Navy SEAL candidate died of bacterial pneumonia in hours after Hell Week training, Navy investigation finds - CNN

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Navy SEAL campaigner Kyle Mullen, 24, died of bacterial pneumonia successful the hours aft completing what is known arsenic “Hell Week” during the peculiar operations force’s demanding basal grooming programme successful February, a Navy enactment of work probe released Wednesday found.

While determination were respective signs Mullen was having breathing issues and coughing up fluid successful the past 24 hours of training, helium was not pulled from grooming and not sent to a infirmary erstwhile it was completed.

Navy investigators concluded Mullen died successful the “line of duty, not owed to his ain misconduct,” a property merchandise from Naval Special Warfare Command Public Affairs said.

Mullen’s decease has sparked disapproval of the Navy SEAL’s aggravated Hell Week grooming program. There person been 10 Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/S) (the ceremonial sanction for the program) grooming related deaths since 1953, according to the Navy.

The implicit 300-page probe explains the origin of Mullen’s death, the events starring up to his decease successful the last hours of the Hell Week grooming program, and imaginable signs that were missed betwixt aesculapian caregivers and observers. The Navy has adopted immoderate process changes since Mullen’s decease arsenic a result.

Administrative actions person been taken against the erstwhile Commanding Officer of Basic Training Command, Capt. Bradley Geary, the Commander of Naval Special Warfare Center, Capt. Brian Drechsler and elder aesculapian unit nether their command, the Navy said. An administrative enactment is typically successful the signifier of a missive to the work subordinate instructing them connected correcting deficient performance. It does not ever pb to the extremity of a career.

Those administrative actions “will beryllium reviewed during the” abstracted probe directed by elder Navy leaders and led by Naval Education and Training Command that has not been completed oregon released yet, the Navy said. This abstracted probe would apt beryllium the conveyance for immoderate aboriginal accountability actions if recovered to beryllium warranted, a US subject authoritative said.

Mullen was coughing up what chap classmates described arsenic “phlegm,” “mucus,” and “dark-colored fluid” connected the 2nd to past time and last greeting of Hell Week, according to interviews included successful the Navy’s investigation.

Hell Week is simply a five-day aggravated grooming workout designed to “expose candidates to utmost accent successful a controlled environment,” according to a Hell Week Validation Report included successful the investigation. Hell Week is 1 portion of a 56-week grooming programme candidates indispensable implicit to go Navy SEALs.

During the five-day exercise, candidates are “only allotted 2 2-hour slumber periods,” an interrogation included successful the probe said.

“To the students it seems similar chaos, intentionally so,” an interrogation included successful the probe said. “It replicates the disorder and conditions successful the tract during war.”

Candidates participating successful Hell Week are medically evaluated regular by a subordinate of Naval Special Warfare Center Medical to find if they are capable to proceed training. During training, Basic Training Command aesculapian unit are successful the tract with candidates and instructors to respond to immoderate aesculapian emergencies oregon issues.

While a follow-up betwixt Basic Training Command unit and Naval Special Warfare Center Medical was not “typical oregon standardized” earlier Mullen’s death, “it is now,” a Naval Special Warfare Center Medical doc said successful an interrogation included successful the investigation.

Mullen appeared successful bully wellness and was completing the grooming successfully, according to aggregate interviews from chap classmates, instructors and aesculapian unit included successful the investigation, until Thursday, February 3, the 2nd to past time of the training.

Several chap classmates interviewed said they observed Mullen coughing up fluid connected Thursday. One chap classmate described the fluid arsenic “dark-colored,” different described Mullen was “spitting up orangish stuff” and noted helium had a “very deep” cough, interviews successful the probe said. A Basic Training Command unit subordinate treated Mullen for genu symptom connected Thursday, but nary breathing issues were mentioned, the subordinate said successful an interview.

On the greeting of February 4, hours distant from completing the training, Mullen “self-reported for breathing issues,” a Basic Training Command unit subordinate said. Mullen was fixed oxygen doubly the greeting of February 4, erstwhile astatine 6:53 a.m. and erstwhile astatine 8:16 a.m., according to the 24-hour Hell Week aesculapian reflection log included successful the investigation.

“There is nary written argumentation requiring Naval Special Warfare Center Medical beryllium contacted if a pupil is being treated with oxygen,” a Basic Training Command unit subordinate said successful an interrogation included successful the investigation.

Center Medical “should person known” Mullen was enactment connected oxygen that morning, a Naval Special Warfare Center Medical doc interviewed for the probe said. “It whitethorn person warranted a thorax X-ray,” the doc said.

Mullen returned to grooming betwixt those 2 instances of receiving oxygen. After receiving oxygen the 2nd time, Mullen was transported to the determination wherever the remainder of the candidates were completing Hell Week by ambulance, a paramedic who treated Mullen from Basic Training Command that greeting said.

Mullen completed and passed the aesculapian cheque from Naval Special Warfare Center Medical aft helium finished Hell Week. He was moved from the schoolroom wherever helium was briefed with his chap classmates to the barracks successful a wheelchair owed to the utmost swelling helium was experiencing, aggregate interviews included successful the probe said.

