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Navy SEAL candidate dies, another is hospitalized after 'Hell Week'
A Navy SEAL candidate has passed away, and another has been hospitalized during Basic Underwater Demolition SEAL (BUD/S) training.
On February 4th, Kyle Mullen, 24, of Manalapan, New Jersey, was pronounced dead at Sharp Coronado Hospital in Coronado, California. The other candidate, who has not been named, is reported to be in stable condition.
Kyle Mullen Photo Credit: Monmouth Hawks/Yale Bulldogs
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The Navy released a statement saying, “Mullen was not actively training at the time of his death. The cause of his death is currently unknown and an investigation is underway.”
Mullen, who joined the Navy last year, was a former Manalapan High School football standout who helped win a championship for his team in 2019. He would go on to play defensive lineman at Yale University, and be selected second-team All-Ivy League for his position.
Suddenly ill
Both candidates became ill after completing “Hell Week,” a grueling assessment during the first phase of BUD/S.
The commander of Naval Special Warfare Command, Rear Adm. H.W. Howard III, stated, “We extend our deepest sympathies to Seaman Mullen’s family for their loss”
He went on to say, “We are extending every form of support we can to the Mullen family and Kyle’s BUD/S classmates.”
In 2016, Derek Lovelace drowned during a pool exercise the Navy ruled as an accident. Reports have shown 4 other candidates had lost consciousness during pool exercises in the previous four months.
