Spanish Naval Police and United States NSF in a dog training exercise in Rota

The Rota Naval Base, in Cadiz (Spain), is a joint base used by the Spanish Navy and the United States Navy.

A terrorist attack exercise by the American Military Police at the Spanish base of Rota
The vehicles of the US Military Police guarding the Spanish naval base in Rota

Since it is a base located in Spanish territory, the external surveillance of the base is the exclusive responsibility of the Spanish Navy, but due to this bilateral nature, the internal surveillance of the base corresponds jointly to the Naval Police of the Spanish Navy and the US Navy Security Forces (NSF).

These security tasks are carried out 24 hours a day and provide protection to some 4,000 people, including the military personnel stationed at that base and the families who have their residences there, both Spanish and American, as well as the various facilities of the base: the port, the runway and air platform, the buildings and also the civilian facilities associated with the residential area.

As a curiosity, inside the base, American personnel can call their security service by dialing 911, which is the number used in the United States to call the police. As we saw last year, the US Navy Security Forces in Rota have their own vehicles, equipped with license plates similar to Spanish ones but with their own code, so they can only circulate within that base. These vehicles are identified with signs bearing the text "Military Police".

Both the Spanish Naval Police and the US National Security Force (NSF) have dogs to assist them in their work at Rota. Recently, both security agencies conducted a joint exercise at that base in mid-April. The US Armed Forces' multimedia portal, DVIDShub.net, has published a series of photos of that exercise, which you can see here. The Naval Station Rota Facebook page, edited by the US Navy, has published some more photos which I include with these lines.

"Naval Station Rota’s Security Department participated in a bilateral military working dog training event with their counterparts in the Armada last week," the Facebook page states. "This training, conducted in collaboration with our Spanish allies, strengthens our joint capabilities and improves interoperability, especially with regard to the security of the entire base."

The US Navy adds: "Security is one of the six lines of operation of Naval Station Rota that maintains the installation’s readiness to sustain the fleet, enable the warfighter, and support the family."

In the images, we see members of the Spanish Naval Police wearing M09 arid pixelated camouflage uniforms. Interestingly, one of them has a patch on his left arm with the emblem of the Madrid Marine Infantry Group (AGRUMAD), while the female officer with him has a patch of the Tercio de Levante (TERLEV). Members of the US Navy's National Security Force (NSF) wear uniforms with AOR2 pixelated camouflage. In both cases, the officers wear black plate carriers.

Regarding weaponry, the photos show that the Spanish Naval Police members were carrying Heckler & Koch G-36E assault rifles (5.56 x 45 NATO caliber) and Heckler & Koch USP pistols (9 x 19 Parabellum), which are the standard-issue sidearms of the Spanish Armed Forces. Meanwhile, the US Navy NSF members were carrying SIG Sauer M17 pistols (9 x 19 Parabellum) with a coyote brown finish, the standard model of the US Armed Forces. You can see more photos of this exercise here.

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Photos: U.S. Navy / Naval Station Rota.