251201-N-GR847-1000 GREAT LAKES, Ill. (Nov. 20, 2025) – Rear Adm. Matthew Pottenburgh, commander, Naval Service Training Command, and Seaman Yazmine Gaines, Training Group 50’s top Sailor, ring the ship's bell at Recruit Training Command (RTC) to commemorate the graduation of more than 42,000 Sailors in Fiscal Year 2025, November 20. This milestone marks the highest annual boot camp graduation total in more than a decade. Training lasts approximately nine weeks, and every enlisted Sailor in the U.S. Navy begins their career at RTC, the Navy’s only boot camp. (U.S. Navy video by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Reymundo A. Villegas III)
Rear Adm. Craig T. Mattingly was relieved by Rear Adm. Matthew T. Pottenburgh as commander of Naval Service Training Command (NSTC) during a combined Recruit Training Command (RTC) Graduation and change of command ceremony held April 03,2025 at Naval Station Great Lakes.
The U.S. Navy has announced an optimization of its Basic Military Training (BMT) program, reducing the training schedule from 10 weeks to nine weeks effective January 2025. This transition supports the Chief of Naval Operations’ (CNO) Navigation Plan 2024, emphasizing fleet readiness, training efficiency, and the preparation of mission-ready Sailors.
