In several cases, their training proved fatal. US Navy SEAL commando, with little control over instructors and rampant drug use among trainees. Insufficiently trained medical staff were slow to intervene when needed, and when graduation rates began to plummet, the headmaster blamed the students, saying the new generation was soft.

These findings were the result of a major internal Navy investigation into the SEAL training school for submarine missions, known as BUD/S. The shortcomings of the administration, the competent investigative committee ruled, resulted in the injury of a large number of candidates and the death of one of them. “The investigation revealed a significant degree of tolerance for violations and non-compliance with important safety rules for recruits,” the report said. The Navy ordered an administrative review of what happened at the school. Instructors ordered candidates to stay in cold water for long hours, forbade them to sleep, beat them, and in many cases denied medical attention unless they declared they were leaving the “program” at Base Coronado near San Diego, California.

In February 2022 sailor Kyle Mullen, candidate for BAA/S schoolwho had been suffering from pneumonia and other ailments for several days during the last and most difficult week of training, died without receiving medical attention.

The Naval Rescue Submarine Group has been trying to find the right balance in candidate training since its inception. Selection should be made through physically strenuous exercises and tests, but without mental strain on the candidates. Armies around the world consider the training of American Navy SEALs to be a model for the training of special forces. Only three out of ten candidates successfully complete the “school”.

The takeover of the school by Captain Bradley Geary was accompanied by a sharp drop in the number of graduates. Coaches with minimal experience began to believe that their role was to “weed out the herd”, that is, to identify and “remove” the weakest candidates by any means. A few months later, the graduation rate fell below 10%.

The report revealed the candidates’ use of anabolics and stimulants in an attempt to stay awake and cope with the demands of training. However, the Navy has shied away from establishing an effective drug testing program.

In the year after Mullen’s death, the new administration made significant changes to the teaching, strengthening the supervision of instructors and liaising with the school’s health department. The graduation rate has already returned to its usual level of 30%. The report does not address the fate of rejected candidates, who are stigmatized and endure worse transfers after failing, usually doing manual labor for the rest of their term.