U.S. Marine Corps Maj. Timothy A. Ornelas, the plans officer of 1st Marine Division, explains operations to multilateral key military leaders during Exercise Steel Knight 25 at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California, Dec. 5, 2025. Steel Knight is an annual exercise that strengthens the Navy-Marine Corps team’s ability to respond forward, integrate across domains, and sustain Marine Air-Ground Task Force readiness. Ornelas is a native of California. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Anamile Arce) (This photo was altered for security purposes by blurring out identification badges.)
251205-D-GM644-5022 Jacksonville, FL. (Dec. 5, 2025) Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class Yailed Gutierreznunez, assigned to Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Command (NMRTC) Jacksonville, is congratulated on her promotion to Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class by Capt. Craig Malloy, NMRTC Jacksonville commander, during an awards ceremony at Naval Hospital Jacksonville, Dec. 5, 2025. (U.S. Navy photo by Keats Reynolds)
U.S. Marine Corps Master Sgt. Jesse Rodriguez, the assistant operations chief with 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, maneuvers to an objective during Exercise Steel Knight 25 at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California, Dec. 4, 2025. This exercise will certify 5th Marines for Marine Rotational Force–Darwin, a six-month forward deployment in Australia that strengthens combined interoperability with the Australian Defence Force and provides rapid crisis-response options for the joint force across the Indo-Pacific. Steel Knight is an annual exercise that strengthens the Navy-Marine Corps team’s ability to respond forward, integrate across domains, and sustain Marine Air-Ground Task Force readiness. Rodriguez is a native of Texas. (U.S Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Kyle Chan)
Recruit Training Command Graduates Final Class of FY 2025, Achieves Highest Production in a Decade
NAVAL STATION GREAT LAKES, Ill – The final training group of Sailors who arrived at U.S. Navy Recruit Training Command (RTC) during the Navy’s record-breaking year for recruiting, training and retaining Sailors, graduated from basic military training, commonly known as “boot camp,” during a ceremony at Naval Station Great Lakes, Dec. 4, 2025.
With the graduation of Training Group 52, more than 42,000 Sailors completed initial training during Fiscal Year 2025 (FY25), marking the highest production year for RTC in the past decade—an increase of 10,000 Sailors over last fiscal year.
Today, more than 46,000 Sailors are enrolled in courses throughout the Navy’s accession pipeline to increase mastery of their craft before joining the fleet in defense of the nation. This level of force development is the highest in 20 years, sustaining a battle-ready force that is built to fight and win at sea. Every month, more and more of these Sailors report to commands around the globe.
“Future Sailors arrive at RTC, leaving home for the first time, taking that first critical step into the world seeking adventure,” said Capt. Ken Froberg, commanding officer, Recruit Training Command. “As these men and women mature through boot camp, they realize they are capable of so much more by embracing our professional values of honor, courage and commitment. It really is amazing week-to-week to see these new Sailors graduate and embark on their own journeys with our Navy, unified by a strong warrior ethos. I know the watch is in good hands!”
This milestone coincides with U.S. Navy Recruiting Command surpassing its FY25 recruiting goal for active component Sailors, beating its active duty, enlisted goal by nearly 3,500 future Sailors.
Recruit Division Commanders (RDC) are responsible for training new recruits during boot camp.
“Being an RDC has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my career,” said Master-at-Arms First Class Selena Barragan. “From the first day of training to Pass-In-Review, it’s a privilege to watch recruits grow through discipline, teamwork, and resilience. Seeing that growth firsthand—watching civilians become Sailors who carry themselves with confidence and integrity—is what makes this role so meaningful. Every division I train reminds me why this work matters and why preparing them for the Fleet is both an honor and a responsibility.”
FY25 also saw continued innovations to Navy boot camp, including the further development of the Future Sailor Prep Course (FSPC) and the optimization of training from 10 weeks to 9 weeks.
The FSPC is designed to physically and mentally prepare recruits before starting boot camp, reducing attrition and increasing career opportunities for Sailors after graduation.
