<Tr> <Th> Command master chief </Th> <Td> CMDCM Shawn Isbell, USN </Td> </Tr> <P> Recruit Training Command Great Lakes (RTC Great Lakes), is a unit within the United States Navy primarily responsible for conducting the initial orientation and indoctrination of incoming recruits . It commonly is referred to as boot camp, recruit training, or RTC . Since the BRAC - directed closures of Recruit Training Commands in Orlando, Florida in 1994 and San Diego, California in 1993, RTC Great Lakes has been the only enlisted basic training location in the U.S. Navy and has been called "The Quarterdeck of the Navy" since it was first utilized in July 1911 . </P> <P> Running at approximately eight weeks long, all enlistees into the U.S. Navy commence their enlistments at this command . Some recruits may take longer than eight weeks if they do not pass certain tests . Upon successful completion of basic training, qualifying sailors are sent to various apprenticeship, or "A schools", located across the United States for training in their occupational speciality, or ratings . Those who have not yet received a specific rating enter the fleet with a general designation of airman, fireman, or seaman . Recruit Training Command is located at Naval Station Great Lakes in the city of North Chicago, Illinois in Lake County, north of Chicago . It is a tenant command, meaning that although it is located on the base, it has a separate chain of command . </P> <P> After the Spanish--American War, the U.S. Navy began investigating 37 sites around Lake Michigan in order to locate a new training center in the Midwest, an area that contributed 43 percent of the Navy's recruits at the time . </P>

Where does the us navy do basic training