Naval Station Great Lakes — located in North Chicago, Illinois on the western shore of Lake Michigan — is the United States Navy’s primary recruit training facility and one of the largest naval installations in the country. Known as the “Quarterdeck of the Navy,” Naval Station Great Lakes has trained virtually every Navy enlisted recruit since the base’s establishment in 1911. The station’s extensive training, housing, and administrative facilities — constructed throughout the twentieth century — incorporated asbestos-containing materials throughout their building construction. Navy recruits who trained at Great Lakes during the peak asbestos exposure era lived and trained in barracks, training halls, and technical facilities where asbestos-containing flooring, ceiling tiles, pipe insulation, and building materials were present. Naval Station Great Lakes also hosted advanced technical training schools — including engineering, nuclear power, and other technical ratings training — in facilities with asbestos-containing building materials. Publicly filed asbestos litigation records document Naval Station Great Lakes in asbestos exposure contexts: direct testimony about asbestos at Great Lakes, formal Navy identification of the Great Lakes Naval Training Station, and Naval Station Great Lakes in the formal naval asbestos litigation framework.

Documented Asbestos — Naval Station Great Lakes in Litigation

Asbestos at Great Lakes — Direct Testimony

United States Navy — Great Lakes Naval Training Station

Veteran Testimony — Great Lakes Service

Asbestos Products — Great Lakes Litigation Context

Asbestos at Naval Station Great Lakes

Recruit training barracks: Thousands of Navy recruits completed basic training at Great Lakes, living in barracks constructed during the base’s WWII and postwar expansion periods. These barracks incorporated asbestos-containing flooring, ceiling tiles, and pipe insulation throughout their construction — creating asbestos exposure for recruits during their initial Navy training.

Technical training schools: Naval Station Great Lakes hosted advanced technical training schools for engineering, nuclear power, and other technical ratings. The school buildings and laboratory facilities used in technical training incorporated asbestos-containing building materials standard for the construction era.

Administrative and support facilities: The administrative buildings, chapels, gyms, and support facilities at Great Lakes were constructed with asbestos-containing materials throughout the base’s development period — creating asbestos exposure for the permanent party personnel stationed at the base.

Steam heating systems: Naval Station Great Lakes’ extensive facility heating systems used steam distribution networks insulated with asbestos pipe covering and block insulation — a maintenance responsibility for the station’s engineering and maintenance workforce.

Navy veterans who trained or served at Naval Station Great Lakes during the asbestos exposure era, and who subsequently developed mesothelioma, asbestos-related lung cancer, asbestosis, or pleural disease, may qualify for:

  • VA presumptive service connection under 38 CFR § 3.309(d) for veterans with documented duty at Naval Station Great Lakes during the era when asbestos-containing materials were present throughout the base’s facilities
  • Civil claims against asbestos product manufacturers whose materials were installed at Naval Station Great Lakes, based on documented asbestos product use at the facility

Key documents:

  • DD-214 or service records — documenting assignment to Naval Station Great Lakes for recruit training or technical school
  • Service records — documentation of permanent party assignment at Naval Station Great Lakes in maintenance, engineering, or facilities roles
  • Diagnosis — mesothelioma, asbestos-related lung cancer, asbestosis, or pleural disease

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Documented asbestos exposure information derived from publicly filed asbestos litigation records. This does not constitute legal or medical advice.