One of his chap classmates described Mullen arsenic “looking similar the ‘Michelin Man’ due to the fact that helium was ace puffed up astatine the last aesculapian check,” an interrogation included successful the probe said.

A chap classmate of Mullen’s said that portion Mullen completed the aesculapian cheque successfully, helium was “still coughing up fluid erstwhile helium got to the classroom,” wherever they were each briefed aft completing training.

Another classmate observed Mullen sitting successful the schoolroom with a Gatorade vessel “between his legs spitting bloody mucus wrong of it,” an interrogation included successful the probe said.

Ten classmates who completed the Hell Week grooming with Mullen noticed him coughing up mucus and discolored fluid from Thursday to Friday greeting erstwhile the grooming was complete, according to interviews included successful the report.

After completing the training, Mullen returned to the barracks to remainder with his chap classmates. He was observed by candidates awaiting grooming students astatine the command, oregon CATS, assigned to ticker implicit the candidates and assistance them successful recovery. They are not medically trained.

One of the radical assisting with watching implicit the candidates said helium “could archer Mullen was going to request changeless ticker and assistance owed to his reflection that Mullen appeared to beryllium coughing and spitting up humor into a Gatorade bottle,” an interrogation with the idiosyncratic said.

One of the observers called the work aesculapian serviceman astatine 2:35 p.m. connected February 4, per the protocol outlined astatine the extremity of Hell Week, saying Mullen was “unable to devour without vomiting and was coughing and spitting up fluids,” the probe states. The work aesculapian serviceman advised the idiosyncratic to telephone 911.

Candidates are not encouraged to telephone 911 aft completing training, due to the fact that “from the position of aesculapian unit and candidates, extracurricular aesculapian unit are not acquainted with the carnal effects of the utmost grooming candidates undergo,” the probe said. If candidates spell to the infirmary and are misdiagnosed oregon diagnosed with thing that disqualifies them, they are astatine hazard of being medically disqualified from training.

On a transcript of the post-Hell Week pupil little included successful the investigation, No. 11 states, “DO NOT spell and spot other/outside aesculapian providers. We volition spot you astatine immoderate clip (If it is simply a existent exigency telephone 911)… IF YOU GO AND SEE OTHER MEDICAL PERSONNEL WHO DO NOT UNDERSTAND HELL WEEK, THEY MAY ADMIT YOU TO THE HOSPITAL OR GIVE YOU MEDICINES THAT ARE NOT COMPATIBLE WITH TRAINING.”

One of the observers taking attraction of Mullen “recalled idiosyncratic relayed it was Mullen’s prime to spell to medical. Mullen told” 2 radical “no helium did not privation to spell to medical,” an interrogation with 1 of the observers included successful the probe said.

Mullen’s information continued to deteriorate. Between 3:50 p.m. and 4:09 p.m., “Mullen was seen ‘gasping for air’ and appeared to beryllium ‘super swollen’ oregon ‘bloated,’ with blueish colored tegument and fluids coming retired of his mouth,” the findings of facts successful the probe said.

At 4:03 p.m., the officer-in-charge called the work aesculapian serviceman again who told him to telephone 911. The national occurrence section received a telephone astatine 4:09 p.m. and arrived 15 minutes later. Mullen was unresponsive astatine the clip they arrived, the probe said.

Mullen stopped breathing 5 minutes earlier Emergency Medical Services showed up, 1 of the radical observing him said successful an interview.

Mullen was past transported to the nearest infirmary and was declared dormant astatine 5:35 p.m.

Since Mullen’s death, the Navy has adopted respective changes including adding precocious cardiology screening for Navy SEAL candidates, including proactive pneumonia prevention grooming by giving candidates an injection of Bicillin up of BUD/S and extending aesculapian unit to observe candidates who person completed the grooming for 24 hours aft Hell Week ends, according to the Navy.

There is besides present a “mandatory, ceremonial displacement turnover” betwixt Basic Training Command Medical and NSW Central Medical to “discuss the aesculapian presumption of candidates,” the Navy said.

No changes to the Hell Week grooming itself person been implemented.

While nary drugs were recovered successful Mullen’s strategy according to the autopsy, Mullen’s decease has sparked interest astir candidates’ usage of performance enhancing drugs to propulsion themselves physically successful the program.

One of the changes the Navy has adopted since Mullen’s decease is including “medically safe-to-train” PED investigating “through urine tests” for candidates, the Navy said. The Navy is besides moving connected an “exception to policy” to grow the authorization to trial candidates for PEDs successful bid to assistance successful “understanding the scope of PED usage wrong the unit and antagonistic unauthorized PED use,” the Navy added.

Rear Admiral Keith Davids, the Commander of Naval Special Warfare Command which oversees the SEALs and their training, sent a memo to his bid connected Oct. 4 aft quality articles astir Mullen’s decease and different issues wrong the SEALs were published, reminding everyone successful the bid to “create a civilization of accountability.” CNN obtained a transcript of the memo.

“We indispensable continually self-assess and self-correct truthful that we place problems earlier they turn into larger, systemic issues. I expect everyone successful our assemblage to make a civilization of accountability and to measure and usage the tools astatine your disposal to support bully order, subject and ngo success,” the memo states.