The Rota facility became fully operational on May 31, 1963 and was disestablished on June 6, 2005.

Rota was a tenant command located within the boundaries of the 6,100 acre Spanish Base Naval de Rota, Spain’s largest Naval installation. NAVSTA Rota was strategically located near the Straits of Gibraltar and at the halfway point between the U.S. and Southwest Asia. Because of this ideal location, the base is able to provide invaluable support to both U.S. Sixth Fleet units in the Mediterranean and to USAF Air Mobility Command units transiting to Germany and Southwest Asia. Under the guidance of the Agreement for Defense Cooperation, the U.S. and Spanish navies work together and share many facilities. The U.S. Navy has the responsibility for maintaining the station’s infrastructure, including a 670-acre airfield, three active piers, 426 facilities and 806 family housing units. Rota remains under the Spanish flag 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. The U.S. Navy maintains approximately 5,200 acres of the 6,000 acre complex.

Naval Station Rota provided support for U.S. and NATO ships; supports the safe and efficient movement of U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force flights and passengers; and provides cargo, fuel, and ammunition to units in the region. The Naval Station is the only base in the Mediterranean capable of supporting Amphibious Readiness Group post-deployment wash-downs. The base port also offers secure, pier side maintenance and backload facilities. Rota supports Amphibious Readiness Group turnovers and hosts Sailors and Marines from visiting afloat units. The base also provides Quality of Life support to Moron Air Base, ARG support sites at Palma de Majorca, NATO headquarters in Madrid and the Military Sealift Command’s Maritime Prepositioning Squadron. Rota also supports NASA Space Shuttle missions, and ongoing operations in the European theater of operations.

The mission of U.S. Forces at Sigonella, Rota, and Souda Bay was to provide Command Control and Logistics Support to U.S. And NATO Operating Forces. These three facilities are undergoing a transformation from Maritime Patrol Airfields to Multi-role hubs, providing crucial air-links for USAF strategic airlift in support of CENTCOM and Africa Area contingency operations.

American facilities at the Naval Station, Rota, Spain are wide-ranging and diversified in their primary role of supporting the U.S. Sixth Fleet operating in the Mediterranean. From its inception in the early 1950s, the Rota Naval Base has developed into one of the most modern, advanced Naval installations in the world, which was the precept that guided its design. There are approximately 3,000 U.S. military members, 3,000 command-sponsored family members, 250 U.S. civilian workers and 1,250 Spanish employees on board.

In September 1953, after almost two years of surveys, negotiations and planning, the governments of the U.S. and Spain signed economic aid and defense agreements. Construction of the Naval Base at Rota had already begun under the technical supervision of the Navy’s Bureau of Yards and Docks.

Major Rota commands included: the Naval Station; the Naval Computer and Telecommunication Area Master Station, Mediterranean Detachment (NCTAMS Med Det); the Naval Hospital; the 725th Air Mobility Squadron (725 AMS); the Naval European Meteorology and Oceanography Center (NEMOC); the Marine Corps Security Force Company Europe; the Naval Mobile Construction Battalion; and the Military Sealift Command, Europe Representative (MSCREP).

Rota was established in 1953, following the signing of an agreement for facilities use between the United States and Kingdom of Spain.  The agreement required two years of surveys, negotiations and planning which led to ground breaking on the base in 1955. Rota Naval Base was constructed under the technical supervision of the Navy’s Bureau of Yards and Docks.  Some 10,000 concrete tetrapods, resembling large jacks, were carefully placed to provide a seawall to protect a large artificial harbor.

Construction of the Naval Communication Station, Spain began in December 1961.  The facility became fully operational on May 31, 1963.

Establishment of the Naval Radio Station, Guadamar, Spain in 1963 started the growth of NAVCOMMSTA.    The next expansion was the Naval Security Group Department in 1964.  Naval Radio Station (Transmitter Site) Moron was added in December 1965. 

The completion of the satellite communication installation in May 1983 significantly increased mission reliability. 

The teamwork of 944 military and 78 civilians achieve the daily command mission of providing reliable communication support to the Sixth Fleet area of operation.

The U.S. Naval Security Group Activity Rota maintained and operated a high frequency direction finding (HFDF) facility and provided communication support to Navy and other Department of Defense elements. The communications facility located at Rota included an operations building located in the center of an AN/FRD-10A Circularly Disposed Antenna Array (CDAA), also known as a Wullenweber antenna array.  The CDAA ceased operations in 1993 and was dismantled and removed in 2005.

On September 1, 2005, the Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron Two (VQ-2) located at Rota relocated to Whidbey Island, WA. The relocation of VQ-2’s six aircraft and 450 Sailors to the U.S. was in keeping with the Navy’s ongoing transformation of forces in Europe, and helped reduce costs and eliminate redundancies throughout its force structure worldwide.

On June 6, 2005, NSGA Rota was administratively disestablished, and NSG Det Rota was established. On September 30, 2005, NSG Det Rota was administratively closed and was re-established on October 1, 2005 as the Navy Information Operations

Detachment (NIOD) Rota, SP. NIOD Rota ceased operations on December 15, 2005; and was officially disestablished on September 30, 2006. NSG Det Rota and NIOD Rota were subordinate to, and a detachment of, NSGA/NIOC Ft. Gordon, GA.