Members of the Chicago Fire Department attended a pass-in-review graduation ceremony and toured Recruit Training Command (RTC), Sept. 9, as part of Naval Service Training Command's (NSTC) ongoing community outreach and Naval Station Great Lakes' Annual First Responder's Day Commemoration.

Attending the ceremony were Jose Santiago, Chicago fire commissioner; Bill Vogt, Chicago assistant deputy fire commissioner; Donald Hroma, Chicago district fire chief; and Jeffrey Gray, senior project director, Chicago Navy Memorial, Navy Pier.

Also in attendance was Capt. Doug Pfiefle, chief of staff of NSTC; Mayor of North Chicago Leon Rockingham Jr.; Rear Adm. Stephen F. Williamson, director for Fleet Maintenance, U.S. Pacific Fleet; and Cmdr. Almond Smith III, along with about 3,000 guests including more than 40 first responders from the Chicagoland area.

"It is my pleasure and honor to host several members of the Chicago Fire Department on board Recruit Training Command as a part of Naval Station Great Lake's annual First Responder's Day Commemoration," said Capt. Mike Garrick, commanding officer, RTC. "These firefighters and first responders put themselves in harm's way to ensure the safety and security of the communities they serve."

Prior to the ceremony, the Chicago group had the opportunity to tour Battle Stations 21 aboard USS Trayer (BST-21), a 210-foot simulator of an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, the largest in the Navy.

Following breakfast with recruits, the group returned to Trayer to witness a BST-21 capping ceremony, where recruits donned their Navy ball caps for the first time signifying they have successfully completed boot camp training and are now U.S. Navy Sailors.

From there, they went to Midway Ceremonial Drill Hall to view the ceremony where 593 recruits graduated from boot camp.

"I've been to the Marine Corps side of the world, but this is my first Navy graduation and it was very impressive," said Santiago. "What really stood out were the extra recruits who also participated in the ceremony such as the band, rifles, and choir. I've never seen that done before, and that is amazing to be able to do that in just the eight weeks they were in training."

After the ceremony, the group joined the RTC Chiefs Mess for a luncheon before heading to USS Chief for a facility tour and overview of recruit firefighting training. There, recruits are introduced to the concepts of shipboard damage control, firefighting, and chemical, biological and radiological defense. They learn how to properly handle a hose aboard a ship and effectively combat a shipboard fire.

The group was able to see the similarities of the recruits' training with that of their own recruit firefighters.

"Just like the military, we bring recruits in, we train them the best that we can to prepare them for the field, help them rely on instructors just as you do here at RTC, and we rely on people in field to help mentor those new firefighters that are coming into the field and make them the future leaders of the department just like you do here at this base," said Hroma.

Vogt stressed teamwork was a vital message they teach their firefighting recruits, just as instructors at RTC teach the recruits.

"We are a paramilitary organization, so following orders and following direction is very important," said Vogt." We teach them the basics of firefighting and to not do unsafe practices, to work as safely as possible, and always look out for each other. As a new firefighting recruit, their big message is to follow direction and follow their orders, just as the recruits do here in the military."

As the group wrapped up their visit, they were left with a positive impression of RTC's training.

"This ceremony was indeed very impressive, and in fact, we've picked up a few pointers for our graduations," said Rosado. "It's hard to fathom that RTC pushes out this many recruits every week. The staff here does an amazing job and the facilities here are equally as impressive."

Boot camp is approximately eight weeks, and all enlistees into the United States Navy begin their careers at the command. Training includes seamanship, firearms familiarization, firefighting and shipboard damage control, lessons in Navy heritage and core values, teamwork and discipline, and physical fitness. Since the closure of RTCs in Orlando and San Diego in 1994, RTC Great Lakes is, today, the Navy's only basic training location, and is known as "The Quarterdeck of the Navy."

Today, approximately 38,000 recruits graduate annually from RTC and begin their Navy careers.

For more information, visit http://www.navy.mil/, http://www.facebook.com/usnavy/ or http://www.twitter.com/usnavy/.

For more news from Recruit Training Command, visit http://www.navy.mil/, http://bootcamp.navy.mil/ or http://www.facebook.com/NavyRecruitTrainingCommand/.

For more information about Naval Service Training Command, visit http://www.netc.navy.mil/nstc/.