Naval Station Great Lakes
Part of Navy Region Mid-Atlantic
North Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Naval Station Great Lakes insignia
Naval Station Great Lakes Location in Illinois Naval Station Great Lakes Location in United States
Coordinates	42°18′33.08″N 87°51′0.25″W / 42.3091889°N 87.8500694°W / 42.3091889; -87.8500694
Site information
Owner	United States of America
Controlled by	United States Navy
Site history
In use	1911 – present
Garrison information
Past commanders	Captain William Bulis, USN
Garrison	Recruit Training Command
Great Lakes Naval Training Station
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. Historic district
Great Lakes Building 1
Nearest city	Waukegan, Illinois, U.S.
Area	193.2 acres (78.2 ha)
Built	1906
Architect	Jarvis Hunt, Et al.
Architectural style	Classical Revival, Federal Revival
NRHP reference #	86002890[1]
Added to NRHP	September 15, 1986

Naval Station Great Lakes (NAVSTA Great Lakes) is the home of the United States Navy's only boot camp, located near North Chicago, in Lake County, Illinois. Important tenant commands include the Recruit Training Command, Training Support Center and Navy Recruiting District Chicago. Naval Station Great Lakes is the largest military installation in Illinois and the largest training station in the Navy. The base has 1,153 buildings situated on 1,628 acres (6.59 km²) and has 50 miles (80 km) of roadway to provide access to the base's facilities. Within the naval service, it has several different nicknames, including "The Quarterdeck of the Navy",^[2] or the more derogatory "Great Mistakes".^[3]

The original 39 buildings built between 1905 and 1911 were designed by Jarvis Hunt.^[4]

The base is like a small city, with its own Fire Department, Naval Security Forces (Police), and Public Works Department.

One of the landmarks of the area is Building 1, also known as the clocktower building. Completed in 1911, the building is made of red brick, and has a tower over the third floor of the building. The large parade ground in front of the administration building is named Ross Field.

Major tenant commands[edit]

Recruit Training Command[edit]

In 1996, RTC Great Lakes became the Navy's only basic training facility. The Base Realignment and Closure Commission of 1993 resulted in the closure of Naval Training Center San Diego, California and Naval Training Center Orlando, Florida, their associated Recruit Training Commands, and the consolidation of US Navy enlisted recruit training to Great Lakes. Approximately 40,000 recruits pass through Recruit Training Command annually with an estimated 7,000 recruits on board the installation at any time. RTC Great Lakes has been active for over 100 years.

Training Support Center[edit]

TSC Great Lakes is the Navy's premier technical training command. It has an annual throughput of 16,000 sailors a year. TSC supports the following six learning sites:

• Center for Surface Combat Systems (CSCS)
• Surface Warfare Officers School Command Unit (SWOSU)
• Center for EOD and Dive (CNEODD)
• Center for Naval Leadership (CNL)
• Center for Personal Development (CPD)
• Center for Service Support (CSS)

Navy Junior ROTC cadets from Hamilton High School, Ohio, practice marksmanship at the Fire Arms Training Simulator (FATS)

The following rating training class A-schools are located at Naval Station Great Lakes:

• Electrician's Mate (EM)
• Electronics Technician (ET)
• Fire Controlman (FC)
• Gunner's Mate (GM)
• Interior Communications Electrician (IC)
• Boatswain's Mate (BM)
• Operations Specialist (OS)
• Hull Maintenance Technician (HT)
• Damage Controlman (DC)
• Engineman (EN)
• Gas Turbine System Technician (Electrical) (GSE)
• Gas Turbine System Technician (Mechanical) (GSM)
• Machinery Repairman (MR)
• Quartermaster (QM)
• Machinist Mate (MM)

Culinary Specialist (CS) A-school was also taught at TSC Great Lakes until December 10, 2010, when the school graduated its final class. The course has been consolidated with the US Army's parallel program and relocated to Fort Lee, Virginia.

Hospital Corpsman (HM) "A" School has been moved out of Great Lakes. The last class graduated on July 27, 2011. Its last class was Class 11-125. The school has relocated to the Medical Education and Training Campus at Fort Sam Houston, Joint Base San Antonio, Texas.^[5] This change has merged Air Force, Army, and Navy Medical staff to a centralized location.

In addition, all Navy rates that require basic electrical knowledge and troubleshooting training complete Apprentice Technical Training (ATT) school. This includes the Mineman (MN) and Sonar Technician (Surface) (STG) rates, as well as some aviation rates prior to detachment to their respective school locations in San Diego, CA and Pensacola, Florida. Boatswain's Mates complete Surface Common Core (SCC) Basic Maintenance Training and engineering rates complete Basic Engineering Common Core (BECC)

History[edit]

Great Lakes was approved in 1904 by Theodore Roosevelt.^[6] Construction was supervised by Navy Captain Albert R. Ross. Chicago-area architect Jarvis Hunt designed the original 39 buildings and Lt. George A. McKay was the civil engineer for the construction on the 172 acres (70 ha) wilderness location.^[7] $3.5 million ‎($95.3 million today) was appropriated to finance construction. President William Howard Taft dedicated the Naval Training Station in 1911.^[8] On 3 July 1911, Joseph Gregg was the first recruit to arrive. He would graduate in the first class of 300. 55 years later, he was buried at the Naval Station Cemetery 5 July 1966.^[7][9]

John Philip Sousa led the Great Lakes Naval Station Band in the mid- to late 1910s. Great Lakes also had a Radio School including two 400 feet (120 m) towers constructed in 1915.^[8] From 1911 to 1916 around 2,000 recruits a year were trained at Great Lakes.^[7]