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Kyle Mullen, 24, of Manalapan, died as a result of pneumonia during the training at Naval Base Coronado in California, his mom tells NJ Advance Media citing an autopsy report from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner.
Mullen, who played for Yale University, was unable to stand or walk on his own and wheelchair bound before he died, and had been coughing and spitting up red-tinged fluid that had nearly filled a 36 oz. sports drink bottle, the report says. He died Feb. 4, 2022.
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The former Manalapan High School football standout played defensive lineman for Yale University, where he served as a captain in 2018. He was selected second-team All-Ivy League for his position the year before.
Rear Adm. H.W. Howard III, the commander of Naval Special Warfare Command in Coronado, California, offered his condolences in a statement to Mullen’s family
“We are extending every form of support we can to the Mullen family and Kyle’s BUD/S classmates,” Howard said.
Hell Week is a grueling test of the BUD/S class held in the first phase before the Navy invests in SEAL operational training, its website says.
"Hell Week consists of 5 1/2 days of cold, wet, brutally difficult operational training on fewer than four hours of sleep. Hell Week tests physical endurance, mental toughness, pain, and cold tolerance, teamwork, attitude, and your ability to perform work under high physical and mental stress, and sleep deprivation. Above all, it tests determination and desire."
Only 25 percent of SEAL candidates complete Hell Week, known as the toughest training in the US Military.
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