Navy SEAL training commander claps back at scathing report over candidate’s death during ‘Hell Week, recruit’s mom blasts: ‘You murdered him’

Navy Captain Brad Geary is defending his leadership and “Hell Week” following a scathing report concerning a 24-year-old candidate named Kyle Mullen who died last year during intensive training after swimming in frigid waters and then developing pneumonia.

The report contends that the candidates were pushed too hard during the program.

Mullen, who is from Manalapan   Township, New Jersey, developed pulmonary edema, causing his lungs to fill with fluid and pneumonia to set in, which led to his death.

The report lays out how “a near-perfect storm” occurred at the Basic Underwater Demolition SEAL course, referred to as BUD/S. It allegedly resulted in several candidates being injured and Mullen dying.

The nearly 200-page report claims that medical oversight and care were “poorly organized, poorly integrated and poorly led and put candidates at significant risk.” It was compiled by the Naval Education and Training Command and unsealed last week.

The captain is defending himself after Mullen’s mother told the New York Post in an interview that she called Geary a murderer over her son’s death. She wants him fired over it.

“I said, ‘You are a murderer. You murdered him,'” Regina Mullen, who is a registered nurse, bluntly stated. “I think he feels bad, but everybody feels bad when you’re caught.”

“If you’re sick, you’re weak – that’s what they were like promoting and cultivating,” she claimed. “I don’t even know that you need the SEALs.”

(Video Credit: NewsNation)

Captain Geary did his own interview with the New York Post concerning Mullen’s death in February 2022, taking severe issue with that charge. He is no longer the commander of the training program but is still in the Navy.

“I’ll never be able to take that weight off my shoulders,” Geary told the media outlet. He also denied allegations that he blamed candidates for being mentally weak.

One of the things that was misstated in that report was this notion that I somehow blamed the next generation for being mentally weak, which is what resulted in the attrition,” Geary commented. “Those were not my words. I never said that. Those closest to me in my command would say I never said that. That’s flippant and irresponsible and just not true.”

“Capt. Geary maintained a view that the high attrition was caused, among other reasons, by the current generation having less mental resilience, or being less tough,” the report asserted.

The New York Times reported after Mullen’s death that during “Hell Week” instructors kept students in frigid waters for long periods of time, denied them sleep, and hit and kicked them.

Mullen reportedly endured the program in the middle of winter. Allegedly, there was a five-and-a-half day stretch where candidates were allowed just four hours of sleep each night. Candidates would also run more than 200 miles, swim in the icy waters of the ocean, and conduct physical training that lasted more than 20 hours a day.

“I’ve lost many teammates in my career, unfortunately. Too many. But this was the first one under my command,” Geary told the New York Post. “You’re grieving the death of a dream every day.”

“I know by coming forward with the press on this one, I’m committing a cultural faux pas that will put me out of graces with my community, but I have to… I am laying down my career for my cadre of candidates to be their voice and defend them because no one else is,” he added.

“Nobody really wanted to hear our message until after Kyle Mullen died,’ Geary said during the interview. “We beat that drum incessantly and it really did not resonate.”

The captain spoke of the next generation of SEALs and how he respected them.

“It’s very easy to say, ‘Well, damn the next generation’ and make fun of them … [but] I’ve reinforced this throughout my entire time as a commanding officer: It’s on us as leaders to adjust to the next generation,” Geary stated. “It’s not enough to say ‘You have to be like us and we expect you to perform like we did.'”

“No, no, we need to look for their strengths and look for their weaknesses. Be objectively critical of those and then help them develop what we need them to have for the SEAL teams and the missions that will ask them to do,” he commented.

“Our cadre deserved to be trusted and the American people deserve to know that they can trust the SEAL community, and it’s frustrating to me that [the report] unjustly undermines that trust,” Geary charged.

“I genuinely love everyone that is entrusted to my care as a leader, and as the commanding officer of [the training program]. I loved my candidates,” he said during the interview. “I loved Kyle Mullen, I grieved his loss and still do. I will carry that weight with me forever.”

Rear Admiral Keith Davids, who heads Naval Special Warfare Command, insists the Navy was already taking steps to prevent it from happening again.

(Video Credit: NJ Spotlight News)

“Our effectiveness as the Navy’s maritime special operations force necessitates demanding, high-risk training,” Davids remarked in a statement. “While rigorous and intensely demanding, our training must be conducted with an unwavering commitment to safety and methodical precision.”

He vowed that command will “honor Seaman Mullen’s memory by ensuring that the legacy of our fallen teammate guides us towards the best training program possible for our future Navy SEALs.”

US Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) said in a statement that the investigation “exposed a culture that needs radical change, and the Navy has given every indication that they will implement serious changes to address the egregiously flawed command structure and failure after failure that led to Kyle´s death.”

According to American Military News, ten people, including two high-ranking Navy SEALs, may be prosecuted for their roles in the death of Mullen. That includes Geary, Capt. Brian Drechsler, and the program’s senior medical officer.

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