| Naval Station Rota, Spain |
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Information AboutNaval Station Rota, Spain |
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| cádiz province | |
| military bases in spain | |
| rota | |
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military base in Spain and houses U.S. Navy and Marine personnel and their dependents. There are also small Army and Air Force contingents at the base as well. The base, described by the Navy as the "Gateway to the Mediterranean" 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 the Cold War strategy, this base did have Nuclear Weapon s stationed on it for some time, and at its peak size, in the late 1970s , was home to 10,000 U.S. Personnel . Once the nuclear submarine facilities were torn down, the base's population dwindled. The base is technically a tenant faciliy of the Rota Spanish Navy base. As such, certain U.S. military customs are not observed on this base such as the display of a U.S. Flag , which is only allowed during the annual Fourth Of July celebrations. NAVSTA Rota has 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 . TRIVIA
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