Naval Station Great Lakes is the home of the United States Navy's only current boot camp, located near North Chicago, in Lake County, Illinois. Important tenant commands include the Recruit Training Command, Training Support Center and Navy Recruiting District Chicago. Naval Station Great Lakes is the largest military installation in Illinois and the largest training station in the Navy. The base has 1,153 buildings situated on 1,628 acres (6.59 km2) and has 69 mi (111 km) of roadway to provide access to the base's facilities. Within the naval service, it has several different nicknames, including "The Quarterdeck of the Navy", or the more derogatory "Great Mistakes". It is also referred to as "second boot camp" while at Training Support Command.

North Chicago is a city in Lake County, Illinois, United States, and a suburb of the Chicago metropolitan area. The population was 30,759 at the 2020 census making it the third-most populous city by population in the county, after Waukegan and Mundelein.