The Navy SEALs’ infamously difficult training course is so brutal that some recruits are turning to drugs to survive, including the unauthorized use of Viagra, the New York Times reported.
Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL, or BUD/S for short, is known for having one of the highest failure rates in the US military, a grueling mental and physical ordeal that only the oldest recruits resistant can withstand.
Only the -30% of recruits who start the program will complete it, Insider’s Stavros Atlamazoglou previously reported.
A part of the training, known as the “hell week”, occurs at the beginning of the “challenge”, but it involves almost constant physical exertion, cold and wet, combined with sleep deprivation.
The program has generated controversy due to recent deaths and the discovery that recruits were using performance-enhancing drugs to meet the challenges of SEAL training.
In February, one recruit died and another was hospitalized after “Hell Week.” US Marine Kyle Mullen died on February 4 and his death was officially listed as bacterial pneumonia: he had been coughing up blood for days.
He completed a medical checkup, but after the medical staff left, he coughed up enough bloody fluid to fill a Gatorade bottle, he said. the Times. Hours later, the new recruits called 911 for a medical emergency and medics arrived to find Mullen unconscious and pulse.
Subsequently, the Navy found syringes and performance-enhancing drugs in Mullen’s car, and further investigation identified 30 recruits who tested positive or admitted to using illicit substances.
While Mullen’s death was not directly drug related, it did prompt more scrutiny and adjustments to the BUD/S program, removing some of the harsher elements.
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