Naval Station Rota, also known as NAVSTA Rota ( es, Base Naval de Rota, links=no), is a Spanish-American naval base commanded by a Spanish
Rear Admiral.
Located in
Rota in the
Province of Cádiz, NAVSTA Rota is the largest American military community in
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
, housing
US Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
and
US Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through com ...
personnel. There are also small
US Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
and
US Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Sig ...
contingents on the base.
History
![Aircraft at Naval Station Rota in the mid-1960s](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/20/Aircraft_at_Naval_Station_Rota_in_the_mid-1960s.jpg)
NAVSTA Rota has been in use since 1953, when Spanish dictator
Francisco Franco strengthened relations with the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
as a move to
relax international sanctions imposed by the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
since 1945. The installation now covers more than on the northern shore of
Cadiz, an area recognized for its strategic, maritime importance over the centuries.
![Spanish carrier Dedalo at Naval Station Rota 1976](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/25/Spanish_carrier_Dedalo_at_Naval_Station_Rota_1976.JPEG)
The
Chief of Naval Operations deployed
Submarine
A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...
Squadron
Squadron may refer to:
* Squadron (army), a military unit of cavalry, tanks, or equivalent subdivided into troops or tank companies
* Squadron (aviation), a military unit that consists of three or four flights with a total of 12 to 24 aircraft, ...
16 (SUBRON 16) to Rota on 28 January 1964 and embarked upon . completed its first
Fleet Ballistic Missile
A submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) is a ballistic missile capable of being launched from submarines. Modern variants usually deliver multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles (MIRVs), each of which carries a nuclear warhead a ...
(FBM) deterrent patrol with the
Polaris missile
The UGM-27 Polaris missile was a two-stage solid-fueled nuclear-armed submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM). As the United States Navy's first SLBM, it served from 1961 to 1980.
In the mid-1950s the Navy was involved in the Jupiter missi ...
and commenced the first refit and replenishment at Rota. During the early 1970s, the submarines assigned to SUBRON 16 were completing conversion to the
Poseidon missile
Poseidon (; grc-gre, Ποσειδῶν) was one of the Twelve Olympians in ancient Greek religion and myth, god of the sea, storms, earthquakes and horses.Burkert 1985pp. 136–139 In pre-Olympian Bronze Age Greece, he was venerated as a ...
. That transition was completed when returned to Rota on 14 January 1974.
Treaty
A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between actors in international law. It is usually made by and between sovereign states, but can include international organizations, individuals, business entities, and other legal pe ...
negotiations between Spain and the United States in 1975 resulted in a planned withdrawal of SUBRON 16 from Spain, and the
Chief of Naval Operations ordered studies to select a new refit site on the
East Coast of the United States. The
US Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and po ...
ratified the treaty in June 1976; it called for the squadron's withdrawal from Spain by July 1979. In November 1976 the
Secretary of the Navy
The secretary of the Navy (or SECNAV) is a statutory officer () and the head (chief executive officer) of the Department of the Navy, a military department (component organization) within the United States Department of Defense.
By law, the se ...
announced
Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay
Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay is a base of the United States Navy located adjacent to the city of St. Marys in Camden County, Georgia, on the North River in southeastern Georgia, and 38 miles (61 km) from Jacksonville, Florida. The Submari ...
,
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
as that new refit site.
At its peak size in the early 1980s, NAVSTA Rota was home to 16,000 sailors and their families, to include two permanently forward deployed aviation squadrons,
Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron Two (VQ-2) and Fleet Logistics Support Squadron Twenty four(VR-24). VQ-2 was based at Rota from 1959 until 2005, when it relocated to
NAS Whidbey Island
Naval Air Station Whidbey Island (NASWI) is a naval air station of the United States Navy located on two pieces of land near Oak Harbor, on Whidbey Island, in Island County, Washington.
The main portion of the base, Ault Field, is about ...
, Washington. VR-24 flew the
C-130
The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed Corporation, Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 ...
