Courtesy Photo | NAVAL AIR STATION SIGONELLA, Sicily (June 7, 2024) - The design of the Naval Air...... read more read more
NAVAL AIR STATION SIGONELLA, Sicily (June 7, 2024) – U.S. Naval Air Station (NAS) Sigonella, often hailed as the “Hub of the Med,” will celebrate the installation’s 65th birthday, June 15, 2024.
“With this anniversary, we not only celebrate NAS Sigonella’s continued history of integrity and excellence, but also its future as a source of stability and influence in the Mediterranean,” said Capt. Aaron Shoemaker, commanding officer, NAS Sigonella. “As a critical power projection platform for ships, aircraft and personnel into the region, Sigonella will remain crucial to the success of U.S. and allied forward presence, and global responsiveness for many years to come.”
NAS Sigonella has been a vitally important U.S. installation since its conception in the 1950s. The base provides consolidated operational, command and control, administrative, and advanced logistical support to U.S. and other NATO forces. It’s strategic location enables U.S., allied, and partner nation forces to deploy and respond as required, ensuring security and stability in Europe, Africa and Central (EURAFCENT) Command.
“While we continue to adapt to the world’s emerging challenges, we will also focus on increasing the operational readiness of our deployed U.S. and allied forces, tenant commands, and families,” said Shoemaker. “We are committed to offering exceptional quality of life services and improvements to all personnel and families who call Sigonella home.”
Anniversary celebrations are being planned in order to highlight NAS Sigonella’s growth and achievements since its first days as a refurbished airfield. Personnel and families associated with the installation can expect a host of events to take place in recognition of the 65th anniversary, including: an endurance run; movie theater marathon; bowling specials; anniversary party; and a formal ceremony, including a performance by the Catania Orchestra.
“This year in particular, we have seen impressive growth and success across the installation,” said Cmdr. Daniel Morreira, executive officer, NAS Sigonella. “NAS Sigonella scored a 96 percent on our regional security force shore assessment and certification cycle – the highest in the region; our military working dogs unit scored a 97 percent on their semi-annual assessment – also the highest in the region; and our safety team scored above the Fleet average during their triennial safety assessment. We could not be more proud of the entire Sigonella team and we hope personnel and families will come celebrate with us, June 15.”
NAS Sigonella was founded as Naval Air Facility Sigonella, June 15, 1959. The base originally was an abandoned WW2 Axis airfield, traces of which were gradually built over, including communication tunnels, command structures and a later discovered Luftwaffe ammo dump.
“Sigonella actually holds land near Punta Castellazzo, where the British, under General Montgomery, landed during the Allied Invasion of Sicily,” said Paulo Graziano, a civil engineer who has worked at Sigonella for more than 40 years. “The name Sigonella is also a reference to the Sigona family farm, which was built over to create a fuel farm.”
The original purpose of the base was to house Navy P2V Neptune aircraft, as the unit’s first home in Malta lacked sufficient space. The U.S. Navy, with NATO and Italian backing, signed a land agreement for what would eventually be NAS Sigonella. Equipment was shipped from the original location in Hal Far, Malta, and construction began at NAS 1 in 1957. By the beginning of 1959, the first Americans arrived to Sigonella.
Americans arrived months before any buildings were ready, so work was performed in a large warehouse complex, known as the Magazzino Generale, in Catania. One of the first completed buildings was the base’s pest control center. The building was later taken over by the Army Corps of Engineers, followed by Morale, Welfare, and Recreation, and then an American Forces Network station finally acquired the building in 1966, where it remains today. By August 1959, the airfield was open and recorded its first flights.
NAS Sigonella continues to expand and is cohabitated by U.S. Navy, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Space Force, U.S. Army, and U.S. Marine Corps units and their families; U.S. government civilians and their families; local national personnel; as well as the NATO Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance Force and their families; and its host, the Italian Air Force (ITAF); predominately the ITAF 41st Antisubmarine Warfare Wing.
As the largest tenant command on ITAF Base Sigonella, NAS Sigonella acts as host to approximately 40 commands and a variety of aircraft, including the C-20, C-130, C-26, C-2 Greyhound, MH-60S Knighthawk, RQ-4 Global Hawk, and P-8A Poseidon aircraft. Recent additions to the base include: U.S. Space Force’s 5th Space Warning Squadron, Navy Medical Research Unit EURAFCENT’s newest headquarters, and a new hangar for the U.S. Navy’s MQ-4C Triton, operated by Unmanned Patrol Squadron ONE NINE (VUP-19).
Beyond supporting operational mission sets, hundreds of volunteers and family members assigned to NAS Sigonella and its tenant commands dedicate their time and effort outside of Sigonella each year, to serve as ambassadors for their commands and the U.S. Navy in Central and Eastern Sicily. Since the 1970s, the Sigonella Community Relations Program has been steadily growing and today it facilitates more than 150 volunteer opportunities annually.
Service members, civilians and family members who are assigned to NAS Sigonella or its tenant commands can participate in any number of intercultural exchange activities and community projects, including: environmental cleanups; volunteer work with charities; language interactions at Sicilian schools; and preservation efforts at Sicilian historic sites, such as archaeological digs, ruins, temples, old churches and Roman or Greek amphitheaters.
“I’m deeply proud of what we have been allowed to accomplish here,” said Graziano. “The fact that my colleagues and I could accomplish such things [in the area] where I was born is incredible.”
NAS Sigonella has supported almost every major U.S. armed conflict since its inception. It is strategically important to U.S. operations in the region, especially in the 6th Fleet area of operations, where it can monitor and support evolving situations, whenever the need arises.
For more news and information from NAS Sigonella, visit https://cnreurafcent.cnic.navy.mil/Installations/NAS-Sigonella/ or https://www.facebook.com/nassigonella/.
| Date Taken: | 06.07.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 06.07.2024 02:52 |
| Story ID: | 473220 |
| Location: | IT |
| Web Views: | 489 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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