WASHINGTON - The training program for Navy SEALs is plagued by widespread failures in medical care, poor oversight and the use of performance-enhancing drugs that have increased the risk of injury and death to those seeking to become elite commandos, according to an investigation triggered by the death of a sailor last year.
Medical oversight and care were “poorly organized, poorly integrated and poorly led and put candidates at significant risk,” the nearly 200-page report compiled by the Naval Education and Training Command concluded.
The report said there were flaws in the medical program that “likely had the most direct impact on the health and well-being” of the SEAL candidates and “specifically” on Kyle Mullen, the sailor who died. The report concluded the if those shortcomings had been addressed, his death may have been preventable.
The investigation also dug into the long-standing problem of sailors using steroids and similar banned drugs while trying to pass the SEAL qualification course.
The report recommends far more robust testing for the drugs and better education for service members in order to prevent their use. (The AP 05/26/23) Navy SEALs training plagued by pervasive problems, according to investigation after death of sailor | AP News
Regional Note: The Naval Education and Training Command (NETC) flag headquarters is located at NAS Pensacola, Fla.
Mullen collapsed and died of acute pneumonia just hours after completing the grueling Hell Week test last year. A
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