Navy SEAL candidate died of pneumonia during ‘Hell Week’; 3 officers reprimanded

A 24-year-old Navy SEAL candidate died of acute pneumonia after completing a grueling training phase called “Hell Week,” according to an investigation released on Wednesday.

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Kyle Mullen, of Manalapan, New Jersey, died on Feb. 4, KNSD-TV reported. The training session is the initial phase of training for one of the U.S. military’s most elite units.

A Naval Special Warfare Command Line of Duty investigation, which was completed last month, found that Mullen died in the line of duty, and not because of his own misconduct, according to the television station.

The command reprimanded three officers in connection with Mullen’s death, The Associated Press reported. Commanders did not directly blame the officers and no one has been fired, according to the news organization. But the investigation has led to several changes in how sailors are monitored during “Hell Week,” a physically and mentally exhausting test, according to the AP.

The officers cited by the command included Capt. Bradley Geary, the former commanding officer of basic training command; Capt. Brian Drechsler, the commander of the Naval Special Warfare Center; and an unnamed senior medical officer, CNN reported.

Drechsler and the medical officer remain in the same jobs they were in at the time of Mullen’s death, while Geary has moved on to a staff job, the AP reported. The change in Geary’s status was planned before Mullen’s death.

While there were some signs that Mullen was having breathing issues and coughing up fluid in the last 24 hours of training, he was not removed from training and not sent to a hospital when his training ended, CNN reported.

Regina Mullen, the SEAL candidate’s mother, told KGTV that Kyle Mullen had sent her a text that stated, “Hell Week secured!”

“I saw it and I call him. And he says, ‘I did it, Mom.’ And he was so happy,” Regina Mullen told the television station. “And I heard him out of breath. And I said, ‘Kyle, are you OK? Are you hurt? Are you in a hospital?’ And he just responded, ‘Don’t worry, Mom, I’m good. I love you.’”

Regina Mullen said that after her son hung up, she texted him and said, “You don’t sound good.”

“And I never heard from him again,” she told KGTV.

During Hell Week, SEAL candidates participate in high-intensity training exercises and are given little opportunity to sleep, according to CNN. During five days of training, candidates are constantly cold, hungry and wet.

At least 50% to 60% of trainees do not complete Hell Week, according to the AP.

An autopsy report found that there was no evidence of performance-enhancing drugs in Mullen’s system and that they were not a contributing cause of death, the AP reported.

One of Mullen’s classmates described him as “looking like the ‘Michelin Man’ because he was puffed up at the final medical check,” an interview included in the investigation said, according to CNN.

The last SEAL candidate to die during the assessment phase was Seaman James Derek Lovelace, 21, in 2016, NBC News reported. He was struggling to tread water in full gear in a giant pool when his instructor pushed him underwater at least twice, the AP reported. He lost consciousness and died.

Navy records showed that Lovelace was the fifth trainee in four months to lose consciousness during a pool exercise, NBC News reported.

According to the Navy, there have been 10 training-related deaths since 1953.

“Our deepest sympathy extends to Seaman Mullen’s family and friends during this difficult time,” Rear Adm. Keith Davids, head of Naval Special Warfare Command, said in a statement. “NSW remains committed to transparency and we welcome the opportunity to review our assessment and selection programs, and help us look for additional ways to improve and prevent this kind of tragedy from happening again.

“Kyle’s death will not be in vain.”

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