NAS Sigonella is an
airbase of the
United States Navy located in the middle of
Sicily, west of
Catania and south of
Mount Etna. Its main purpose is as a
logistics center for
NATO operations in and around the
Mediterranean Sea: troops and equipment fly into Sigonella, and are routed to their
final destination from there.
Sigonella was constructed in the mid-1950's to replace the overcrowded Halfar airbase in Malta. "NAFVAC Sigonella," as it was originally called, grew from 700 personnel in 1959 to 2,000 in 1977, prompting the Navy to upgrade it to a naval air station in 1981. Today, there are over 7,000 people living there, including 3,000 American military personnel and 1,250 civilian employees from the U.S. and Italy.
There are actually two halves to Sigonella, known as NAS I and NAS II. NAS I is where the men and women of Sigonella live: it also has shopping facilities, a school, and a hospital. NAS II, located about ten minutes away by car, is the airport half, which houses the base's squadrons of C-130's, C-9's, and C-2's.
The base was especially important during Operation Allied Force. If you've ever played F-19 Stealth Fighter, you'll also remember that it was the main base for the Libyan theater.