Due to a change in COVID-19 status, as of Nov. 10, guests attending the weekly graduation ceremony are no longer required to show proof of vaccination to gain access to Recruit Training Command Great Lakes.

However, with the removal of mask wearing and vaccinations, guests should take whatever precautions they deem appropriate for themselves based on their personal risk factors. Vaccinations and subsequent boosters are still strongly recommended by the CDC. Disposable masks are available at the front desk of the RTC visitors center for guests who may wish to utilize one.

Recruits graduating in the next few weeks are being given the opportunity to phone home to notify their families of this change in policy so they may make changes to their guest access lists over the phone. If your recruit graduates in December or later and you want to change the guest list based on this change, it is recommended you mail a new Guest Security Access Form to your recruit. This form may be found at www.bootcamp.navy.mil under the Graduation tab.

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Navy Recruit Training Command Graduation

2 December 2022

Training Group 51 : Divisions 423, 424, 425, 426, 427, 428, 429, 430, 951

Carrier Gerald R Ford returns to Norfolk after brief deployment

The aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford returned to Norfolk, Virginia, on Saturday, concluding its first deployment a little less than two months after its departure.

After getting underway Oct. 4, the carrier and its strike group focused on air defense and anti-subsurface warfare, distributed maritime operations and conducted a transfer of authority with NATO.

Hawaii gun permit ruling sides with ‘homesick’ Navy officer

HONOLULU — A U.S. Navy officer stationed in Hawaii cannot be denied a firearms permit solely because he sought counseling for feeling depressed and homesick, a federal judge ruled.

Michael Santucci, a cryptologic warfare officer from Fort Myers, Florida, saw a medical provider at a military hospital for feelings of depression and homesickness a few months after arriving in Hawaii last year, according to his lawsuit, filed in April.

Navy hero in LGBTQ club shooting ‘wanted to save the family I found’

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — A Navy sailor who was injured while helping prevent further harm during a shooting at a gay nightclub in Colorado last weekend says he “simply wanted to save the family that I found.”

Information Systems Technician 2nd Class Thomas James made his first public comments on the shooting in a statement issued Sunday through Centura Penrose Hospital in Colorado Springs, where he continues to recover from injuries suffered during the shooting.

Navy responds to Chinese criticism of South China Sea mission

BEIJING — The U.S. Navy on Tuesday dismissed Beijing’s protests over a “freedom of navigation operation” conducted near a Chinese-held island in the South China Sea, in the latest incident drawing new attention to one of the world’s potential military flashpoints.

The Navy said its guided missile cruiser Chancellorsville on Tuesday “asserted navigational rights and freedoms in the South China Sea near the Spratly Islands, consistent with international law.”

Two Navy ships just got too close for comfort in San Diego Bay

The Navy is investigating what led to two service ships nearly colliding Tuesday in San Diego Bay.

The purported close call involved the guided-missile destroyer Momsen and the dock landing ship Harpers Ferry.

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