Aircraft carrier captain urges caution with mail

ABOARD THE USS ENTERPRISE -- With fears of anthrax-tainted letters in the United States, the captain of the USS Enterprise warned his crew Saturday to be "extremely careful" with mail received aboard the aircraft carrier.

In an address to the crew over the ship's public address system, the captain said he is urging caution because of the possibility of letters and packages containing biological agents.

"I would ask that you be extremely careful with any mail that you get and do not open any letters or packages that do not have a return address that you recognize as being somebody you know," he said.

The USS Enterprise is in the Arabian Sea participating in American bombing strikes on Afghanistan. Though e-mail has been available to its 5,100 crew members since late 1998, long lines still form outside the mail room to pick up letters and packages from home.

According to a senior medical officer aboard the Enterprise, the ship has plenty of ciprofloxacin as well as other antibiotics to treat anthrax patients.

Anthrax immunizations ceased about a year ago because of production problems, said the doctor who can be only identified as Cmdr. John, a senior medical officer, from Coronado, Calif.

Name precautions

Under Defense Department rules meant to protect families back home, full names are not allowed for any service members except commanders if they agree. Neither the captain nor the doctor agreed to have their full names published.

In the hangar on Saturday, mailroom workers organized packages for sailors to collect.

"Since the anthrax came out, everybody now is talking about 'are we going to get anthrax from the personal letter mail?"' said Dontai, a mailroom worker from Richland, Ga. "My understanding is 'no' for right now."

The doctor also said that despite the hectic, long hours since air strikes began, there have been fewer sick calls.