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Doctor criticizes poor medical care

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A former military doctor who served in the Navy and Marine Corps for 14 years, Dr. Mark Hardman watches “The Shawn Ryan Show,” a popular podcast hosted by a former Navy SEAL. He was particularly interested in the Aug. 5 episode, which covered the 2022 death of Navy SEAL candidate Kyle Mullen, a Manalapan native.

Hardman is a doctoral student at Harvard Medical School and recently became board-certified as a clinical lipidologist (a branch of cardiology that specializes in cholesterol). Because of his medical background and his military experience — “I love the military, military operations, military history,” he said — Hardman has been closely following the Navy's investigation into Mullen's death.

What he heard in the podcast dismayed him.

“More than a million viewers were fed a story that did not correspond to reality,” said Hardman.

“Destroy the reputation of a dead man”: Manalapan mother fears blame for Navy SEALs' deaths will be shifted

That account comes from Captain Bradley Geary, the commanding officer in charge of Mullen's SEAL training. Geary is one of two officers the Navy has accused of dereliction of duty in connection with Mullen's death. Mullen was a 24-year-old former Manalapan High School football star who died hours after completing the notoriously tough “Hell Week” portion of SEAL training because, according to multiple autopsies, he died of untreated pneumonia.

In the podcast, Geary expressed doubts about the autopsy results, sharply criticized the Navy's investigation into the incident, and denied his own guilt, attempting to blame Mullen's death on performance-enhancing drugs.

The incident prompted Hardman, who is also a former military and civilian attorney, to speak out. He contacted the Asbury Park Press and also published an extensive essay on the subject on The Ice Man, a website that covers Navy special warfare.

“Kyle Mullen deserves a voice in the discussion surrounding his death,” Hardman told the press. “His commanding officer's appearance on Shawn Ryan's show misled over a million viewers about Kyle's cause of death and the medical structure that failed him. The investigation is thorough and absolutely heartbreaking. The U.S. Navy deserves credit for its investigation but cannot comment publicly. Given my background in law, medicine and bioethics, I asked myself, 'If not me, who?'”

“I have to go to the hospital”: Former SEAL candidate describes his own hellish week after his death

“No adult in the room”

Hardman studied the autopsy results and a 296-page Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) report on the tragedy. The report was based on interviews with SEAL candidates who witnessed Mullen's death. It concluded that while Mullen vomited enough bloody fluid to fill a 100-ml water bottle, he was short of breath, unable to walk, and “delirious and disoriented.” However, SEAL medical personnel did not treat Mullen. The personnel went home early that day and did not return despite frantic calls from the other candidates.

A full copy of the report can be found at the end of this story.

“Kyle died in front of their eyes, but they followed instructions not to seek outside medical help,” Hardman told the press.

“There was no adult in the room providing medical supervision during Hell Week,” he added. “There were no licensed health care providers staffing or directing the medical section (of SEAL training). Unlicensed personnel repeatedly diagnosed Kyle with hypoxia and respiratory distress. They diagnosed his pulmonary edema, treated him with oxygen at 12 to 15 liters per minute for over an hour, and stopped therapy without telling anyone. This is not normal. This is not how American medicine normally works.”

In his piece for The Ice Man, which was intended as an apology to Mullen, Hardman wrote: “As a former Navy doctor, I am convinced that you should not have died, regardless of cardiomegaly (Mullen had an enlarged heart) or the credibility of allegations of steroid or other performance-enhancing drugs. You were denied medical care and the opportunity to live a full life.”

He added: “As a former Marine Corps prosecutor and defense attorney, I am neither shocked nor surprised by the public relations game Captain Brad Geary played on the Shawn Ryan Show. … No amount of legal hesitation or distraction can change the facts the Navy's investigation has uncovered.”

What feedback has he received since going public with this?

“The response has been overwhelmingly positive,” Hardman told the press. “Congressional staff, special forces and military leaders have reached out to express their thanks and support. As a former Marine officer, I understand that my job is to serve the soldiers. That's what I try to focus on.”

Prevent the next tragedy

In the two and a half years since Mullen's death, his mother, Regina Mullen, has fought for reform of medical care for SEAL candidates. U.S. Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., from whose district Mullen was from, authored a bill (titled “Kyle Mullen Naval Safety Enhancements”) to improve that care and tighten oversight. Hardman believes her efforts are bearing fruit, but concerns about the process remain.

“We need to take a hard look at how we structure and staff medical systems,” Hardman told the press. “That includes examining the role of a physician in medical and operational risk analysis. Commanders need physicians as leaders who understand medicine and can communicate medical risks in a way that protects soldiers and facilitates training. I worry when physicians delegate that responsibility to others.”

Hardman said medical personnel for the Navy's special operations forces are “selected based on the wrong qualities… with physical qualities being more important than medical expertise. More specialists in general medicine, internal medicine and emergency medicine are needed.”

It also bothers him that public advocacy for Kyle Mullen was left to his mother, who expressed her grief over Geary's portrayal of her son earlier this month.

“It is an absolutely heartbreaking tragedy that could have been prevented – and should have been prevented,” Hardman told the press. “We will learn lessons from this, but what I hope most of all is that Ms. Mullen finds peace.”

Jerry Carino is a community columnist for the Asbury Park Press, focusing on interesting people, inspiring stories and pressing issues of the Jersey Shore. Reach him at [email protected].

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