Kyle Mullen.Photo: Monmouth Hawks; Williams Paul/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Regina Mullen — the mother ofKyle Mullen, the Navy SEAL candidate who died in February 2022 after completing training known as Hell Week — is speaking out following her son’s tragic death and asking for accountability.
Kyle — who died of bacterial pneumonia, according toGMAandCNN— was 24 when he completed the 120-hour training known for pushing aspiring sailors to their physical and mental limits. Days after his death, the Navy issued astatementsaying, “Mullen was not actively training at the time of his death.”
Over a year later, in May 2023, the Navyreleased the investigationinto Kyle’s death, citing that the training program Basic Underwater Demolition SEAL (BUD/S) “was operating with a previously unrecognized accumulation of risk across multiple systems.” The investigation release stated the Navy “identifies risks that aggregated as the result of inadequate oversight, insufficient risk assessment, poor medical command and control, and undetected performance enhancing drug use.”
“We have a failed leadership under command that killed a man unnecessarily and injured many,” Regina toldGMA. “I think it’s pretty reasonable to ask for accountability … I want the board of inquiry to be reinstated, is what I really want so we can go public."
Kyle Mullen.Monmouth Hawks
Regina also recalled her son’s excited message about completing Hell Week during her appearance onGMA, but explained how after speaking with him on the phone she realized he was out of breath and “didn’t sound good.” Hours later, Kyle was dead.
According toGMA, Kyle’s final medical check found abnormalities in his lungs, severe trouble breathing and swollen legs that required him to be sent back to his barracks in a wheelchair.
Per the outlet, the Navy investigation cited “failures across multiple systems that led to a number of candidates being at a higher risk of serious injury, with inconsistent medical monitoring and lack of training among commanding officers and an at all costs mindset among the candidates.”
Regina toldGMAthe Navy Medical Examiner did not test for steroid use and claimed they said it was “because it was irrelevant to the cause of death.”
Regina remains suspicious about her son’s medical care. “The Navy’s not giving me what I’m asking for, the medical treatment of Kyle’s care. They’re not providing it,” she toldGMAbefore adding, “Why won’t they provide it?”
Her attorney, Kevin Uniglicht, added that they haven’t received the basis for the dismissal of the cases.
Kyle Mullen in October 2017 at Yale Bowl in New Haven, Conn.Williams Paul/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Capt. Geary released a statement through his attorney Timothy C. Parlatore to PEOPLE. “When taken as a whole, it is very clear that Captain Geary did nothing wrong here. So [the dismissal] was really the only appropriate resolution under these facts.”
Attorney Jeremiah J. Sullivan III also issued a statement to ABC News on behalf of his client Dr. Ramey. “We invested a substantial amount of time investigating the case with the assistance of top medical experts," the statement read. “The overwhelming evidence confirmed that Dr. Ramey met the medical standard of care.”
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Sullivan and the Navy did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment on Wednesday, Jan 15.
source: people.com
