Address

Alex's address at Great Lakes is:

SR George, Alexander C. IV
Ship 04 Div 818
Recruit Training Commnad
3600 Ohio Street
Great Lakes, IL 60088-7103

Use the exact format above. Again, please send only cards and letters. NO FOOD. He will not receive any letters until about July 22-23. After that date he will get mail call every day. The recruits have no idea what is happening outside the base. Current events, sports scores, etc. are helpful. Please also keep in mind that Alex can only write back on Sundays and even then will only have limited time. The Navy officers I work with said that they keep them intentionally very busy the first couple of weeks and Sunday is the day they get to catch up and prepare for the next week. That includes polishing shoes, ironing uniforms, etc. He will likely write us and we will post what he is up to.

Alex is in a Special Warfare division comprised of Seals, Rescue Swimmers, Divers, EOD (Explosive Ordinance Division) and SWCC (Alex's Navy Occupation). Spec War is about 15% of all recruits. As a result he gets less time and sleep than the regular recruits. Right now he is getting into the routine of getting up at 4:30 a.m. for extra physical training and then training with the regular Navy later in the day. He will also still be required to rotate with other recruits standing watch in the middle of the night.