GREAT LAKES (NNS) -- Rear Adm. Stephen C. Evans, commander, Naval Service Training Command (NSTC) hosted the Republic of Korea (ROK) Navy's commander of Naval Education and Training on a tour of Recruit Training Command (RTC), Feb. 29.

During the visit, Vice Adm. Jin-Sup Jung observed recruit training at many of the facilities at the U.S. Navy's only boot camp.

"All the staff and faculties working at this command (RTC) seemed very professional in their field of expertise," Jung said. "It was very impressive to see how professional the instructors, facilitators and recruits were at the command." 

The visit began with a tour at RTC's premier training facility, USS Trayer (BST 21), the 210-foot-long Arleigh Burke-class destroyer simulator, the Navy's largest, where recruits go through Battle Stations, a grueling 12-hour culmination of basic training and the last evolution recruits accomplish before they graduate.

Jung and his staff said they were amazed by the sights, sounds and even smells presented by Trayer using the latest in simulation technology with video screens, piped-in smells, large stereo woofer-created vibrations and shipboard sound effects, from helicopters to missile hits.

Capt. Douglas Pfeifle, RTC's commanding officer, also joined the group during their tour around RTC. Pfeifle was pleased to showcase "The Quarterdeck of the Navy" and recognizes the importance of sharing how the Navy trains its recruits at boot camp with foreign military allies.

"By sharing our training curriculum we not only get the chance to compare and learn from one another, we get the opportunity to create best practices as we move forward," Pfeifle said. "It's a win all the way around. 

The relationship between the United States and South Korea has always been strong, and today, we're pleased to strengthen that bond because we are very similar with how we train Sailors and operate as a Navy."

Along with the tour of Trayer and Battle Stations, the group also toured the USS Chief Firefighting and Damage Control Training building. They also observed how recruits move from classroom training to hands-on training and fight a controlled shipboard compartment fire to prepare them for service in the fleet.

"The tour of the damage control facility and the connectivity between the recruits, their instructors and equipment was also very impressive," Jung said. "I hope to be able to take some of that back to Korea to use in our training." 

NSTC oversees 98 percent of initial officer and enlisted accessions training for the Navy, as well as the Navy's Citizenship Development program. NSTC includes RTC, NROTC units at more than 160 colleges and universities, Officer Training Command (OTC) at Naval Station Newport, Rhode Island, and Navy Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps (NJROTC) and Navy National Defense Cadet Corps (NNDCC) citizenship development programs at more than 600 high schools worldwide.