F and was based at Rota from 1962 until its inactivation in 1993. Through the early 1990s, a patrol squadron of
P-3 Orion aircraft based in the United States would also be split-based between NAVSTA Rota and the Naval Air Facility at
Lajes Air Base
Lajes Field or Lajes Air Base (; pt, Base Aérea das Lajes), officially designated Air Base No. 4 (''Base Aérea Nº 4'', BA4) , is a multi-use airfield near Lajes and northeast of Angra do Heroísmo on Terceira Island in the Azores, Portug ...
in the
Azores
)
, motto =( en, "Rather die free than subjected in peace")
, anthem= ( en, "Anthem of the Azores")
, image_map=Locator_map_of_Azores_in_EU.svg
, map_alt=Location of the Azores within the European Union
, map_caption=Location of the Azores wi ...
to track
Soviet naval vessels and submarines in the
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...
and in the Mediterranean. The patrol squadrons would rotate this deployment assignment to Rota and Lajes every six months and were augmented by
Naval Air Reserve patrol squadrons for shorter durations on a periodic basis.
![Warships at Naval Station Rota in 1981](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f2/Warships_at_Naval_Station_Rota_in_1981.JPEG)
With the
downsizing of the US Navy during the late 1980s and early 1990s, especially after the end of the Cold War, the base's population dramatically declined. The US Navy maintains approximately of the complex. There are about 4,000 Americans in Rota, including military, civilians, and their families.
![Buques en la base naval de Rota](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/df/Buques_en_la_base_naval_de_Rota.JPG)
As the US Navy started to reduce its presence, the USAF realized the potential of the airfield as a refueling stop in Middle East deployments. Rota was used by C-5 and C-141 planes in the Gulf War in 1991. Later, the US agreed with Spain to improve air base installations so it could handle more cargo plane operations.
In April 2011, the commander of the US Navy garrison at the base, Captain William F. Mosk, was relieved of command and reassigned during an investigation into illegal drug use by US servicemen at the installation. Rear Admiral Tony Gaiani relieved Mosk for "lost confidence in his ability to command", specifically, to handle issues related to the investigation.
On October 5, 2011, US Secretary of Defense Panetta announced that the USN will station four
Aegis
The aegis ( ; grc, αἰγίς ''aigís''), as stated in the ''Iliad'', is a device carried by Athena and Zeus, variously interpreted as an animal skin or a shield and sometimes featuring the head of a Gorgon. There may be a connection with a d ...
warships at Rota to strengthen its presence in the Mediterranean Sea and bolster the
missile defense of NATO as part of the
European Phased Adaptive Approach
The NATO missile defense system is a missile defense system being constructed by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in several member states and around the Mediterranean Sea. Plans for this system have changed several times since firs ...
(EPAA). As of 2015, four US
destroyers, including , , , and are permanently forward-deployed to Naval Station Rota as part of the Missile Defense System.
In 2021 the base temporarily hosted thousands of
Afghan refugees transported by the
2021 Kabul airlift. One of the agreements that emerged from the
2022 NATO Madrid summit was to expand the US destroyers stationed at the base from 4 to 6 and 600 more troops.
Overview
![PLANO-DE-BASE-ROTA](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/40/PLANO-DE-BASE-ROTA.PNG)
Naval Station Rota is home to an airfield and a seaport; the airfield has often caused the base to be misidentified as "Naval Air Station Rota". The base is the headquarters for
Commander, US Naval Activities Spain (COMNAVACTSPAIN), as well as a primary gateway for
Air Mobility Command flights into
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
.
Naval Station Rota is
strategically located near the
Strait of Gibraltar and at the halfway point between the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
and
Southwest Asia
Western Asia, West Asia, or Southwest Asia, is the westernmost subregion of the larger geographical region of Asia, as defined by some academics, UN bodies and other institutions. It is almost entirely a part of the Middle East, and includes Ana ...
