Manalapan Mom Wants SEAL Command Held Accountable For Seaman's Death

MANALAPAN, NJ — The mother of Navy seaman Kyle Mullen, who died last year after underwater SEAL training, is calling for command officers to be held accountable, now that she has received the NCIS report on her son's death.

Regina Mullen said the Naval Criminal Investigative Service report confirmed much of what she already knew: Her son was sent by medical personnel back to his barracks to rest despite breathing difficulty from fluids in his lungs - and fellow trainees were left trying to help as his condition worsened.

But the report was still very difficult for her to read, she said, and it raised questions about how SEAL training is overseen by the officers in charge.

"It was so sad," Regina Mullen, Manalapan, said of the account presented in the more than 200-page report.

"It's torture, not training," she said.

The many interviews by other trainees, emergency personnel and others (all with names redacted) show the worsening condition over two days of a young man described as "super strong," who began to drown in his own fluids, spitting up mucus and blood; swollen, unable to walk; speaking in one-word answers before his death.

Mullen said she is now waiting for a Command Investigative Report to be released to show how - or if - those in charge of the BUD/S (Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL) will be held accountable.

The NCIS report confirmed the earlier autopsy that her son Kyle Mullen, 24, died Feb. 4, 2022 from acute pneumonia due to streptococcus pyogenes, a bacteria, soon after completing the Navy’s rigorous “Hell Week” training regime in ocean waters off San Diego, Calif. last year.

An investigation conducted by the military in October determined that Kyle Mullen's death was “in the line of duty."

Now Mullen wants "independent oversight" of the training programs.

She has called in the past for Congressional hearings into the treatment of enlisted personnel in elite military training programs.

The NCIS report has given more urgency to her demands for formal hearings in Washington. "They should be under oath," she said of the military leadership.

The NCIS report cites comments from fellow trainees, whose names are redacted, that describe how ill her son seemed, despite getting a medical clearance after health problems in the days before his death on Friday, Feb. 4, 2022.

Mullen herself has spent the last year trying to understand those moments and investigating the matter herself as best she could by talking with some other trainees.

"I can't believe it's been my life," she said.

The investigation into the matter was closed June 29, 2022, according to the NCIS report. Mullen just received the report last week.

In a wheelchair, spitting up blood

In the report, one fellow trainee who described himself as a "close friend" said on Feb. 4 he saw Kyle Mullen in a wheelchair in the barracks, spitting up blood and saliva into a Gatorade bottle. His legs were swollen and the trainees placed him on a mattress on the floor and used dresser drawers to raise his legs to help with swelling. He asked Mullen if he had called his mother, but he said he didn't. Mullen said he felt badly for "acting like a pussy."

Another interviewee in the report questioned why Mullen, despite having been treated two days before for Swimming Induced Pulmonary Edema (SIPE) from the underwater exercise, was allowed to go to the barracks for rest, not get continued medical attention. He had received supplemental oxygen.

But Regina Mullen said trainees are discouraged from asking for help.

She said trainees must agree in writing to not call for medical treatment themselves - or even take over-the-counter medication - or they can be dropped from the SEAL training. Her son, she said, was focused on succeeding and he would have been reluctant to do anything to jeopardize his spot.

Mullen, herself a nurse, said she did learn some new information on Kyle's health from the report.

For one thing, she said he had painful urination and his urine was brown, signs he was severely dehydrated. Those problems went untreated, she added.

She said she distrusts information in the report that her son's oxygen level was 98 percent after his treatment for SIPE. "That's impossible," she said.

Another redacted interview showed that the day before his death, Mullen was seen during exercise and training as having a very swollen "lower body" and that he appeared having difficulty running.

Calls made to 911

Another section of the report deals with the 911 call made to the local hospital. Not only Kyle Mullen, but another trainee was having trouble breathing. They were "messed up," the report cites.

One call to 911 was disconnected. The caller called again and said medical personnel were off duty at the time of the call - late morning - planning to return at 7:30 the next morning. Kyle Mullen, the caller to 911 said, was "severely damaged." Another interview indicated medical personnel on base advised calling 911.

Another interview in the report with first responders said Mullen's head was being "cradled" by one of his fellow trainees. Mullen had been on the mattress on the floor. He was wearing a hoodie and responders removed it for his treatment.

Another person interviewed said responders had to make an "exposure report" when "sprayed with a pinkish substance." Mullen had oxygen exchange returned but no pulse, as he was taken to the hospital, the report said.

Another interview indicated the video of the barracks during this period was not working, so there is no record available to the NCIS investigators, who requested it.

Some oversight approved by Congress

In the past year, Mullen's case has had an impact on laws regarding health treatment of trainees in these elite programs, such as the SEALs.

Rep. Chris Smith was able to get more protections for service people in rigorous military training programs.

The Kyle Mullen Naval Safety Enhancements measure put forward by Smith was accepted by the Senate as part of the finalized version of the fiscal year 2023 National Defense Authorization Act.

“Inspired by his tenacious mother Regina - a nurse who knows her son’s death could have been prevented if he had received timely medical attention - this legislation will help protect the lives of courageous men and women like Kyle who aspire to serve our great nation in some of its most perilous missions,” Smith, R-Manchester, in December.

Smith’s provision requires an appraisal of current standards and recommendations for better medical care and oversight of individuals in the Navy engaged in high-stress trainings, like the Navy SEALs, to ensure sailor safety and prevent long-term injury, illness and death, Smith's office said.

“Congress is finally taking much-needed action to ensure proper medical care, aggressive monitoring, and oversight is provided to every Navy SEAL candidate during high-stress training,” said Smith.

Apart from his dedication to a naval career, Kyle Mullen was a star football player who led Manalapan High School to its first-ever championship in 2014, his senior year, and maintained a 4.4 GPA. He also played baseball for the Manalapan Braves. He was recruited by Yale University to captain the football team and later graduated from Monmouth University. After college, he chose to join the Navy and became a candidate for one of the most elite U.S. military units: The Navy SEALs.

But Regina Mullen said all levels of enlisted men and women need more protections and better treatment from the military and from the government.

She has said that her advocacy for her younger son - she is also the mother of Kyle's older brother who is now married - has made her a person military parents and servicemembers have reached out to.

Mullen said issues such as PTSD and injuries or death during training can not be ignored by the Congress. She has spoken to people who have experienced trauma, she said, and she again called for Congressional hearings on the treatment of members of the military, especially treatment of enlisted personnel.