Bears offensive linemen Bill Murray and Jake Curhan spent their day off Tuesday at Naval Station Great Lakes, touring the facility and meeting service members.
Located about 10 miles north of Halas Hall, Naval Station Great Lakes is the Navy's largest training installation and home of the Navy's only boot camp. It's located on 1,600 acres adjacent to Lake Michigan and includes 1,153 buildings – 39 of which are on the National Register of Historic Places.
Murray and Curhan made their visit in partnership with the USAA and in advance of the Bears' Nov. 10 Salute to Service game against the Patriots at Soldier Field.
"Any way we can give back, that's the most important thing," Murray said. "It's great being here seeing everyone so excited to hang out with us for a bit. It was really cool just seeing everything that was going on."
The first stop on the tour was at a pool where recruits were participating in intense aquatic training.
"That was crazy impressive," Murray said. "You're trying to swim back and forth treading water for 30 minutes straight. And then once you're done, you start doing pullups and pushups. That's just tough."
"I really liked the training that we stopped at," Curhan added. "Half of them were doing pullups and other body weight exercises while the other half were in the pool getting yelled at and splashed at. I just wanted to hop in there with them and see how I would do. I feel like that's how a lot of [football players] are wired.
"It gives me a lot of appreciation for what they do. It's not easy by any means. They're in the pool flailing and instructors are splashing at them and spraying water on them. It's tough stuff and I definitely see how it builds up character."
The next stops on the tour were at a human performance gym and a destroyer simulator, where recruits are trained to deal with different battle scenarios.
Their visit to Naval Station Great Lakes gave the Bears offensive linemen a greater appreciation for what military personnel contend with on a regular basis.
"The accountability you have to have with each other is way beyond," Murray said. "In football, you have that accountability, but when it's life and death, it's different. You can definitely see what they're going through, pushing each other. You've got to be comfortable with the guy next to you and just know that he's going to do his job and everyone is going to come back home safe."
"It gives me a lot of perspective," Curhan said. "It's definitely very serious and that's why when you do watch the training … [they're] seeing if you can handle the pressure because if you can't there could be national security risks, or you could be risking the lives of your teammates."
The players concluded their visit with a meet-and-greet, signing autographs and posing for photos.
"It was awesome," said Doug Knotts, NSGL public works officer commander. "The Bears are the hometown team; everybody's excited for them, everybody's pulling for them. And you can't think of a better partnership than having a professional sports organization like the Chicago Bears partnering here with the local military. It means a lot to the service members. It's great for morale and it's really fun to see."
