Can I record or livestream Great Lakes graduation?

The Navy streams graduation on facebook.com/NavyRecruitTrainingCommand and youtube.com/c/RTCPublicAffairs.

What should I do with my graduate's photos?

Back them up the same day, note the unit and the date, and turn the best ones into numbered keepsake cards the whole family can share.

— Great Lakes guide · Photos

Great Lakes graduation photos.

What to know about cameras, video and pictures at Recruit Training Command, Great Lakes, the shots worth getting, and what to do with them afterward. Checked in September 2026.

— What the base says

Cameras, video and recordings at Great Lakes.

The Navy streams graduation on facebook.com/NavyRecruitTrainingCommand and youtube.com/c/RTCPublicAffairs.
Allowed: a small purse or personal bag, a small diaper bag, a small camera bag, and a personal wheelchair or walker.
RTC livestreams Pass-in-Review on Thursdays at 9 a.m.

— Shots worth getting

Ten photos you will want forever.

The moment they are released to you
The first hug, and keep shooting
A close up in uniform
With a drill instructor or training leader, if they will stand for it
The whole family in one frame
With the grandparents
With their battle buddy or shipmate
Holding the certificate
A selfie, both of you
The walk back to the car

— Photo tips

Seven habits that pay off later.

Arrive early and choose your spot before the crowd fills in. A clear line of sight beats a close one.
Hold the phone upright for portraits. Tall photos fill a keepsake card best, wide ones are for the whole scene.
Take more than you think you need, and keep shooting after the first hug. The second and third minutes are the honest ones.
Ask a relative or a stranger to take one of the whole family together. It is the photo everyone forgets to get.
If the ceremony is streamed or recorded, screenshot a few frames later. You will not be filming and hugging at once.
Write down the platoon, flight, company or division and the date the same day. Nobody remembers it in five years.
Back the photos up that night, before anything happens to the phone.

— Older photos

Looking for pictures from years ago?

How can a veteran find their old Great Lakes boot camp company or division?

Request your Official Military Personnel File free from the National Personnel Records Center at vetrecs.archives.gov or by mailing Standard Form 180 to 1 Archives Drive, St. Louis, MO 63138. It lists your training command and dates, which give you the company or division number. With that, scanned Great Lakes yearbooks, called The Keel, are searchable on the Internet Archive and volunteer sites, and many companies have Facebook reunion groups named by year and company number. Source

— Hiring a photographer

Family portraits are a different job.

Some families book a local photographer for portraits around graduation weekend. If you do, remember that everyone who comes on base follows the same ID, pass and gate rules as any other visitor (see the Great Lakes guide), so sort out access with them before the day. Either way, the photos your own family takes are the ones that end up on the wall.

Then turn them into cards.

Every photo from Great Lakes becomes a numbered keepsake card, front and back, with the unit, the base and the date. You get a video and one page the whole family can open. Graduated a while ago? It is not too late.

See your first 3 cards free Back to the Great Lakes guide

— Sources

Checked in September 2026 against these official pages. CardMyService is not affiliated with the Department of Defense or any branch.

Navy Recruit Training Command: graduation