Today, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Gilday met with Chief of Staff of the Spanish Navy Adm. Antonio Martorell Lacave in Venice, Italy, at the Trans-Regional Seapower Symposium.

The two leaders reaffirmed the strength of the partnership between the U.S. and Spanish navies. Gilday emphasized that Spain is one of the Navy’s closest partners, and having U.S. Navy destroyers forward-deployed at Naval Station Rota is an opportunity to work closely with our Allies and partners and continue to keep the sea lanes open. Gilday thanked Martorell Lacave for supporting U.S. ships and Sailors in Spain and committed to continuing to operate and sail side by side with our NATO Allies.

Gilday visited Rota, Aug. 17, when the guided-missile destroyer USS Bulkeley (DDG 84) arrived to its new homeport, Naval Station Rota. Bulkeley joined three other U.S. Navy state-of- the-art destroyers that are a part of Forward Deployed Naval Forces-Europe (FDNF-E), USS Arleigh Burke (DDG 51), USS Paul Ignatius (DDG 117), and USS Roosevelt (DDG 80).