Military.com | The Naval Special Warfare Command that oversees the Navy SEAL BUD/S training program intends to take disciplinary action against three top officers who were in leadership roles during the death of a SEAL trainee last year, according to the service.
A Navy official confirmed to Military.com that Capt. Brian Drechsler, Capt. Bradley Geary and Cmdr. Erik Ramey were notified that the service intends to take them to admiral’s mast — a nonjudicial form of punishment — over their roles in the death.
SEAL candidate Kyle Mullen, 24, died of acute pneumonia shortly after completing the first, brutal portion of SEAL training known as “Hell Week” on Feb. 4, 2022. At the time, Drechsler was the Naval Special Warfare Center’s commanding officer, Geary was in charge of the Basic Training Command, and Ramey was the command’s top medical official.
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Rolling Stone was the first outlet to report the development and, according to its sources, the trio face charges of negligent dereliction of duty.
The three officers had all previously received nonpunitive letters of reprimand over the incident. While the letters themselves carry no punishment, they typically render an officer unpromotable. Drechsler also left his post as commander of the Naval Special Warfare Center ahead of schedule.
Geary’s lawyer, Jason Wareham, confirmed that his client is facing mast in an email to Military.com and said that the officer “is disappointed by his command’s decisions” and that they are assessing the “dubious legal and factual basis for this [mast].”
The Navy, through a spokesman, has confirmed, broadly, that Naval Special Warfare Command “has decided to proceed with accountability actions for certain individuals.”
The spokesman added that “as the actions are ongoing, it would be inappropriate to comment further on any specific or potential accountability actions until they are completed” …
