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:
Toll Free Phone Number: 855-696-2934 and select Option 1 (Family Support)
For further question or Inquiries regarding waiting list to enroll please contact Child Development Center 2700 847-688-4470 or Child Development Center 3110 847-688-5562
Know Your Drone Zone
Naval Station Great Lakes does not allow the use of recreational unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), commonly referred to as drones, on or over the base. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has published guidelines regarding recreational drone use at https://www.faa.gov/uas/
Vehicle Registration Required
Documents for Installation Vehicle Registration: ▪ Current proof of insurance▪ Valid driver’s license▪ DoD identification Card▪ Borrowed vehicle drivers must present a notarized authorization letter from vehicle’s owner▪ Rental vehicle drivers must present a current rental agreement in the driver’s name▪ Personnel residing in housing not on active duty or retired will be required to submit vehicle information to the base housing office▪ The housing office will conduct background checks and submit paperwork to Pass and ID for passes▪ At no time will general base access be granted to non-military affiliated personnel
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 Station Great Lakes opened its gates on 1 July 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 the war, over 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, with 170,000 sailors to sail it. In tandem with the expansion of Great Lakes, the ancestor or Training Support Center Great Lakes was founded. On 9 December 1940, the first class of the newly established Class A Service School started it studies. Between the 7 December 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor and the 14 August 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 (BRAC) 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.
On 31 October 2003, Naval Service Training Command (NSTC) was established. NSTC aligned all Navy enlisted and officer training accessions programs, consisting of more than 50,000 trainees annually, under a single command structure based at Great Lakes.
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, located on the shores of Lake Michigan, sits 1 hour North of Chicago, Illinois and 1 hour South of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Naval Station Great Lakes is located in the middle of two metropolitan areas Chicago and Milwaukee which can be consider as a high cost area. The base operator's phone number is 847-688-3500 or DSN 312-792-3500.
Arriving from O'Hare International Airport Chicago, IL
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
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.
The Airport Express has a van that goes to O'Hare and there you can transfer to the Great Lakes van.
Arriving from Mitchell International Airport Milwaukee, WI
If arriving at Mitchell International Airport, look for taxi 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 ChicagoIf you drive, the following route is suggested coming north from Chicago; take Interstate 94 (north) to Hwy.41 Waukegan exit. Do not take the by-pass 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 WisconsinUse 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.
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:
Captain James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center3001 Green Bay RoadNorth Chicago, Illinois 60064
800-393-0865 or 847-688-1900
For a DSN directory, please go to:
Release 2024.03.06.1