Reprimands given in SEAL training death

WASHINGTON — The Navy’s Special Warfare Command has reprimanded three officers in connection with the February death of a SEAL candidate who collapsed and died of acute pneumonia just hours after completing the grueling Hell Week test, according to Navy officials and a new report.

Commanders did not directly blame the officers for the death of SEAL candidate Kyle Mullen, and no one has been fired. But a Navy investigation has triggered a number of changes in how sailors are monitored during the physically and mentally exhausting test, and has prompted the command to seek and conduct expanded testing for performance-enhancing drugs.

A new report released by the command concluded that Mullen, 24, from Manalapan, N.J., died “in the line of duty, not due to his own misconduct.” It said he had an enlarged heart that also contributed to his death, which came soon after he successfully finished Hell Week, the 5½-day test that comes during the first phase of assessment for SEAL candidates striving to get into the Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL class. The training was at the Naval Special Warfare Training Center in Coronado, Calif.

The medical examiner’s autopsy report found there was no evidence of performance-enhancing drugs in Mullen’s system and that they were not a contributing cause of death.

Staff and medical professionals who reviewed the findings said in the report that several substances commonly used as performance-enhancing drugs — testosterone, Anastrobol and sildenafil — were found in Mullen’s belongings. And they said such substances could have been a contributing factor in his death.

The autopsy did not include blood tests or urine analysis, which can show indications of the banned substances.

The potential use of banned drugs by any SEAL candidate, however, is forcing the Navy to confront what many believe is a persistent problem, particularly among Special Operations forces and service members trying to get through rigorous training and evaluation courses. Some additional testing for the drugs is already being done in connection with the course, and as of Sept. 22, 37 personnel had been dropped from the training program as a result.