Navy SEAL/Special Operations to be randomly tested for steroids
The Navy will start randomly testing special operations sailors for performance-enhancing drugs. This testing will begin in November and is described as needed to protect their health as well as needed for military readiness. The NAVY is not the only one with this plan, as the Army also plans to do the same thing with Army Special Operations.
From the Associated Press:
A driving factor in the announcement, which has been in the works for months, was the death of a Navy SEAL candidate early last year.
Kyle Mullen, 24, collapsed and died of acute pneumonia just hours after completing the SEALs’ grueling Hell Week test. A report concluded that Mullen, from Manalapan, New Jersey, died “in the line of duty, not due to his own misconduct.” Although tests found no evidence of performance-enhancing drugs in his system, a report by the Naval Education and Training Command said he was not screened for some steroids because the needed blood and urine samples were not available, and that multiple vials of drugs and syringes were later found in his car.
The NETC’s broader investigation into SEAL training flagged the use of performance-enhancing drugs as a significant problem among those seeking to become elite commandos and recommended far more robust testing.
Investigations in 2011, 2013 and 2018 into suspected steroid use by SEAL candidates led to discipline and requests for enhanced testing. The use of hair follicle testing was denied at least twice by Navy leaders over that time, and random testing for steroids wasn’t authorized by the Defense Department.
Davids requested the policy change to allow the screening, and in January, the Pentagon undersecretary for personnel approved an exemption authorizing random testing within the Naval Special Warfare force. The testing only affects the roughly 9,000 active-duty military personnel and reservists on active-duty orders in the command. Civilians are not included.
The, random force-wide testing initiative, Davids said, is a commitment to the long-term health of every member of the Naval Special Warfare community.
The Associated Press provides more information at this link.
Category: Navy
Well, some folk do ‘roids. Ask ol’ Ahnold about that. It happens. Military doesn’t want guys ending up like Lyle Alzado.
When would a navy seal find time take performance enhancing drugs during training. Especially hell week. Or do I have buds training mixed up.
What happens in the boathouse at Hereford stays there. But, dark things do lurk in nautical fan rooms while underway.
As a former co worker (ex navy) says… it ain’t gay if you’re underway.
What colour is the boathouse at Hereford?
Apparently, that is the trick question to expose those that falsely claim to be ex-SAS.
Dave, don’t gaslight us. I’ve been to 22nd SAS base at Hereford and there is no boathouse. But we all know there is plenty of man-love happening in those fan rooms once the ship is underway.
Every night and on weekends. During BUDs you have weekends off, unless you want voluntary extra instruction, and don’t have to live in the barracks. Just be at the grinder on time in the morning. Hell week is different as it is 24 hour ops for the week.
Jocko Willink and some other former seals talk about that free time as an unintentional extra level of screening. Are you going to use it to recover and get some additional training in your weak areas or go party in the gas lamp district.
Thanks. I didn’t know seal training was kinda like a job with nights and weekends off. A job that kicks your ass for sure, hence the kinda like phrasing.
The closest I’ve ever been to SEAL training was lunch at The Trident Grill. Excellent burgers on pretzel buns. 5 stars, would recommend.
Fair is fair.
I agree, but it’ll never happen.
Too many socialist democrat voters would be pissed off about that.
😉
Pun-ishing…
Yup
Pissin hot, no job for you.
That drug-resistant Asian super-Gonorrhea they always warned us about…
Ah yes, the dreaded Black Clap. 😂
The mayor of San Francisco now supports the position of testing people on welfare. Kind of like the mayor of New York suddenly becoming a fan of building a “racist” wall.
When you follow socialist Democratic policies to their natural conclusion, people suddenly get it. Although in this case neither one of them just feeling enough pain. It’s just costing them a lot of money.
So, paying people to do drugs isn’t the most constructive thing they find…
Just another thing to get all wee-wee’d up about.
As Odie noted, when does a SEAL candidate, or any Special Operations candidate in any branch, have time to do steroids during those final weeks? Aren’t they pretty much monitored 24/7 by that point? So, because this SEAL candidate died suddenly, we are going to test everyone/anyone in the SEAL/Special Operations community for performance enhancers? How will that be defined?
