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Higher than the U.S. National Average
Housing
Military Families getting ready to PCS to Naval Station Great Lakes and looking to stay in Military housing. Please contact Great Lakes Hunt Military Community 847-689-4312.
Childcare
If you are seeking childcare, please visit Militarychildcare.com For family inquiries related to creating a MilitaryChildCare.com account, updating a household profile, searching for care, or managing requests for care:
Know Your Drone Zone
Naval Station Great Lakes does not allow the use of recreational unmanned aircraft systems, commonly referred to as drones, on or over the base. The Federal Aviation Administration has published guidelines regarding recreational drone use at https://www.faa.gov/uas/
Vehicle Registration Required
Documents for Installation Vehicle Registration:
Naval Station Great Lakes’ mission is to enable and sustain fleet, family and fighter by providing superior, integrated base operating support for all tenant commands and elements to the installation.
Naval Service Training Command, or NSTC, is headquartered in historic Building 1 — the iconic “clock tower building ”— at Naval Station Great Lakes, the Navy’s largest training installation. More than 25,000 military and civilian personnel work, train and live here, and its schools and training commands proudly graduate thousands of recruits and sailors each year.
For over a century, Great Lakes and NSTC’s mission have evolved to meet the needs of an increasingly sophisticated, technology-driven Navy, ensuring today’s sailors are prepared for tomorrow’s challenges.
Naval Station Great Lakes opened its gates on July 1, 1911. For six years after its commissioning, training at Great Lakes moved at a slow, steady pace with approximately 2,000 recruits cycled through per year. At the beginning of 1917, Great Lakes boasted 39 permanent brick buildings, on 165 acres, with about 1,500 sailors. With American entry into World War I, the base was expanded with tent cities. In January 1917, 618 recruits arrived in Great Lakes. In February, the intake totaled 922. By April, when war was declared, more than 9,000 arrived. By the time peace was declared in November 1918, 45,000 sailors were in training, and Great Lakes had 776 buildings, with 1,200 acres at its disposal.
During World Ward I, more than 125,000 sailors had been trained at the station. The post-war era saw training activities scaled back. In 1923, only aviation expanded with the commissioning of the Naval Reserve Air Base, Great Lakes. Recruit training slowed to a crawl and was even halted for a time. Late in 1936, the Navy decided to move aviation training from Great Lakes to nearby Glenview. The increasing size of the new planes, and their demand for more runway length and numbers, made it essential.
With the outbreak of World War II in 1939, the lean interwar period ended. By the end of 1940, Congress had approved a doubling of the Navy’s strength to 170,000 sailors. In tandem with the expansion of Great Lakes, the ancestor or Training Support Center Great Lakes was founded. On December 9, 1940, the first class of the newly established Class A Service School started it studies. Between the December 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor and the August 14, 1945 surrender of Japan, over four million Americans served in the Navy. One million of those sailors were trained at Great Lakes.
In 1950, the Korean War again brought Great Lakes on a war footing. In one week in 1951, the station graduated 98 companies of recruits, matching its World War II record. The Vietnam War era also saw a heightened operations tempo.
In 1993 — in the wake of the drawdown after the 1990-91 Iraq War — the Navy hosted recruit training in three facilities: Naval Training Centers Orlando, San Diego, and Great Lakes. The Base Realignment and Closure Commission concluded only one training facility — Great Lakes —would continue to transform recruits into sailors. The other two would be closed. Recruit Training Command Great Lakes was subsequently rebuilt into a modern facility using the savings from the other two base shutdowns.
In 2003, the Navy consolidated all initial enlisted and officer accession training — except for the U.S. Naval Academy — under a single command: Naval Service Training Command, or NSTC.
NSTC is an Echelon IV command, led by a one-star admiral at Naval Station Great Lakes, and reports to Naval Education and Training Command in Pensacola, Florida.
This realignment ensures initial Navy training remains effective and responsive to the evolving needs of the fleet. By placing these programs under one command, the Navy can share best practices and apply training policies consistently across all accession pipelines.
Each year, Recruit Training Command prepares more than 40,000 new sailors for service, while officer accession programs provide approximately 4,500 newly commissioned ensigns to the fleet.
Chicago–Naperville–Elgin, IL–IN–WI Metropolitan Statistical Area (9,509,934)
Kenosha County, WI Statistical Area (169,151)
Naval Station Great Lakes is the Navy’s largest training installation. Located on over 1,600 acres overlooking Lake Michigan, the installation includes 1,153 buildings with 39 on the National Register of Historic Places. Naval Station Great Lakes supports over 50 tenant commands and elements as well as over 20,000 Sailors, Marines, Soldiers, and DoD civilians who live and work on the installation.
