Naval Station Rota, Spain

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The Naval Base is pinted in grey

U.S. Naval Station Rota (NAVSTA Rota) in Rota, Spain, located in the small fishing village and tourism center of Rota and near the Spanish town of El Puerto de Santa María, is the largest American military base in Spain and houses U.S. Navy Sailors and Marines and their families. There are also small Army and Air Force contingents on the base.

Described by the Navy as the "Gateway to the Mediterranean", Naval Station Rota is home to an airfield and a port; the airfield has often caused the base to be misidentified as "Naval Air Station Rota." The base is the headquarters for Commander, U.S. Naval Activities Spain (COMNAVACTSPAIN), as well as one of the primary gateways for Air Mobility Command flights into Europe.

NAVSTA Rota has been in use since the 1950s when Francisco Franco opened relations with the Americans in order to bring in some foreign currency to his closed society. While never crucial to Cold War strategy, the base did have nuclear weapons stationed on it for some time, and at its peak size, in the early 1980s, was home to 16,000 sailors and their families. With the downsizing of the Navy during the late 80s, and especially after the end of the Cold War, the base's population declined. Rota is now home for about 1200 American Service Members and their families.

The base is technically a tenant facility of the Rota Spanish Navy base. As such, certain U.S. military customs are not observed, such as the display of a U.S. Flag, which is only allowed during the annual Fourth of July celebration.

NAVSTA Rota has also served as a primary holding facility for troops and supplies on their way to and from the Middle East during the recent operations in Afghanistan and Iraq.

[edit] Trivia

The naval base at Rota is the home of the only Taco Bell on the Iberian Peninsula.
The American naval base is also the home of the only existing drive-in movie theater among American military bases worldwide.
The naval base at Rota was the first stop of the Harlem Globetrotters during their tour in Europe in appreciation of different military bases across the continent.
U.S. Navy Admiral David Glasgow Farragut is honored by both the elementary and high school in the Naval housing on base. Both schools were named after him. The logo of the schools is the admiral.
The American Navy housing is divided by two different-looking homes. Las Palmeras are one-story homes clearly influenced by Spanish architecture. Las Flores homes are two-story American style homes.