Some Navy SEAL candidates are taking Viagra, among other banned drugs, during training to combat a dangerous lung condition, the mother of a former SEAL candidate who died during training said.
Regina Mullen, the mother of SEAL candidate Seaman Kyle Mullen, told The New York Times that her son had taken Viagra at the recommendation of other would-be SEALs to battle a lung condition known as swimming-induced pulmonary edema (SIPE) that candidates frequently develop during Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/S) training. Kyle passed away in February just hours after completing a grueling “Hell Week” of SEAL training.
The Navy SEALs have the most brutal selection course in the military. Underneath the mystique we found disturbing layers of injury, abuse and performance enhancing drugs. https://t.co/E0WVM6tV2y
— David Philipps (@David_Philipps) August 30, 2022
Mullen wasn’t the only potential SEAL to develop SIPE and suffer serious consequences as a result. He had previously attempted to make it through BUD/S in Aug. 2021, but suffered an injury preventing him from finishing. While stationed at an internal recovery unit, he witnessed numerous other SEAL candidates coughing up blood due to SIPE, according to his mother.
Within two weeks of starting his second attempt at training in Jan. 2022, Kyle Mullen was coughing up some blood and having difficulty breathing, his mother said. Trainees like Mullen and others were frequently denied medical attention they needed when injuries or conditions like SIPE developed, the Times found. Regina encouraged her son to go to the hospital on his own, but he shot down the idea, saying it was “just SIPE” and that going to the hospital would result in him being kicked out of BUD/S.
Research has shown that Viagra could be an effective treatment for SIPE by reducing pulmonary artery pressure. The drug isn’t permitted for use by BUD/S trainees, but that doesn’t stop them from taking it and a whole host of other banned substances, the Times learned.
The Navy discovered syringes and performance enhancing drugs in Seaman Mullen’s car after his death. Soon thereafter, at least 40 other SEAL candidates tested positive for, or admitted to using, banned performance enhancing drugs. Some said that using the boosters was the only way to make it through the brutal SEAL training. (RELATED: ‘They Are Fighting For Their Careers’: Attorney Says Navy Seals Are Being ‘Threatened, Harassed’ Over Vax Mandate)
Navy officials haven’t tied Mullen’s death to the drugs, but leaders within the SEALs said they don’t have the authority to implement a comprehensive testing program, making it difficult to gauge just how widespread drug use is and prevent it. They formally requested the Navy implement a testing protocol in June but haven’t received a response yet, according to the Times.
Meanwhile, trainees continue to suffer from SIPE and other serious conditions. Just one month after Mullen’s death, another sailor began shivering intensely and became unresponsive after emerging from the frigid water. His peers attempted to call the BUD/S medical office but received no response, according to two sailors who were present.
With no response from BUD/S medical personnel, they instead called 911. The next day, instructors allegedly subjected them to intense physical punishment. When any sailor succumbed to exhaustion, the instructors allegedly made the sailor who had gone to the hospital with hypothermia the night before plunge into the cold water again.