Naval Station Great Lakes is a military town. It is located on the shores of Lake Michigan and sits one hour north of Chicago, Illinois, and one hour south of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Being located in the middle of two metropolitan areas, Chicago and Milwaukee, Naval Station Great Lakes can be considered as a high-cost area. The Command Information Line is 847-688-4510.
Arriving from O'Hare International Airport Chicago, IL
Chicago O’Hare International Airport:
If you are arriving by plane from O' Hare International Airport, we have a Military Information Detachment located in the USO facility at Terminal 2, to assist you with obtaining transportation to Great Lakes. The Airport Express has a van that goes to and from O'Hare.
Arriving from Midway Airport Chicago, IL
Midway International Airport:
If arriving at Midway Airport, look for the American Taxi company. They have a flat rate fee for coming to Naval Station Great Lakes. You can also take the Metra to Downtown, then transfer to the Chicago & Northwestern Line which comes to the Naval Station Great Lakes installation.
Arriving from Mitchell International Airport Milwaukee, WI
General Mitchell International Airport, Milwaukee, WI:
If arriving at Mitchell International Airport, look for taxis or Uber/Lyft Drivers. Naval Station Great Lakes is 1hr 30mins distance.
If arriving by auto, NAVSTA is located approximately 3 miles east of Hwy. 41 and approximately 15 miles east of Interstate 94/294 at US Rt. 137 (Buckley Rd.).
Driving coming North from Chicago
If you drive, the following route is suggested coming north from Chicago; take Interstate 94 (north) to Hwy. 41 Waukegan exit. Do not take the bypass to Interstate 294. Take Hwy. 41 north to Rt. 137. Make a right turn on Rt. 137 (Buckley Rd.); go east approximately 2 miles.
Driving North from the Chicago Area
Coming north from the Chicago area using the bypass Interstate 294 (north), to Rt. 137. Make a right turn on Rt. 137 (Buckley Rd.) and go east approximately 6 miles.
If Coming from Wisconsin
Use Interstate 94 south. At Wisconsin/Illinois border exit onto Waukegan exit Hwy. 41 south (off ramp is on the left side of Interstate 94). Take Hwy. 41 south to Rt. 137; make a left turn on Rt. 137 (Buckley Rd.) and go east approximately 3 miles.
Motor Vehicles on Naval Station Great Lakes:
All personnel and their vehicles entering Naval Station Great Lakes are subject to inspection by Navy Security Force Personnel and/or Military Working Dogs.
You must register your vehicle on base as the Visitor Control Center.
Visit https://installations.militaryonesource.mil/military-installation/naval-station-great-lakes/transportation/motor-vehicles for more information.
PACE Suburban Bus:
Premier suburban transit provider.
Safely and efficiently moving people to work, school, and other regional destinations.
Affordable.
Phone: 847-364-7223
Regional Transportation Authority (RTA):
The Regional Transportation Authority is the unit of local government created to oversee finances, secure funding, and to conduct transit planning for the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA), Metra, and Pace. The RTA also issues Reduced Fare and Ride Fee Permits, assesses eligibility for ADA Paratransit service, and oversees specialized travel training for people with disabilities and older adults. They service the Northeast Illinois counties of Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, and Will.
Download the VENTRA app on your phone to allow you to get from one place to another using the Pace Buses, Metra Trains, and CTA Buses and Trains all in one spot.
Metra Information:
The Metra is the commuter rail system serving the Chicago area. Metra has 11 lines with 241 stations radiating from downtown Chicago to the six-county area of northeast Illinois. Trains run frequently during rush hour and about every hour during off-peak times.
Metra’s website makes it quick and easy to find out which line best fits your destination and your schedule. If you prefer to speak with a Metra representative, please call Passenger Services Department at 312-322-6777 or the RTA Travel Information Center at 312-836-7000
The shuttle bus on base is free and run by Naval Station Quarterdeck/CDO. Please call 847-688-3500 or DSN 312-792-3300 for more information.
Base Operator
Public Affairs Office
Naval Station Great LakesPublic Affairs Office2601 E Paul Jones St.Great Lakes, IL 60088Phone: 847-688-2430Email: nsgl-pao@us.navy.mil