Navy SEAL commanding officer says he carries weight of seaman's death after 'Hell Week': report

The Navy commander of a SEAL candidate who died after completing the infamously grueling "Hell Week" training in California says information that could have prevented the seaman's death was concealed from him.

U.S. Navy Capt. Brad Geary — a commanding officer at the Naval Special Warfare’s Basic Training Command — defended himself in interviews Tuesday while blasting a nearly 200-page report that dug into the SEAL training course.

Last month, the Navy released its investigation into Seaman Kyle Mullen’s death, which found that Basic Underwater Demolition/Sea, Air, and Land (BUD/S) was "operating with a previously unrecognized accumulation of risk across multiple systems," including a lack of medical oversight.

But Geary told Fox News host Laura Ingraham the report doesn't tell the full story.

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"Every commanding officer, myself included, are totally responsible and accountable for everything that our commands do or don't do. In this case in particular, facts and information were concealed from us which prevented us — from instructors cadre up to my level — from making the best informed decisions to manage that risk and prevent this tragedy from happening," Geary said.

Geary's attorney, Jason Wareham, said an autopsy revealed evidence that Mullens may have had medical conditions that were not disclosed to commanders. He pointed to reports that said Mullens was found to have an enlarged heart.  

"I've consulted with medical professionals in preparing this defense, and they have shared with me that there's serious concerns around underlying medical conditions that Seaman Mullens had at the time that no member of the command had reasonable notice of," Wareham said. "And because they didn't have reasonable notice, they couldn't act to protect Seaman Mullens, even from himself." 

The bereaved family of Kyle Mullen said in a statement to the "Ingraham Angle" that Geary "is trying to help himself in the court of public opinion" and accused him of lying to avoid jail time. Given a chance to respond, Geary said the Navy report "mischaracterized" him and his actions, and he wants to correct the record. 

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"I'm not here to defend myself. I'm here to right some wrongs that were mischaracterized in the report about me, my leadership and my instructor cadre. And I believe that the American public deserves to know that they can trust the SEAL teams, the SWCC teams, and our training cadre. They are consummate professionals and America is still producing patriots. We take those patriots and lead, coach and mentor them to be our next generation's war fighters," Geary said. 

He continued, "As for the family, I can never understand the grief that the Mullen family has gone through and continues to go through. To Regina, TJ, Liz and the entire family — I stand by my promise I made to you back in the beginning of this, that I will walk through this grief if you'll have me. I want what you want: the truth."  

Geary said he's requested an inquiry from the House Armed Services Committee.  

In an earlier interview with Good Morning America (GMA), Geary slammed the Navy report, claiming it gives a biased account of what happened. 

"The entire report mischaracterizes, misrepresents and misquotes our organization and Naval Special Warfare, because it was built off a bias that was inappropriate and regurgitated untruths that simply don’t exist," Geary told the reporter.

In February 2022, Mullen collapsed and died at a San Diego, California, area hospital after he and another SEAL trainee reported experiencing symptoms of an unknown illness.

The Navy announced in October that Mullen died of acute pneumonia with a contributing factor of an enlarged heart, ruling his death was "in the line of duty, not due to his own misconduct."

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Mullen died at the end of "Hell Week," a five-and-a-half-day test that is considered one of the most grueling periods of SEAL training.

After collapsing, Mullen’s lungs were reported to be abnormal, and his legs were so swollen that he needed to be wheeled to the barracks in a wheelchair.

Geary said Mullen’s vitals were actually "very clean," and the wheelchair was used for his comfort. He added that it was common for SEAL candidates to have abnormal lungs or swelling after "Hell Week."

But once Mullen got to the barrack, the report said he struggled to breath and the site lacked medical personnel. It also found the medical staff was poorly organized, poorly integrated and poorly led, putting candidates at "significant risk."

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Geary was asked if he felt responsible for Mullen’s death as the commanding officer.

"There’s a weight on the shoulders of every commanding officer that has served, and I don’t think that weight can be reduced down to one term like responsibility," he said. "I will always carry the weight of Kyle’s death on my shoulders. What I feel responsible for is speaking truth to ensure that it never happens again."

Geary does not hold anyone accountable for Mullen’s death, but instead said his death was a "tragedy," which is one thing he agreed on in the report.

"It was a perfect storm of factors that all combined at the wrong possible moment in time and resulted in the tragic loss of Kyle," Geary said.

In an interview Tuesday night on 'The Ingraham Angle,' Geary told Fox News he "can never understand the grief the Mullen family has gone through and continues to go through.

"To Regina, T.J., Liz and the entire family, I stand by my promise I made to you back at the beginning of this, that I will walk with you through this grief if you’ll have me," he said. "I want what you want – the truth – and we have requested a Congressional inquiry with the House Armed Services Committee and I know you have asked for the same thing. You have my absolute condolences, I will carry this weight with me forever."

"Every commanding officer, myself included, are totally responsible and accountable for everything that our commands do or don’t do. In this case in particular, facts and information were concealed from us, which prevented us... from making the best-informed decisions to manage that risk and prevent this tragedy from happening," Geary also said.

Geary's attorney, Jason Wareham, said medical professionals "have shared with me that there are serious concerns around underlying medical conditions that Seaman Mullins had at the time that no member of the command had reasonable notice of. And because they didn’t have reasonable notice, they couldn’t act to protect Seaman Mullins even from himself." 

In response to Mullen's death, the Navy said several improvements to its training program have been implemented, including greater instructor oversight and training; more thorough medical screenings for cardiac conditions; updated medical policies and standard operating procedures; and a new expanded authority to test candidates for PEDs.

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Mullen, of Manalapan Township, New Jersey, joined the Navy in March 2021, according to his Navy biography. He reported to SEAL training in Coronado in July of that year. 

Rear Adm. Keith Davids, commander, Naval Special Warfare Command, said the Navy has a duty to learn from Mullen's death and to make sure similar occurrences don't happen again. 

Fox News' Louis Casiano and Greg Norman contributed to this report.