By Thursday of Hell Week, Kyle Mullen was in what one of his classmates called "full messed up mode," coughing up dark fluid but unwilling to seek medical attention for fear he would be dropped from the course. Twice in the closing hours of Hell Week he was pulled from training and administered oxygen. Once he had to ride from one location to another in an ambulance.

After he completed Hell Week, Mullen and the other trainees were given physical exams and sent to their barracks to recover. Mullen was pronounced "fit to train" even though he had to be transported to the barracks in a wheelchair.

There were no medical personnel on hand in the barracks to keep Mullen or any of his classmates under observation. When he and three others started experiencing increased difficulty breathing, other sailors called the medical clinic and were told they could call 911 but they might end up being washed out of the course. By the time someone finally called 911, it was too late to save Mullen.

... In an average class, roughly a third of SEAL candidates wash out in the first three weeks. After Capt. Geary took over the training, the dropout rate started to climb toward 50%, and civilian observers complained that the SEAL instructors seemed more interested in weeding out weak performers than in training them.