Naval Special Warfare

SEAL Training Center Gets New CO Early as Navy Continues Inquiry Following 2022 Trainee Death

Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUDs) students participate in Surf Passage at Naval Amphibious Base Coronado. US Navy Photo

Command of the Naval Special Warfare Center in Coronado, Calif., changed hands Tuesday as Capt. Brian Drechsler handed over the reins a few months earlier than planned to Capt. Mark “Clint” Burke, Navy officials told USNI News.

Drechsler, who took command of the training center in July 2021, would have rotated from what’s typically a two-year tour as commodore sometime...

https://news.usni.org/2023/05/02/seal-training-center-gets-new-co-early-as-navy-continues-inquiry-following-2022-trainee-death

Investigation Finds SEAL Trainee Kyle Mullen Died In the Line of Duty

SEAL candidates participate in “surf immersion” during Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/S) training at Naval Special Warfare (NSW) Center in Coronado, Calif., May 4, 2020. US Navy Photo

SEAL candidate Kyle Mullen died of acute pneumonia, compounded by an enlarged heart, according to a Navy investigation into his death after completing Hell Week reviewed by USNI News.

Mullen’s Feb. 4 death was determined to be in the line of duty and not due to his own misconduct, according to the...

https://news.usni.org/2022/10/12/investigation-finds-seal-trainee-kyle-mullen-died-in-the-line-of-duty

Navy IDs SEAL Candidate Who Died After Hell Week

SEAL candidates perform physical training on the beach during Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/S) training at Naval Special Warfare (NSW) Center in Coronado, Calif., May 4, 2020. NSW Center restarted paused portions of its SEAL and Special Warfare Combatant-craft Crewman (SWCC) selection-and-assessment training following careful planning that included implementing COVID-19 mitigation efforts based on CDC recommendations and Department of Defense medical guidance. US Navy photo.

Seaman Kyle...

https://news.usni.org/2022/02/06/navy-ids-seal-candidate-who-died-after-hell-week

SEAL Team 8 CO Dies in East Coast Training Incident

Cmdr. Brian Bourgeois died Dec. 7 from injuries sustained during a training incident on Dec. 4. US Navy Photo

The commanding officer of SEAL Team 8 died Tuesday from injuries sustained in a training incident, the Navy announced today.

Cmdr. Brian Bourgeois, 43, died at Norfolk Sentara General Hospital in Norfolk, Va., according to a release from Naval Special Warfare Command after injuries sustained in a Dec. 4 training mishap near Virginia Beach.

The details about the training accident are under...

https://news.usni.org/2021/12/08/seal-team-8-co-dies-in-training-incident-off-virginia-beach

First Female Navy Special Operations Sailor Graduates from Training

U.S. Navy Special Warfare Combatant-Craft Crewmen (SWCC) approach the HS Kanaris during Visit Board Search and Seizure (VBSS) training in Souda Bay, Greece in early 2021. US Navy Photo

The first female member of the Navy’s special operations forces graduated from training on Thursday, the service said.

Included in the 17 graduates of Crewman Qualification Training (CQT) Class 115 is the first female Special Warfare Combatant-craft Crewmen (SWCC), according to Naval Special Warfare Command.

Less...

https://news.usni.org/2021/07/15/first-female-navy-special-operations-sailor-graduates-from-training

Lawmaker: Special Operations Must Adapt to Gray Zone Conflict

A U.S Navy SEAL secures the deck of a ship, and conducts board, search, and seizure (VBSS) training with British Royal Marine Commandos and Ukrainian Special Forces in Odessa, Ukraine on June 21, 2021. US Army Photo

Increasing gray zone conflicts around the world means U.S. Special Operations Command must adapt to the era of great power competition while still being a counter-terrorism force, a key House lawmaker said Wednesday.

Disinformation campaigns by China, Russia and others and attacks by...

https://news.usni.org/2021/07/15/lawmaker-special-operations-must-adapt-to-gray-zone-conflict

Naval Special Warfare in a ‘Race for Relevancy’ as Mission Shifts to High-end Conflict

SEAL candidates participate in “surf immersion” during Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/S) training at Naval Special Warfare (NSW) Center in Coronado, Calif., May 4, 2020. US Navy Photo

The integration of Navy SEALs and special boat teams into carrier strike group and amphibious ready group training exercises reflects naval special warfare’s renewed commitment to support the fleet and joint force and reinforce its own roots as naval commandos, said the top Navy SEAL on Tuesday.

The change in...

IKE Carrier Strike Group Commands SEALs, Marine Missile Teams in First-of-a-Kind, Large-Scale Drill

Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (Equipment) 3rd Class Trevor Sollenberger, from Richmond, Va., conducts flight operations aboard the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69). Feb. 11, 2021. US Navy Photo

A Navy carrier strike group got a first glimpse at what future operations could look like, with SEALs providing forward targeting data and Marines on expeditionary bases providing another missile strike option to supplement the strike group’s aircraft- and surface ship-based...

https://news.usni.org/2021/02/17/ike-carrier-strike-group-commands-seals-marine-missile-teams-in-first-of-a-kind-large-scale-drill

Naval Special Warfare Reports First Coronavirus Case

Special Warfare Combatant-craft Crewmen from Special Boat Team 12, stationed at Naval Base Coronado, Calif., with the help of aviators from 4th Battalion, 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., conducted a Maritime External Air Transportation System training evolution in Moses Lake, Wash., May 21, 2014.. US Army Photo

A special operations sailor has tested positive for the COVID-19 virus, Naval Special Warfare Command announced late Thursday.

The...

https://news.usni.org/2020/03/20/naval-special-warfare-reports-first-coronavirus-case

Acting SECNAV Modly Cancels Trident Review Boards for 3 SEALs

Acting Secretary of the Navy Thomas Modly is canceling review boards for three SEAL officers that could have stripped them of their special operations status, according to a late Wednesday statement provided to USNI News.

“I have directed the Chief of Naval Operations to terminate the Trident Reviews for three Naval Special Warfare officers,” Modly wrote. “Given the unique circumstances of these three remaining cases, I have determined that any failures in conduct, performance, judgment, or...

https://news.usni.org/2019/11/27/acting-secnav-modly-cancels-trident-review-board-for-3-seals

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