I’m thinking there is a higher probability that if anyone in those units is doing steroids it will be those who have had multiple years/deployments/injuries, to be able to remain AD.
Donning my tinfoil hat here –
what part of the military is the least woke? Could it be the most elite units? How do we break those units?
I am not supporting or excusing steroid or performance enhancing drugs. Still, exactly what will be tested for, and what are the thresholds? How many of these elite warriors go to civilian doctors for prescribed steroid creams on muscles and joints to get out of bed? Are Ambien (to sleep on command) and Vivarin (to stay awake on command) also performance enhancers?
Sorry, I want to see what is behind the curtain on this as I don’t trust the stated reasons.
“what part of the military is the least woke? Could it be the most elite units? How do we break those units?” You force them to take a rushed thru without proper testing “vaccine”, that affects their DNA and possibly will cause their heart to explode, throwing out of the service the ones that refuse the “jab”.
“…I don’t trust the stated reasons.” Testify!
Navy seals are known to love their substances.
So that is a misconception. BUDS is not like bootcamp, as mentioned in another comment you have nights and weekends off, it’s almost like an ‘A’ school but more intense. So especially if the candidate is married, then they will be living in housing or out in town. Yes, during Hell Week they are monitored 24/7, but outside of that week they are not after hours. So it’s possible he took performance enhancing drugs at some point as they were found in his car.
I understand your tin-foil comments, the skepticism is well warranted. But during my time there I saw most leaders shying away from the BS. Though they were compelled to do certain things like open up the community to females, they did so in a manner that would not compromise standards. It’s been years since I was there so no clue how it’s like now, but I imagine that there’s still some old school chiefs and SEALs holding the line on standards and not allowing the BS to pass.
Wonder where Commie stands on this issue?
Unrelated to anything Trump, so we will most likely never hear.
Now, if any, and I mean any charges against the orange man get dropped, he will have bloody nubs where his digits used to be informing us how the system is rigged.
I had more than bloody nubs the last time I tore things up here.
Well, he sure gave it a good shot on the Libs of TikTok post.
Also SOF senior NCOs in six months: “Why can’t you guys hang like we did in the old days? Get off your broke-dick, profile-riding, butt and push yourselves harder! These guys…. Jeez!”
Always been thus.
Yes, but now “without steroids….”
Aft hanger bay aboard the Lady of the Seas, (USS Okinawa) we had a rep from the Seal community onboard looking for volunteers back in 1964. I don’t remember if anyone voluntered and it really didn’t interest me to be a Seal….
From the beatings will continue until morale improves file: Back during the Ford administration I was assigned to a Wing that had 29 courts martials and article 15’s in one squadron in one month for illegal drug use. To keep it from happening again, we Airman had to pee in the bottle so often we got pissed. One day the Wing Commander got tired of hearing about how he was picking on us young’uns. He replied that the majority of the illegal drug use was from those of us under 25. Some brave soul pointed out that there were officers under 25 years old. To prove he wasn’t prejudiced against E’s under 25; everyone on the base had to pee in a bottle. There were some unhappy fighter pilots that day. The point is, who paid for all of the chemicals used in the testing? The base ran out of toilet paper and yet the Wing Commander found the money to purchase all of the test kits.
Did the brave soul have rounds bought for him or aimed at the him.
As an O-3 with fifteen months of combat experience in the Viet of the Nam, I was incensed at having to pee in a cup at Cam Rahn Bay when out-processing to return to “the world.” There was an MP PFC on a chair above the urinal making sure everyone pissed in his own cup. I overcame my annoyance at this insult to my integrity when I noticed the LTC next to me pissing in his cup.
This is my specimen bottle, there are many like it but this one is mine.
Without it, I drink water all day; with me, it is empty.
What counts is not the yellow color or the frothy head. Wants counts is at least 30 ml of liquid. We will pee.
I must pee cleaner than test standard, I must keep the dirtbag who went to Amsterdam from switching my bottle.
Until there are no more reasons to pee in a bottle. Only DD Form 214 and Fort Living Room. Amen.
with me, it is empty… dang typing too fast
without me… okay, I’ve done too much dumbness today