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A former Yale football captain died after Navy SEAL ‘Hell Week’ training

WSHU | By Desiree D'Iorio
Published February 8, 2022 at 7:06 PM EST
U.S. Navy SEAL candidates participate in Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/S) training in Coronado, Calif., on Jan. 23, 2018. SEALs are the maritime component of U.S. Special Forces and are trained to conduct a variety of operations from the sea, air and land.
Petty Officer 1st Class Abe McNatt
/
U.S. Navy photo
U.S. Navy SEAL candidates participate in Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/S) training in Coronado, Calif., on Jan. 23, 2018. SEALs are the maritime component of U.S. Special Forces and are trained to conduct a variety of operations from the sea, air and land.

Kyle Mullen, a former captain of the Yale University football team, died just hours after he finished the intense physical test for aspiring Navy SEAL’s known as “Hell Week,” according to the Navy. He attended Yale from 2015 to 2018 and was named captain in 2018.

Mullen and a second sailor were hospitalized after finishing Hell Week, the grueling training session that is part of Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL, or “BUD/S.” The six-month course tests candidates’ physical and mental endurance. During Hell Week, candidates get a total of four hours of sleep.

Mullen, a 24-year-old from New Jersey, died Friday at a California hospital after successfully completing Hell Week. The cause of death is still under investigation. The second sailor is recovering, but the Navy has not released details on either candidate’s symptoms.

The last death to occur during the notorious BUD/S training course was in 2016, when a sailor drowned in a pool.

Copyright 2022 WSHU. To see more, visit WSHU.

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Desiree D'Iorio

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Federal funding is gone.

Congress has eliminated all funding for public media.

That means $2.1 million per year that Connecticut Public relied on to deliver you news, information, and entertainment programs you enjoyed is gone.

The future of public media is in your hands.

All donations are appreciated, but we ask in this moment you consider starting a monthly gift as a Sustainer to help replace what’s been lost.

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