NORTH CHICAGO, Ill. -- The Deputy Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Secretary of the Navy will sign a landmark agreement between the two federal agencies in a ceremony at the North Chicago VA Medical Center on Feb. 8 at 11 a.m.
The agreement, outlined in a memorandum of understanding, enhances the level of coordination between the Great Lakes Naval Training Center and the North Chicago VA Medical Center. VA Deputy Secretary Leo S. Mackay, Jr., Ph.D., and Navy Secretary Gordon England will sign the document. Senators Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) and Peter Fitzgerald (R-Ill.) and Rep. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) have been invited to attend the ceremony.
"This agreement reinforces President Bush's commitment to seek opportunities for VA and DoD to work together for the betterment of veterans and active duty military," said Deputy Secretary Mackay.
Under the agreement, a 48-acre parcel of land will be transferred from VA to the Navy. The land is immediately adjacent to the Navy’s Recruit Training Command and will be used in Great Lakes’ nearly $1 billion boot camp recapitalization project.
The land parcel will allow Great Lakes to create a training-centric campus that places buildings where they will best support training operations. It also enables the planning of buildable sites into the layout of the new boot camp, giving Great Lakes flexibility to prepare for any expanded mission that might be assigned in the future.
"This agreement permits the Navy to expand its only recruit training command in the smartest, most efficient way possible," said Secretary England. "It will save taxpayers money, improve training efficiency and, most important, send better trained sailors to the fleet to defend our way of life."
In exchange for the land, the Navy has agreed to negotiate the purchase of electricity and steam for its new facilities from a VA-sponsored co-generation energy center. VA will realize substantial energy savings in the future as a result of this agreement.
"The agreement reaffirms our commitment to work with the Department of the Navy and DoD to look for additional ways to maximize our resources in order to effectively serve both our nation's veterans and our active duty personnel," Mackay said.
The North Chicago VA Medical Center and the Great Lakes Naval Hospital currently have several sharing agreements in health care services and are continuing to explore additional opportunities to share resources.
"We are looking forward to a long and mutually beneficial relationship with DoD and more specifically, the Navy at the Great Lakes Naval Training Center," Mackay said.
For more information, contact Doug Shouse at 847-578-3700 or LCDR John Wallach at 847-688-2201.
