A United States Military Police exercise at the Spanish naval station in Rota

The Rota Naval Base is a joint Spanish-United States military facility on Spanish territory.

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

Both the Spanish Navy’s Naval Police and the U.S. Navy’s Military Police are responsible for security at this base. This week, the U.S. Navy announced a security and emergency preparedness exercise conducted by its Military Police in Rota—training aimed at ensuring that U.S. Navy Security Force (NSF) teams at the base remain agile and ready for any situation.

The U.S. Navy has published six photos of this exercise on DVIDShub.net, the U.S. Armed Forces' multimedia portal. The photo captions indicate that the exercise took place on September 17. In the photos, NSF personnel are seen wearing NWU Type III uniforms featuring AOR2 camouflage, the official U.S. Navy camouflage pattern since 2016.

Above, we see two NSF agents aiming their handguns. These are M18 pistols—the compact version of the SIG Sauer P320 used by the U.S. Navy. It is a 9x19mm NATO caliber weapon featuring 17- to 21-round magazines and a 98mm barrel. It is a very lightweight weapon (737 g) and is equipped with a small Picatinny rail on the front underside for attaching a flashlight.

The photos also show the vehicles used by the NSF in Rota. Pictured above are two 2021 Toyota Land Cruiser SUVs bearing official Military Police markings. Also visible are two unmarked white vehicles: a Ford Mondeo and a Renault Mégane IV—the latter being a new addition to the Rota NSF fleet.

Vehicles belonging to the Rota NSF have license plates similar to Spanish ones, but with their own numbering system. These vehicles are authorized to be driven only within the base.

The Spanish Naval Police and the NSF frequently conduct joint exercises at Rota. They jointly handle security for the base perimeter, which also includes a residential area where military personnel live with their families. Joint base security also extends to the surveillance of the basins.

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Photos: U.S. Navy.