Naval Support Facility (NSF) Redzikowo hosted Polish military members and the Slupsk community during an Independence Day celebration ceremony, July 4.

"It is a fantastic opportunity to share a little bit of American tradition with our Polish hosts and the community that has welcomed us," said Capt. Rick Gilbert, commanding officer, NSF Redzikowo. "We look forward to a lasting partnership with our NATO allies as we celebrate the 241st anniversary of American independence."

This is the first and only 4th of July event being held on a U.S. Navy installation in Poland, and for many Sailors it is their first Independence Day in Poland.

"This event turned out to be awesome and I'm really happy that the community came out and totally embraced us, and I think the best part is seeing all the kids enjoying the celebration and waving little American flags," said Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class Mario Zuniga.

Gilbert explained how Sailors played an important part as ambassadors to their Polish guests and how grateful he was that the U.S. Navy and Polish militaries came together and worked to coordinate the 4th of July event, which brought out over 5,000 members from the surrounding community.

Festivities included a concert by the U.S. 6th Fleet Rock Band, a hot dog and watermelon eating contest, a police demonstration, fire dancers and a fireworks show at the end of the evening.

NSF Redizkowo is an operational platform that provides key support to the Aegis Ashore Missile Defense System (AAMDS) including security, safety, housing, and the core capabilities of fuel, water, and power, which are essential to keep installations running. The installation and its facilities remain under construction, as does AAMDS Poland.

As a persistent shore presence for the U.S. Navy in Europe, NSF Redzikowo will cooperate with the host nation and Polish forces to strengthen relationships in order to increase peace and security throughout the region. Once complete AAMDS Poland will be integrated into the NATO ballistic missile defense (BMD) infrastructure. The AAMDS Poland is part of the European Phased Adaptive Approach, which will improve the collective defensive coverage against medium- and intermediate-range threats from outside the Euro-Atlantic area.

The EPAA is the United States' multi-phase effort to field capabilities offered as the U.S. voluntary contribution to the NATO ballistic missile defense mission to counter threats from outside the Euro-Atlantic area. This multi-year, multi-phase effort includes Aegis BMD-capable ships based in Rota, Spain; AAMDS sites in Redzikowo, Poland, and Deveselu, Romania; a forward-deployed radar in Turkey; and a command and control network located at Ramstein Air Base, Germany.

For more news from Commander, Navy Region Europe, Africa, Southwest Asia, visit http://www.navy.mil/.

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