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Base · World War II · 1911–present

Naval Training Station Great Lakes

The Navy's largest boot camp: about a million sailors trained here during World War II.

History

Naval Station Great Lakes (NAVSTA Great Lakes) is the home of the United States Navy's only current boot camp, located near North Chicago, in Lake County, Illinois, along Lake Michigan. Important tenant commands include Naval Service Training Command, Recruit Training Command, Training Support Center Great Lakes, United States Military Entrance Processing Command and Navy Talent Acquisition Group Great Lakes. 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 69 mi (111 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". It is also referred to as "second boot camp" for those attending Training Support Command.

Text adapted from Wikipedia: Naval Station Great Lakes (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Timeline

  1. 1911
    Completed in 1911, the building is made of red brick, and has a tower over the third floor of the building.
    Wikipedia
  2. 1911
    From 1911 to 1916 around 2,000 recruits a year were trained at Great Lakes.
    Wikipedia
  3. 1919
    The Great Lakes Bluejackets played intercollegiate football from the 1910s to the 1940s including a victory in the 1919 Rose Bowl and a 1943 victory over the undefeated Notre Dame Fighting Irish football squad.
    Wikipedia
  4. 1932
    In 1932, Great Lakes had 102 buildings on 507 acres (205 ha).
    Wikipedia
  5. 1 July 1935
    It was reopened 1 July 1935 after lobbying by local businessmen and the Congressional Delegation from Illinois.
    Wikipedia
  6. 9 December 1940
    On 9 December 1940, the Class A Service School opened for its first class.
    Wikipedia
  7. September 1942
    This grew to 68,000 in six months; by September 1942, over 100,000 Sailors were training at Great Lakes.
    Wikipedia
  8. 1943
    By mid-1943, there were over 700 instructors at the Class A service schools.
    Wikipedia
  9. 1945
    Great Lakes hosted the Commander, Ninth Naval District from 1945 until the District was disestablished on 30 June 1979.
    Wikipedia
Did a relative serve at Naval Training Station Great Lakes? A report can show the dates and pages that place them there. Records that place a person at a base are muster rolls, morning reports, unit rosters or discharge papers; a base history alone doesn't prove someone took part in an event.