. Because of this ideal location, the base is able to provide invaluable support to both
US Sixth Fleet
The Sixth Fleet is a numbered fleet of the United States Navy operating as part of United States Naval Forces Europe. The Sixth Fleet is headquartered at Naval Support Activity Naples, Italy. The officially stated mission of the Sixth Fleet in ...
units in the Mediterranean and to USAF
Air Mobility Command units transiting to
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
and Southwest Asia. The Base and its tenant commands are located within the boundaries of the Spanish "Base Naval de Rota". Under the guidance of the
Agreement for Defense Cooperation, the
US and Spanish navies work together and share many facilities. The US Navy has the responsibility for maintaining the station's infrastructure, including a airfield, three active
pier
Seaside pleasure pier in Brighton, England. The first seaside piers were built in England in the early 19th century.">England.html" ;"title="Brighton, England">Brighton, England. The first seaside piers were built in England in the early 19th ...
s, 426 facilities and 806 family housing units.
From Naval Station Rota Spain, the VLF-transmitter Guardamar, which uses
Torreta de Guardamar
Torreta de Guardamar (, ) or Torre de los Americanos is a 380-metre tall guyed radio mast erected by the US Navy near Guardamar del Segura, Spain. It was built in 1962 and is the tallest architectural structure in both the Iberian peninsula and ...
, the tallest man-made structure in the European Union as antenna, is telecontroled.
Pest management
Pest control is the regulation or management of a species defined as a pest (organism), pest; any animal, plant or fungus that impacts adversely on human activities or environment. The human response depends on the importance of the damage don ...
is performed by a combination of Navy personnel, and local contractors who must be licensed by the host country (Spain).
Occupants
The base is used jointly by Spain and the United States. It remains under the
Spanish flag
The national flag of Spain ( es, Bandera de España), as it is defined in the Constitution of 1978, consists of three horizontal stripes: red, yellow and red, the yellow stripe being twice the size of each red stripe. Traditionally, the middle ...
and is commanded by a Spanish
Vice Admiral. While the Spanish Navy is responsible for external security of the base, both Navies are charged with internal security. NAVSTA Rota is technically a tenant facility of the Rota
Spanish Navy
The Spanish Navy or officially, the Armada, is the maritime branch of the Spanish Armed Forces and one of the oldest active naval forces in the world. The Spanish Navy was responsible for a number of major historic achievements in navigation, ...
base. As a result, certain
US military
The United States Armed Forces are the Military, military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six Military branch, service branches: the United States Army, Army, United States Marine Corps, Marine Corps, United States N ...
customs are not observed, such as the display of a
US Flag
The national flag of the United States of America, often referred to as the ''American flag'' or the ''U.S. flag'', consists of thirteen equal horizontal stripes of red (top and bottom) alternating with white, with a blue rectangle in the ca ...
, which is only allowed during the annual
Fourth of July
Independence Day (colloquially the Fourth of July) is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the Declaration of Independence, which was ratified by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, establishing the United States ...
celebration or occasionally at half mast as a mark of respect with the
ad-hoc
Ad hoc is a Latin phrase meaning literally 'to this'. In English, it typically signifies a solution for a specific purpose, problem, or task rather than a generalized solution adaptable to collateral instances. (Compare with ''a priori''.)
Com ...
permission of the Spanish Admiral.
Spanish Navy
This Base houses the Fleet Headquarters and the Naval Action Force, as well as the main operational units of the Navy: Naval Action Group 2, Aircraft Flotilla, 41st Escort Squadron.
Deployed ships
* Naval Action Group 2
**
Juan Carlos I (L-61)
**
Galicia (L51)
**
Castilla (L52)
* 41st Escort Squadron
**
Santa María frigate (F81)
**
Victoria frigate (F82)
**
Numancia frigate (F83)
**
Reina Sofía frigate (F-84)
**
Navarra frigate (F85)
**
Canarias frigate (F86)
US Navy
Naval Station Rota provides support for US and NATO ships; supports the safe and efficient movement of US Navy and US Air Force flights and
passengers
A passenger (also abbreviated as pax) is a person who travels in a vehicle, but does not bear any responsibility for the tasks required for that vehicle to arrive at its destination or otherwise operate the vehicle, and is not a steward. Th ...