To celebrate this achievement in production, commander, Naval Service Training Command, Rear Adm. Matthew Pottenburgh and Training Group 50 Top Sailor, Seaman Yazmine Gaines, rang the ship’s bell – a Navy tradition used to mark important occasions – at a recent RTC graduation.
“RTC is the foundry where Recruits are forged into battle-ready Sailors,” said Pottenburgh. “Here in Great Lakes, our success is measured by the quality of the Sailor who leaves boot camp, the ‘Quarterdeck of the Navy’, following graduation as total Sailors – fit to fight and ready to win tonight, tomorrow, and well into the future.”
The mission of RTC, the Navy’s only boot camp, is to transform civilians into smartly disciplined, physically fit, basically trained Sailors who are ready for follow-on training and service to the fleet, while instilling in them the highest standards of honor, courage, and commitment.
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JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, Hawaii (Dec 2, 2025) – The Honorable Matt Keogh, MP, Australian Minister for Veterans’ Affairs and Minister for Defence Personnel speaks with Royal Australian Sailors assigned to Virginia-class fast-attack submarine USS Montana (SSN 794) at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Dec. 2, 2025. Montana is assigned to Submarine Squadron 1 and is capable of supporting various missions, including anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface ship warfare, strike warfare, special operations forces support, and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Nicholas Russell)
Date Taken:
12.02.2025
Date Posted:
12.03.2025 23:05
Photo ID:
9420379
VIRIN:
251202-N-NR343-1182
Resolution:
7008×3944
Size:
2.23 MB
Location:
PEARL HARBOR, HAWAII, US
Web Views:
3
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0
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This work, Australian Minister for Defense Personnel and Australian American Leadership Dialogue Members Visit USS Montana (SSN 794) [Image 6 of 6], by PO2 Nicholas Russell, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
251202-N-VA510-1243 CHESAPEAKE, Va. (Dec. 2, 2025) Ensign Nathaniel Fernandez, assigned to the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74), recites the oath of office during his commissioning ceremony in Chesapeake, Virginia, Dec. 2, 2025. John C. Stennis is in Newport News Shipbuilding conducting Refueling and Complex Overhaul to prepare the ship for the second half of its 50-year service life. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Oliver McCain Vieira)
Naval Air Facility (NAF) Atsugi, Japan – A member of the NAF Atsugi base community places figurines for a nativity scene display inside of the base chapel onboard NAF Atsugi on Dec. 2 2025. Several sailors and members of the NAF Atsugi community decorated the base chapel for the holiday season. NAF Atsugi supports the combat readiness of Commander, Fleet Air Western Pacific, Commander, Carrier Air Wing FIVE (CVW) 5, Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 51 and 23 other tenant commands, and provides logistic support, coordination, and services to units assigned to the Western Pacific. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communications Specialist Seaman Brianna Bonilla)
SAN DIEGO (Dec. 01, 2025) Official portrait of Surface Combat Systems Training Command’s Mid-Grade Instructor of the Year Operations Specialist 1st Class Jerome Bridgewater. (U.S. Navy photo)
NAVAL STATION MAYPORT, Fla. – (Dec. 1, 2025) – Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Thomas Hudner (DDG 116) departed Naval Station Mayport for a scheduled deployment, Dec. 1. USS Thomas Hudner is a multi-mission guided-missile destroyer capable of air warfare (AW), anti-submarine warfare (ASW), naval surface fire support (NSFS), and surface warfare (SUW). (U.S. Navy photo by Boatswain Mate 2nd Class Sherman Jenkins)
PETERSON SPACE FORCE BASE, Colo. — The North American Aerospace Defense Command is ready to track Santa on Dec. 24 and is celebrating the program’s 70th anniversary. NORAD monitors and defends North American airspace 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. On Dec. 24, NORAD has one additional mission: tracking Santa Claus as he makes his way across the globe, delivering presents to children.
