Naval Support Activity Souda Bay, Greece welcomed U.S. Ambassador to Greece Geoffrey R. Pyatt, Greek Minister of Defense Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos, and Chief of the Hellenic National Defense General Staff Gen. Konstantinos Floros, to the installation June 12, 2020. During the leaders’ visit, they toured the installation's facilities and met with command leaders.

In remarks to the press at the end of the visit, Pyatt said, “Souda, for the United States government plays two critically important roles. First of all, it is our most important platform for the projection of American power into a strategically dynamic Eastern Mediterranean region. From Syria to Libya to the choke point of the Black Sea, this is a critically important asset for the United States as our air force, naval and other resources are applied to support our Alliance obligations and to help bring peace and stability.”

“But the other aspect of Souda Bay, which is less well known, is that this is the most important venue for day-to-day cooperation between Greek and American forces,” he said. “I’m extremely proud of the partnership that we have here, and the way in which all of our services, with the Hellenic Navy at the Souda Bay pier, with the Hellenic Air Force at the topside base, and the Hellenic Army at NAMFI, work every single day with our Greek counterparts to build the kind of habits of cooperation that are the essence of our alliance.”

NSA Souda Bay is an operational ashore base that enables U.S., allied, and partner nation forces to be where they are needed when they are needed to ensure security and stability in Europe, Africa, and Southwest Asia.

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For more news from U.S. Naval Support Activity Souda Bay Crete, Greece, visit www.navy.mil/.