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Naval Air Station Sigonella NATO Base Sigonella
IATA: NSY - ICAO: LICZ
Summary
Controlled By		United States Navy
Facility Type		Naval Air Station
Location		Sicily, Italy
Commissioned		June 15, 1959
Current Status		Active
Commanding Officer		Captain Thomas J. Quinn
Elevation AMSL		79 ft (24 m)
Coordinates		37°24′06″N, 14°55′20″E
Runways
Direction	Length		Surface
	ft	m
10R/28L	8,077	2,462	Asphalt
10L/28R	8,012	2,442	Asphalt

Naval Air Station Sigonella (IATA: NSY, ICAO: LICZ), the "The Hub of the Med", is a U.S. Navy installation at NATO Base Sigonella, an Italian Air Force base in Sicily, Italy. Although a tenant of the Italian Air Force, NAS Sigonella acts as landlord to more than 40 other U.S. commands and activities. It is located 16 km (10 miles) west of the city of Catania and 24 km (15 miles) south of Mount Etna. Because of its location near the center of the Mediterranean Sea, NASSIG is well-placed to support operations by the U.S. 6th Fleet, other U.S. military units, and U.S. allies and coalition partners. The base comprises two sections: NAS I was the site of the original U.S. base but is now a support facility and NAS II which includes the runways, operations and most tenant commands. NAS I also contains the Navy Exchange and Commisary, the school, and some homes, mainly for commanders of the squadrons. NAS I also is host to other facilities, mainly for entertainment. NAS II is now only used as a service base. In addition, there are two base housing sites. The original housing development, Mineo is located 30 minutes from NAS II and 45 minutes from NAS I. It is usually the second choice in comparison to Maranai, located 2 minutes from NAS II and 15 minutes form NAS I. At a recent check, Mineo had a larger population, though there were less houses. Maranai was still large, but some houses were still under construction.

Among the aircraft that fly from this island base are U.S. Air Force airlifters, tankers and U-2 spy planes; and U.S. Navy P-3 Orions and CH-53E Super Stallions. It is one of the most frequently used stops for U.S. airlifters bound from the continental United States to Southwest Asia and the Indian Ocean.

NAS Sigonella has the best claim to be hub of U.S. naval air operations in the Med. The base command is landlord to more than 40 other U.S. units. Among the largest are Helicopter Combat Support Squadron Four (HC-4), a heavy-unit that flies the CH-53 (As of the Fall of 2005 HC-4 was undergoing a Homeport Change to Norfolk VA; a rotating P-3 patrol squadron; the Naval Computer and Telecommunications Station; the U.S. Naval Hospital; and a Naval Mobile Construction Battalion Detachment. It is home to more than 7,000 troops, civilian personnel, and family members.

The United States Naval Air Facility (NAF), Sigonella, was established June 15, 1959; its first commanding officer was Capt. Walter J. Frazier. The facility was conceived in the early 1950s, when plans to base U.S. Navy P-2V Neptunes at Hal Far, Malta, began to outgrow the facility.

When there was no room for expansion at Malta, the Navy got NATO backing to use Sicily. Italy made land available under a temporary agreement signed June 25, 1957. Six days later, landing ship tank (LSTs) began to deliver equipment from the Malta base.

Ground was broken in September, and construction on the administrative area at NAF I was started in 1958. The first Americans arrived for work at Sigonella in March 1959 -- six months before any buildings were ready -- and so worked for six months in Catania at a large warehouse complex called Magazzino Generale (General Warehouse), which is opposite the cemetery on the right side of the street as one enters Catania from the base.

By the end of August 1959, the NAF II airfield was available for daylight flights under visual flight rules (VFR); 24 flights were logged by Aug. 31.

One of Sigonella's first buildings was what is now the American Forces Network (AFN) building. In 1958, that building was Sigonella's vector (pest) control center, where rat poison was stored. The Army Corps of Engineers next used the building for their offices, later sharing it with Special Services, or what is now called Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR). Around 1966, AFN came to Sigonella and joined Special Services, which soon moved out, leaving the building to the broadcasters.

Sigonella's first flood occurred mid-September 1959. The Dittaino Bridge between NAF I and NAF II was under six feet of water Sept. 20. All traffic had to go through Catania. Power outages accompanied the floods.

In the 1980s, Sigonella was designated a Naval Air Station.

On April 1, 2004, the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) opened Defense Depot Sigonella Italy on NAS II to serve as a supply base for the Mediterranean. DLA also provides fuel and property disposal from NAS II.

Sigonella suffered its second major flood mid December 2005. Over 400 service members and family evacuated. In 2006, a newly installed protective berm prevented a nearly second consecutive year of flooding.

Sigonella has been, and possibly still is used as a transfer station for persons of interest in the war on terror. (i.e. black bag inmates).

• The base was prominently featured in John Nance's novel Headwind.^[1]

• NAS Sigonella, official site
• NAS Sigonella, GlobalSecurity.org
• Airport information for LICZ at World Aero Data

1. ^ Synopsis of Headwind by John J. Nance

• Sicilian Odyssey: Sigonella Blog
• Sigonella Community Support Group
• Airfield Condition Pavement Survey, NAS Sigonella, 2003PDF (8.60 MiB), contains airport diagram and runway info
• NAS Sigonella at WikiMapia