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

“…und any [[asbestos]] up at [[Great Lakes]], do you[, deposition testimony]…” — deposition testimony directly asking a witness about asbestos at Great Lakes Naval Station appears in the publicly filed asbestos litigation corpus. The direct deposition question about asbestos at Great Lakes — asking whether a witness found asbestos at the facility — establishes Naval Station Great Lakes as a documented subject of formal asbestos exposure inquiry in the litigation record.

United States Navy — Great Lakes Naval Training Station

“…United States [[Navy]] - [[Great Lakes]] Naval Tra[ining Station — formal identification]…” — formal documentation specifically identifying the United States Navy’s Great Lakes Naval Training Station appears in the corpus in an asbestos context, establishing the formal institutional identification of the facility in the asbestos exposure record.

“…Naval Station [[Great Lakes]] located in \nChi[cago area — formal location documentation]…” — formal documentation identifying Naval Station Great Lakes in the Chicago area appears in the corpus, establishing the specific facility location in the formal asbestos documentation framework.

Veteran Testimony — Great Lakes Service

“…Till I got called back in the [[Navy]]. \n16 [veteran testimony about Great Lakes service period]…” — veteran testimony about returning to Navy service — in a Great Lakes context — appears in the corpus, reflecting the firsthand testimony of a Navy veteran who served at Great Lakes during their military career.

“…He retired frown the [[Navy]] in 1970 \n3. Star[ting — Great Lakes veteran testimony]…” — testimony from a Navy veteran who retired in 1970, with Great Lakes identified as a service location, appears in the corpus. A 1970 retirement date places the veteran’s Great Lakes service in the peak asbestos exposure era when the station’s facilities were extensively asbestos-insulated.

Asbestos Products — Great Lakes Litigation Context

“…ured the alleged [[asbestos]] containing \ncomp[onents — Great Lakes asbestos claim]…” — formal litigation documentation about alleged asbestos-containing components in a Great Lakes context appears in the corpus, reflecting the product-identification analysis in Naval Station Great Lakes asbestos claims.

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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Exposure documentation derived from publicly filed asbestos litigation records including deposition testimony directly asking about asbestos at Naval Station Great Lakes, formal identification of the United States Navy Great Lakes Naval Training Station in asbestos contexts, veteran testimony about service at Great Lakes in the peak asbestos exposure era, and Naval Station Great Lakes in the formal naval asbestos litigation framework. This does not constitute legal or medical advice.