President Donald J. Trump visited Naval Air Station (NAS) Sigonella and held an all-hands call with service members May 27, as part of his first visit abroad since taking office.

Trump's visit to Sigonella marks his last stop on a nine-day trip overseas, with stops in Saudi Arabia, Israel, Belgium, the Vatican and Italy.

During his remarks Trump thanked the 8th grade class from Sigonella Middle School for their participation in his inaugural parade.

"It's an image I will always remember, your smiling faces right out in front the White House carrying that great big beautiful American flag. Thank you kids," said Trump. "You traveled all the way from Italy to support my inauguration so today I'm glad to be here. I traveled a long way to support you and it's my honor."

Trump continued with remarks focused on his trip abroad and the conclusion with the G7 Summit. He claimed it was a tremendously productive meeting where he strengthened bonds with America's closest allies.

"I laid out our vision for economic growth and fair trade in support of good paying jobs and even great paying middle class jobs and more. I called for much greater security and cooperation in matters of terrorism, immigration and migration to protect our citizens," said Trump. "We made extraordinary gains on this historic trip to advance the security and prosperity of the United States, our friends and our allies, and we paved the way for a new era of cooperation among the nations of the world to defeat the common enemy of terrorism and provide our children with a much more hopeful future."

This is the first time a sitting U.S. President has visited NAS Sigonella and around 900 Sailors, Marines, Airmen, Soldiers and civilians attended the historic event.

"We are very excited to be able to host the president and have the opportunity to let him speak to our service members," said Capt. Brent Trickel, commanding officer of NAS Sigonella. "We work very hard here at Sigonella so it's nice to show off to the commander in chief what we do."

Furthermore, Trump thanked every service member and civilian in the audience for their service and pledged to always protect those who protect the American people. He continued, saying those have poured out their hearts, souls and blood for the United States will always be paid with gratitude in return.

"This is why I knew I had to conclude my trip right here in Sigonella, with the dedicated service members that make our future so bright, so proud, because I'm so proud of the future we're going to have," said Trump. "The men and women of the United States military have been the greatest force for peace and justice in the history of the world. I want you to know that you have a commander in chief who will never ever forget. You will always be remembered. I will give you my complete and unshakable support."

In closing, Trump told the story of Medal of Honor recipient John Joseph Parole and the sacrifice he made for his country.

"This Memorial Day we remember him [Parle] and all the brave men and women like him who give their last breath in defense of our country," continued Trump. "We honor their memory and their sacrifice and we also hope to honor them with our deeds to prove worthy of their sacrifice-because there is no peace without those willing to bear the scars and wounds of war. There is no strength without those brave enough to protect the weak and the people that need protection. And there is no prosperity at home with out those willing to shoulder our burdens overseas."

Naval Air Station Sigonella: "The Hub of the Med," is a U.S. Navy installation and an Italian Air Force base in Sicily, Italy. Just as a ship performs lines of operation that provide a capability, Navy Region Europe, Africa, Southwest Asia bases perform the same eight lines of operation to provide capability to the fleet, joint and allied forces. These eight lines of operation are: air operations, port operations, safety, security, housing, MWR, 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.

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

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For more news from Naval Air Station Sigonella, visit www.navy.mil/.