Today I had the honor of serving as the Reviewing Officer at the graduation of 500 sailors from the Great Lakes Naval Training Station in Waukegan, Illinois. Every recruit into the United States Navy takes his or her eight weeks of basic training at Great Lakes.
Graduates of the Great Lakes Naval Training Station in Waukegan, Illinois
I was asked while I was there why I would attend the graduation. I had three reasons:
- My home in Chicago is about 15 minutes from Great Lakes. So, it was a chance to visit with friends and family.
- When I was a boy scout as a youth, we took a trip to watch the graduation ceremony. I remember well the sailors in their dress whites.
- Most importantly, in 1943, in the midst of WW II, my father graduated from High School in Chicago. He enlisted in the Navy and went to Great Lakes for his basic training. He was assigned to the Bonne Homme Richard Aircraft Carrier during the war in the Pacific where he served with honor. He was always very proud of his service to his country. His uniform still hangs in my closet at home. I wish he could have been there to watch this graduation: I arrived to ruffles and flourishes and a 19 gun salute, no kidding.
Ambassador Jacobson serves as the Reviewing Officer at the graduation of 500 sailors from the Great Lakes Naval Training Station in Waukegan, Illinois
I gave my remarks, which included the statement of President Kennedy’s, a Navy man, that: “I can imagine no more rewarding a career. And any man in this country who may be asked what he did to make his life worthwhile, I think can respond with a good deal of pride and satisfaction: ‘I served in the United States Navy.’”
Before the graduation the Commanding Officer at Great Lakes, Captain Steven Bethke, took me and Julie and my sister Jamie and her husband David on a tour of the base. The two highlights were breakfast with a group of the recruits and “Battle Stations,” which is an amazingly life-like facility for the final training and testing of the recruits. After they pass the test they are no longer known as recruits. They trade in their “Recruit” baseball caps for new ones that say “Navy,” and they have earned the title “Sailor.” There were more than a few moist eyes in the house, including mine.
Ambassador Jacobson and Julie are joined by Great Lakes Commanding Officer, Capt. Steven Bethke, the Ambassador's sister Jamie Wainwright, and her husband, David Wainwright
The 500 new sailors and about 2000 family members from around the country have much to be proud of. The newest members of the Navy are off to preserve the values that make the United States great. Values that make us a beacon of hope for people around the world. They are joining the greatest fighting force the world has ever seen.
I left them the way I leave you. With the words: “Bravo Zulu.” The naval signal meaning “Well Done.”
DJ
