Naval Station Great Lakes Plaque
Naval Station Great Lakes is a 1,600 acre Navy facility north of Chicago in Lake County, IL. It is the home of Recruit Training Command, the Navy’s only boot camp.
Opened in 1911 as a way to train and prepare recruits from the Midwest, Naval Station Great Lakes has expanded over the years from the original 39 buildings to more than 1,100 buildings.
Approximately 40,000 recruits pass through the facility annually, with an estimated 7,000 recruits at the installation at any time. Jon D. Bayer served as the Director of Community Health at the Naval Hospital at the Naval Station Great Lakes from 1993-1999.
