Navy Seal Hopeful Dies And Another Hospitalised After Completing 'Hell Week' Selection Course

One Navy SEAL candidate has died and another has been hospitalised after completing a training phase known as 'Hell Week'.

The Navy announced the death of 24-year-old Kyle Mullen on Sunday, February 6, following the five-day course that took place in California.

During the training, candidates hoping to join the SEALS take on a series of high-intensity training exercises while constantly being left cold, hungry and wet, and given very little chance to sleep.

NBC News reports that only about one in five trainees manage to make it through the course, which involves underwater and parachute training and is considered to be the pinnacle of training for hopeful candidates.

Both Mullen and another prospective SEAL are said to have been 'transported to receive emergency care' on Friday, 'several hours after their Basic Underwater Demolition SEAL (BUD/S) class successfully completed Hell Week, part of the first phase of the Navy SEAL assessment and selection pathway'.

In a statement, the Navy explained that Mullen died at Sharp Coronado Hospital in Coronado, California, on the same day he arrived at the facility, while the other candidate is 'in stable condition at Naval Medical Center San Diego'.

The two candidates were not actively training when they began to report symptoms, the nature of which have not been described. The cause of Mullen's death currently remains unknown and is under investigation, according to a later statement shared by the military unit.

Rear Adm. H.W. Howard III, the commander of Naval Special Warfare Command, said the Navy extended its 'deepest sympathies to Seaman Mullen's family for their loss'.

He continued, 'We are extending every form of support we can to the Mullen family and Kyle's BUD/S classmates.'

Hell Week training comes after an initial seven to nine-week boot camp for candidates and is designed to push candidates to their 'physical and mental limits', according to the SEAL website, which adds, 'If you’re up to the task, you’ll emerge in incredible physical shape and possess the necessary confidence, determination and teamwork to succeed in any combat environment.'

Deaths during BUD/S are not unheard of, NBC reports, as in 2016 sailor Derek Lovelace drowned during a pool exercise in what the Navy determined as an accident. 

A post mortem examination later revealed that Lovelace had an enlarged heart, which contributed to his death, according to The Guardian, though records from the military showed that Lovelace was the fifth trainee to lose consciousness during a pool exercise in four months.

If you have experienced a bereavement and would like to speak with someone in confidence contact Cruse Bereavement Care via their national helpline on 0808 808 1677.