBSS leader, coordinated the simultaneous boardings. The team has developed a lot of experience. Both vessels were carrying illegal items, one carrying Iraqi oil and the other Iraqi dates. It was a busy day for Valley Forge, but taking two sanctions violators out of action in one day gave the crew professional satisfaction in carrying a mission they were sent to perform.
Sailors now have the ability to e-mail their family and friends while on deployment.
It's as easy as putting your name on a sign-up sheet then showing up at your scheduled time. Each person is allowed 15 minutes to compose messages. Then the messages are sent out. Whenever one is received, it's put into a folder for the crew member to pick up. The program is supervised by the ship's religious program specialists and other volunteers in the library.