The Spanish insignia worn by the crew of the American destroyer USS Bulkeley

@DefAviation ES 4·19·2023 · 20:59 0

The United States Navy has had a presence at the Spanish base in Rota for 70 years. It is a desired destination for many US sailors.

The colorful Spanish detail of the caps of the destroyer USS Carney of the US Navy
The vehicles of the US Military Police guarding the Spanish naval base in Rota

For several years now, the Naval Base in Rota has been the headquarters of NATO's Anti-Missile Shield, made up of several Arleigh Burke-class destroyers of the United States Navy, which share that base with ships of the Spanish Navy, including its flagship, the aircraft carrier "Juan Carlos I" L-61. There is already a certain tradition among US sailors deployed in Rota of showing their ties with Spain in various ways.

Four years ago we saw here the colorful caps of the destroyer USS Carney (DDG-64), which was based in Rota between September 2015 and June 2020. On its right side they included a Spanish flag embroidered with a bull. Those caps caused a sensation and today it is not easy to find them.

On August 17, 2022, the destroyer USS Bulkeley (DDG-84) arrived in Rota, which has become their new base (it was previously in Norfolk). Upon arrival in Spain, a solemn raising of the Spanish flag took place on the ship, attended by Admiral Eugenio Díaz del Río Jáudenes, Admiral of the Spanish Navy Fleet.

Until then, the USS Bulkeley caps bore emblems alluding to the ship: an embroidery with the destroyer's initial on the front and an embroidery on the left. Now, in the new caps, the emblem of the ship has been moved to the right side, as we see in the photo that appears on these lines.

On the left, the new caps of the USS Bulkeley have an embroidery that brings together the flags of the United States and Spain , as we see in this photo of two crew members on the bridge of the ship on January 22 of this anus.

Here we can see the emblem in more detail, in another photo taken on January 22, showing a sailor on duty on the starboard wing of the bridge of this destroyer.

Here we see another crew member of the USS Bulkeley wearing her "Spanish" cap. In the background we see the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77), of the Nimitz class, during a deployment to the Mediterranean Sea.

Above these lines we see one of the ship's officers wearing this cap. These coyote-colored caps were introduced in the US Navy to replace the classic navy blue baseball caps, at the same time as new NWU Type III uniforms with AOR 2 camouflage were incorporated.

A smiling crew member of the USS Bulkeley wearing this same cap. The girl in the photo is one of the people in charge of controlling the weapons on board.

A Cryptologic Systems Technician 2nd Class taking aim with an M-4 carbine and wearing the current USS Bulkeley cap, in a photo taken April 12.

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Photos: U.S. Navy.