WASHINGTON – The Navy will begin randomly testing its special operators for performance-enhancing drugs following a SEAL trainee’s February 2022 death, the service’s Special Warfare Command (NSW) announced Friday.
Beginning in November, the command will test SEALs and other special operators for PEDs in addition to the Navy’s regular random testing for illicit street drugs.
The move comes after a series of exclusive stories by The Post highlighting the potential role of PEDs in the February 2021 death of SEAL trainee Seaman Kyle Mullen.
“My intent is to ensure every [Navy Special Warfare] teammate operates at their innate best while preserving the distinguished standards of excellence that define NSW,” the command’s leader, Adm. Keith Davids said in a statement.
“The use of unauthorized PEDs – including steroids, human growth hormone, and SARMs – without a military medical prescription following DoD protocols, remains dangerous and poses significant risks,” NSW said in its announcement.
Each month, the command will randomly select units to participate in the testing, and 15% of those units will undergo urinalysis, according to the service.
“We realize that some of our teammates may have legitimate medical conditions that need to be treated with prescription supplementation,” Davids said. “If that is the case, we encourage our teammates, who haven’t already, to speak with their medical providers to get diagnosed and properly treated.”
Mullen, 24, died after he was found unresponsive following his completion of the Navy SEAL training program’s grueling “Hell Week.” Medical investigators found that Mullen died of pneumonia, with a contributing factor of having an enlarged heart – a condition that can be caused by prolonged PEDs use.
After Mullen’s death, officials discovered syringes and illegally obtained PEDs — including multiple forms of human growth hormone, testosterone, and other drugs, according to NCIS photos obtained by The Post.
However, Navy investigators largely ignored the role that the PEDs may have played in the death, instead placing blame on SEAL training leaders. In a highly critical investigative report on Mullen’s death, they depicted the program’s then-commander Capt. Brad Geary as an out-of-touch leader whose cadre of trainers pushed SEAL candidates too hard, creating an unsafe environment for trainees.
Friday’s announcement indicates that NSW, at least, is taking the influence of PEDs more seriously. A command spokesman confirmed to The Post that a Naval Education and Training Command investigation into the safety and medical oversight of Mullen’s SEAL class inspired the change.
Noting that the investigation “identified instances of performance-enhancing drug use amongst [SEAL] candidates,” the spokesman said that “by embarking on this new, comprehensive approach, we’re ensuring that all our personnel – not just candidates – operate at their innate best, preserving the distinguished standards of excellence that define NSW.”
“While we only have anecdotal evidence of PED use amongst our ranks, and PED-usage amongst our candidates are significantly less than some media reports suggest, we hold firm that any number above zero is unacceptable,” he said, explaining that “.69 percent or 3 of 434” trainees have tested positive for PEDs since March.
“We have an obligation to look out for the health of our teammates, and that’s what this new testing process is about,” he added.
Still, the heat remains on the SEAL training staff. Earlier this month, the Navy informed Geary, the training center’s former commander Capt. Brian Dreschler and the program’s former chief medical advisor Cmdr. Erik Ramey, that they would face non-judicial punishment as a result.
Geary told The Post on Friday that he was glad to see the command begin random testing of PEDs – something for which he and other SEAL leaders had advocated long before Mullen’s death.
“If this policy had been implemented sooner, Kyle Mullen would likely still be alive today,” he asserted. “This is a good policy and confirms the collective knowledge that PEDs can be detrimental (even fatal) to one’s health, especially if taken outside the knowledge/prescription of a licensed doctor.”
On Monday, The Post revealed that three Republican congressman had been quietly pressing the Navy for months to review its findings, with Reps. Nick LaLota (R-NY), Morgan Luttrell (R-Texas) and Cory Mills (R-Fla.) writing the Navy’s chief of legislative affairs in June with concerns of potential bias in the service’s investigation of the case.
“It has come to our attention that the Navy’s investigation into Seaman Kyle Mullen’s death has potentially been misdirected and mishandled,” the lawmakers wrote in a congressional inquiry exclusively obtained by The Post, which questioned the service’s lack of consideration of the effect PEDs may have had on Mullen’s health.