; and provides
cargo
Cargo consists of bulk goods conveyed by water, air, or land. In economics, freight is cargo that is transported at a freight rate for commercial gain. ''Cargo'' was originally a shipload but now covers all types of freight, including trans ...
,
fuel, and
ammunition to units in the region. The Naval Station is the only base in the Mediterranean capable of supporting
Amphibious Readiness Group
An amphibious ready group (ARG) of the United States Navy consists of a naval element—a group of warships known as an Amphibious Task Force (ATF)—and a landing force (LF) of U.S. Marines (and occasionally U.S. Army soldiers), in total about ...
post-deployment wash-downs. The base port also offers secure, pier-side maintenance and back-load facilities. Rota supports Amphibious Readiness Group turnovers and hosts Sailors and Marines from visiting afloat units. The base also provides
Quality of Life
Quality of life (QOL) is defined by the World Health Organization as "an individual's perception of their position in life in the context of the culture and value systems in which they live and in relation to their goals, expectations, standards ...
support to
Morón Air Base
Morón Air Base is located at in southern Spain, approximately southeast of the city of Seville. The base gets its name from the nearby town of Morón de la Frontera while is located inside Arahal municipality territory.
Currently the bas ...
, ARG support sites at
Palma de Majorca
Palma (; ; also known as ''Palma de Mallorca'', officially between 1983–88, 2006–08, and 2012–16) is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands in Spain. It is situated on the south coast of Mallorca ...
, NATO headquarters in
Madrid
Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
and the
Military Sealift Command's
Maritime Prepositioning Squadron 1.
The mission of US Forces at Rota, as well as other US Navy installations in the Mediterranean such as
NAS Sigonella
Naval Air Station (NAS) Sigonella is an Italian Air Force base ('' it, Aeroporto "Cosimo Di Palma" di Sigonella''), and a U.S. Navy installation at Italian Air Force Base Sigonella in Sicily, Italy. The whole NAS is a tenant of the Italian Air ...
and
Souda Air Base
Chania International Airport "Daskalogiannis" is an international airport located near Souda Bay on the Akrotiri peninsula of the Greek island of Crete, serving the city of Chania, away. It is a gateway to western Crete for an increasing numb ...
is to provide Command, Control and Logistics Support to US and
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
Operating Forces. These three facilities are undergoing a transformation from
Maritime Patrol Aircraft
A maritime patrol aircraft (MPA), also known as a patrol aircraft, maritime reconnaissance aircraft, or by the older American term patrol bomber, is a fixed-wing aircraft designed to operate for long durations over water in maritime patrol rol ...
airfields to multi-role “hubs” providing crucial air-links for USAF
strategic airlift
An airlift is the organized delivery of supplies or personnel primarily via military transport aircraft.
Airlifting consists of two distinct types: strategic and tactical. Typically, strategic airlifting involves moving material long distance ...
and mobility in support of
US European Command
The United States European Command (EUCOM) is one of the eleven Unified Combatant Command, unified combatant commands of the United States military, headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany. Its area of focus covers and 51 countries and territorie ...
(
EUCOM
The United States European Command (EUCOM) is one of the eleven Unified Combatant Command, unified combatant commands of the United States military, headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany. Its area of focus covers and 51 countries and territorie ...
),
Central Command (
CENTCOM) and
African Area contingency operations under CENTCOM, EUCOM and the evolving
Africa Command (AFRICOM).
Tenant Commands and Forward-deployed ships
*
Destroyer Squadron 60
Destroyer Squadron 60 (DESRON 60) is a destroyer squadron of the United States Navy. Destroyer Squadron 60 is one of three U.S. Navy destroyer squadrons permanently based outside the continental United States.
World War Two
During World War Two, ...
(COMDESRON 60)
**
**
**
**
*
United States Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal
United States Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal technicians render safe all types of ordnance, including improvised, chemical, biological, and nuclear. They perform land and underwater location, identification, render-safe, and recovery (or dispo ...
Mobile Unit Eight
* Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron Seven Nine (
HSM-79
Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron Seven Nine (HSM-79) "Griffins" is a United States Navy helicopter squadron based at Naval Air Station North Island, California, United States.
