Naval Station Rota hosted a congressional delegation visit, led by House Majority Whip Rep. Steve Scalise April 7.

Scalise led a delegation of nine congressmen and was joined by Spanish Ambassador to the U.S. Pedro Morones to learn more about the installation's mission, capabilities and how it contributes to security in the region.

"I wanted to bring a delegation of members of Congress out here to Rota to show how important it is that Spain and the United States have a great working relationship that supports NATO," said Scalise. "It supports our two country's military missions on counterterrorism. Our visit shows the men and women in uniform how much we appreciate the sacrifices they make and the job they do to keep our country safe."

The delegation started off their visit by meeting with service members from their respective states during a luncheon at the Rota Gateway Galley and had the opportunity to get to know some young men and women serving from the state they represent.

"It was great to sit down with people from back home and talk about things that we miss about home," said Scalise. "It really means a lot to us as members of Congress to be able to see up close the kind of men and women that we have protecting our country."

The delegation then visited with senior Naval Station Rota leadership to receive a briefing on the installation's mission and daily operations before taking a tour of the Arleigh-Burke class guided-missile destroyer USS Carney (DDG 64) and meeting the crew.

"My favorite part of the day was getting a tour of the Carney and meeting the crew, commander and seeing how prideful they are and the work that they do," said Scalise. "We thank them for being away from their families for so long doing the things they do to protect our freedom so that we can sleep safe when we go home; people aren't taking it for granted."

Naval Station Rota enables and supports operations of U.S. and allied forces and provides quality services in support of the fleet, fighter and family for Commander, Navy Installations Command in Navy Region Europe, Africa, Southwest Asia (EURAFSWA).

Just as ship performs lines of operation that provide a capability, Navy Region EURAFSWA bases perform the same eight lines of operation to provide capability to the fleet, joint and allied forces. These eighth lines of operation are: air operations, port operations, safety, security, housing, MWR, Fleet and Fleet and Family Services and what is called the core: the fuels, water and power that keep the bases running. Through our lines of operation, our installations are force multipliers that maximize combat capability of operational units.

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For more news from Naval Station Rota, Spain, visit www.navy.mil/.