US Navy Recruit Training Command - Keel Yearbook (Great Lakes, IL)

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O I O O Q O B- 0 O O 0 A 2 O 0 O LL OF FA M 3, ME fe l fi f - of RECRUIT TRAINING O O u A i 0 O COMPETITIVE FLAGS THE I FLAG is awarded each week to the Recruit Company within each active regiment compiling the highest academic average on the sched- uled weekly examination. THE C FLAG is awarded each week to the Recruit Company within each active regiment compiling the most points in the competition based on active participation in designated activities embodying the tangible attributes of good citizenship. THE A FLAG is awarded each week to the Recruit Company within each active regiment compiling the most points in those athletic events specified by the Command. THE STAR FLAG is awarded each week to the Recruit Company within each competitive group compiling the highest average in the field of clean- liness, as determined by competitive barracks, locker, and personnel inspections. THE REGIMENTAL EFFICIENCY FLAG is awarded each week to the Recruit Company within each active regiment compiling the highest overall numer- ical average computed from the averages attained in the separate fields encompassed by the A , C , I , STAR, and Drill Flags. THE BRIGADE DRILL FLAG is awarded each week, when more than one active regiment is in operation, to the Regimental Drill Flag winner in the brigade compiling the highest average in a drill competition conducted among the Regimental Drill Flag winners. THE BATTALION DRILL FLAG is awarded each week to the Recruit Company within each active battalion compiling the highest average in a drill competition based on stationary drill, marching drill, semaphore drill, and physical drill under arms. THE REGIMENTAL DRILL FLAG is awarded each week to the Battalion Drill Flag winner in each active regiment compiling the highest average in a drill competition conducted among the Battalion Drill Flag winners within that Regiment. THE BRIGADE EFFICIENCY FLAG is awarded each week to the Regi- mental Efficiency winner within the brigade, when more than one active regiment is in operation, achieving the highest regimental efficiency aver- age for the competitive week. THE HALL OF FAME FLAG is the award of supreme achievement in Recruit Training Command and is awarded to that company within the brigade which by earning the requisite number of the aforementioned flags and by maintaining consistently high standards as prescribed by the command satisfies the requisites for entrance into the Recruit Training Command Hall of Fame.

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Lakes' importance as a Naval supply center. Numerous Naval activities throughout the Midwest, as well as ships of the fleet, obtain equipment through the enlarged Naval Supply Depot. In addition, a large Electronic Supply Office at Great Lakes controls the procurement and distribution of repair parts re- quired for the maintenance of electronic equipment at shore stations and in Navy ships. Great Lakes also is the headquarters of the Ninth Naval Dis- trict-the largest Naval district in the nation, encompassing 13 midwestern states. The Commandant of the Ninth Naval Dis- trict directs the hundreds of Naval activities in this land-locked area. Included among these activities is administration of the large Naval Reserve program in the Midwest, where civilians who are Naval Reservists receive practical instruction in weekly drills at 72 training centers. They also participate in annual cruises aboard ships of the Great Lakes training squadron. Other activities at Great Lakes have all-Navy functions. These include: lj the Naval Examining Center, which prepares and processes rating examinations for the entire Navy, 21 Fleet Home Town News Center, which receives news stories and photographs of Naval personnel from all parts of the world and distributes them to hometown newspapers, and 31 Navy Medi- cal Research Unit No. 4, which conducts research into the cause, cure, and control of respiratory diseases. Waves have been stationed at Great Lakes since the Navy volunteer women's organization was established in 1942. A Wave recruit training school was located here from 1948 to 1951. In addition to filling essential jobs at Great Lakes, Waves also attend some of the specialty schools here. Great Lakes' history dates back to 1904, when a board ap- pointed by the President selected the site of the Naval Training Center from among 37 locations on the Great Lakes. The Mer- chants' Club of Chicago raised the funds to purchase the prop- erty, and the land was presented to the Government as a gift from the people of Chicago. On July 1, 1911-six years to the day after construction began-Great Lakes was commissioned. It consisted of 39 build- ings, with a capacity of 1,500 'men. During World War I, the training center was expanded to 775 buildings with a capacity of almost 50,000 trainees. More than 125,000 men received their first Navy training here during World War I. Great Lakes' population dropped sharply during the years between wars, but population and construction began a rapid increase after President Roosevelt proclaimed a national emer- gency on September 9, 1939. Pearl Harbor threw the expansion program into high gear, with 13,000 civilians working in shifts, seven days a week, to build additional barracks, mess halls, and training facilities. A total of 675 buildings had been erected by the end of 1942 and in 1944 the population reached a peak of more than 100,000. At the end of World War II, Great Lakes consisted of ap- proximately 1,000 buildings. Since then, these facilities have been utilized in the continued training of recruits and in Great Lakes' expansion as an important advanced school center for the Navy. ff'

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IN PROCESSING XX.. AX is dl if THE transition from civilian to Naval life begins in the Receiving unit where the recruit is first introduced to the procedures of IN-PROCESSING. After logging in and getting watch caps, one of the first things they learn is their rights and privileges as defined in the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Then they take the Navy's General Classification Test Battery. It is through the re- sults of these tests, combined later with an interview by a trained classification interviewer, that the Navy is able to select the appropriate career pattern for each man entering the service. Designations for special schooling after completion of recruit training are made at this time. It is here that they are given thorough medical and dental examinations, as well as a complete out- fit of Navy uniforms and clothing. Finally, it is here that the recruit first meets his company commander, and the other members of his company with whom he is destined to spend the duration of his training. Slkil' Q5 ii rl i lf, 4 v