The unit operates the Sikorsky MH-60R Seahawk which provides deplo ...
) "Griffins", Flying the
Sikorsky MH-60R Seahawk
The Sikorsky SH-60/MH-60 Seahawk (or Sea Hawk) is a twin turboshaft engine, multi-mission United States Navy helicopter based on the United States Army UH-60 Black Hawk and a member of the Sikorsky S-70 family. The most significant modificatio ...
Operational Headquarters for the EU Naval Force
The Operational Headquarters (OHQ) for the EU Naval Force moved from
Northwood, UK to Rota and to
Brest
Brest may refer to:
Places
*Brest, Belarus
**Brest Region
**Brest Airport
**Brest Fortress
* Brest, Kyustendil Province, Bulgaria
* Břest, Czech Republic
*Brest, France
** Arrondissement of Brest
**Brest Bretagne Airport
** Château de Brest
*Br ...
, France on 29 March 2019.
EU's
Operation Atalanta
Operation Atalanta, formally European Union Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) Somalia, is a current counter-piracy military operation at sea off the Horn of Africa and in the Western Indian Ocean, that is the first naval operation conducted by the E ...
is commanded from Naval Station Rota.
Opposition
Since the 1980s, various leftist and activist
pacifist
Pacifism is the opposition or resistance to war, militarism (including conscription and mandatory military service) or violence. Pacifists generally reject theories of Just War. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaign ...
groups have marched annually to protest the presence of US and
Spanish military
The Spanish Armed Forces are in charge of guaranteeing the sovereignty and independence of the Kingdom of Spain, defending its territorial integrity and the constitutional order, according to the functions entrusted to them by the Constitution o ...
personnel and equipment at the port of Rota. The most common path marches alongside the seaside streets of the town to protest at the individual US (NAVSTA Rota), Spanish (''
Base Naval de Rota'') and joint gates, where representatives of the groups read proclamations in favour of peace and freedom.
Gallery
File:USS Ross (DDG 71) Conducting Naval Operations 170329-N-FQ994-073.jpg, Conducting Naval Operations
File:Ship LPD-Castilla-(L52).jpg, Galicia-class ''Castilla'' of the Spanish Navy based at Rota
File:US Navy 111121-N-TM034-133 Vice Chief of Naval Operations (VCNO) Adm. Mark Ferguson, center, meets with Spanish navy rear admirals.jpg, (VCNO) Adm. Mark Ferguson, center, meets with Spanish navy Vice Adm. Juan Rodriguez-Garat, left, and Spanish navy Rear Adm. Juan Ruiz-Casas at Naval Station Rota
File:26th MEU Wash Down at Naval Station Rota, Spain 131019-M-SO289-014.jpg, The USMC
The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through co ...
's 26th MEU at Naval Station Rota (USS Kearsarge (LHD-3)
USS ''Kearsarge'' (LHD-3) is the third of the United States Navy. She is the fifth ship to bear that name, but the fourth to serve under it, as the third was renamed before launching (after the prior was sunk).
Namesake
Named in honor of , ...
)
File:President Barack Obama is greeted by U.S. and Spanish service members along with their families during his visit to Naval Station Rota (28191347486).jpg, U.S. President Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...
during his official visit to Naval Station Rota in 2016.
See also
*
US Naval Advance Bases
US Naval Advance Bases were built globally by the United States Navy during World War II to support and project U.S. naval operations world-wide. A few were built on allied soil, but most were captured enemy facilities or completely new. Advanc ...
*
Morón Air Base
Morón Air Base is located at in southern Spain, approximately southeast of the city of Seville. The base gets its name from the nearby town of Morón de la Frontera while is located inside Arahal municipality territory.
Currently the bas ...
References
External links
Base Naval de Rota. Spanish Navy Website
; Video links
*
{{authority control
Naval Stations of the United States Navy
1953 establishments in Spain
Airports in Andalusia
Buildings and structures in Andalusia
Military installations established in 1953
Spanish Navy bases
Spain–United States military relations