The NORAD Tracks Santa website (https://www.noradsanta.org) will launch on Dec. 1. It features Santa’s North Pole Village, which includes a holiday countdown, games, movie theater, holiday music, web store, and more. The website is available in nine languages: English, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Chinese, and Korean.
The official NORAD Tracks Santa app is also in the Apple App and Google Play stores, to count down the days until Santa’s journey on mobile devices. NORAD Tracks Santa will also be available on digital media platforms including Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and X, and on contributor platforms, Amazon Alexa, SiriusXM, and OnStar. More information about our contributors is available on our website.
On Dec. 24, trackers worldwide can call 1-877-HI-NORAD (1-877-446-6723) to ask our live operators about Santa’s location from 4 a.m. to midnight MST. Additionally, we are introducing a web-based calling option so children without the means to reach NORAD via our phone number can call the NORAD Tracks Santa Operations Center directly from our NORADSanta.org website. Virtual translation services will also be able to support more than 200 languages via our call center. While live operators will be unavailable after midnight MST, trackers can continue to follow Santa’s flight until 3 a.m. on Dec. 25 by calling and listening to our Interactive Voice Response system or visiting our website.
NORAD Tracks Santa is a global experience, and the U.S. and Canadian personnel of NORAD are proud to continue the tradition of delighting families everywhere. Our contributors help make this possible:
· Space Base Delta 1
· Acuity Scheduling
· Alaskan NORAD Region
· Alpha-Lit Colorado Springs
· Agingo
· Amazon Alexa
· Amazon Web Services
· Ansys
· The Arc Pikes Peak Region
· Avaya
· Balsam Hill
· Barcana
· Canadian NORAD Region
· Canadian Forces Museum of Aerospace Defence
· CenturyLink
· Cesium
· Christmas in the Park
· Christmas This Year
· Colorado Springs Chamber & Economic Development Corporation
· Continental U.S. NORAD Region
· CradlePoint
· Defense Visual Information Distribution Service
· The Elf on the Shelf
· Haus of Holiday
· The Hotel Polaris
· HP
· Historic Arkansas Riverwalk of Pueblo
· IU Globelink
· M&B Creations
· Marine Toys for Tots Foundation
· Meshbox
· Microsoft
· Microsoft Azure
· Microsoft Bing
· Naden Band of Maritime Forces Pacific
· NASA Space Place
· Nashville.Net User Group
· Navy Marine Corps Public Health Center
· OnStar
· OpenAI
· Package From Santa
· Pikes Peak Military Affairs Council
· PR Karma
· Print Shop Guy
· Portable North Pole
· Royal Canadian Air Force Band
· SavATree Colorado Springs
· SciJinks
· Shirt Stop
· SiriusXM
· Six String Soldiers
· Snowy the Mouse
· Space Foundation
· Together We Stand Foundation
· Twilio
· U.S. Air Force Band
· U.S. Air Force Academy Band
· U.S. Air Force Heartland of America Band
· U.S. Coast Guard Band
· U.S. Department of State Family Liaison Office
· U.S. Merchant Marine Academy
· U.S. Navy Band Northeast
· U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee
· Verizon
· Veteran’s United
· Zebra Productions
NORAD is a United States and Canada bi-national organization charged with the missions of aerospace warning, aerospace control and maritime warning for North America. NORAD prevents air attacks against North America, safeguarding the sovereign airspaces of the United States and Canada by responding to unknown, unwanted, and unauthorized air activity approaching and operating within these airspaces.
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Related Products
https://newsroom.prkarma.com/noradsanta
Associated Links NORAD Website
https://www.noradsanta.org/
https://www.dvidshub.net/feature/NORADTracksSanta (including b-roll and stills)
Social Media
@NORAD (FB)
@NORADSanta (FB)
@NORADTracksSanta_Official (IG)
NOTE TO MEDIA MEMBERS: To schedule an interview with NORAD, please email mailto:[email protected]
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