美国国家公共电台 NPR--Navy SEALS amend their grueling training regimen after a recruit's death

Navy SEALS amend¹ their grueling training regimen after a recruit's death

Transcript²

After a recruit died earlier this year, Navy SEALs have modified their notoriously grueling basic training. But some families worry the changes don't go far enough.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

U.S. Navy SEALs, the elites³ of the elite⁴, have modified their notoriously grueling basic training. They did that after a recruit died earlier this year. But some families worry the changes don't go far enough. Here's Steve Walsh in San Diego.

STEVE WALSH, BYLINE⁵: Five days of little sleep and almost constant exertion⁶ is seen as a central part of what makes a SEAL. Here's how one anonymous⁷ retired⁸ SEAL put it in the official U.S. Navy SEAL podcast.

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UNIDENTIFIED NAVY SEAL: Hell week is our primary filter to truly test the resiliency, will, determination for a young man to become a SEAL.

WALSH: In February, 24-year-old SEAL candidate Kyle Mullen died of pneumonia⁹ just after finishing the punishing hell week, part of basic underwater demolition¹⁰ SEAL - or BUD/S. It's basic training for SEALs. His mother, Regina Mullen, says she's gone through her own hell since his death as she tries to get answers.

REGINA MULLEN: Before he left, I said, if something happens to you, how am I going to live my life? He said, Mom, you're the strongest person I know. You'll be fine. I said, no, I won't.

WALSH: Mullen had been left in the barracks under the supervision¹¹ of other recruits, coughing up blood and sputum. Mullen FaceTimed his mother, who is a nurse. A few hours later, he was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital after paramedics tried to revive him. A recent Navy report says Mullen was not tested for pneumonia even when his symptoms became severe.

MULLEN: And when I asked them - why wasn't he sent to medical? - they don't really give you an answer. They'll say, well, he didn't want to go. I'm like, OK, so how could someone not sleep for five days, on low oxygen, off in mental status even know how sick they are? That's what the medical team is for. Does he know how bad he is?

WALSH: Group Strep A, the type of pneumonia that killed Mullen, is well-known in military circles. There have been numerous outbreaks over the years, mostly at basic training. Several Marines from nearby Camp Pendleton were hospitalized during a 2019 outbreak. Paul Graf is a microbiologist with Navy medicine in San Diego.

PAUL GRAF: It's spread by respiratory droplets¹². People who are living in close proximity¹³ - when you talk about military recruits all living in the same room and breathing on each other.

WALSH: In a small number of people, including those under stress, it can turn into a potentially deadly form of pneumonia. Regular Navy boot camp inoculates¹⁴ its recruits with antibiotics¹⁵ that prevent the spread. That protection wouldn't have helped Mullen by the time he got to BUD/S, Graf says.

GRAF: Anyone who had gotten that in boot camp, it's worn off by them. So it's not a vaccine¹⁶ that lasts either for your lifetime or it lasts for years and years and years.

WALSH: SEALs only started inoculating¹⁷ its recruits during BUD/S after Mullen's death. They're making other changes, including more detailed¹⁸ medical screenings before training. SEAL basic training has earned a grueling reputation, in part because of a notoriously high failure rate. Nearly 70% of enlisted¹⁹ SEALs fail, mostly by hell week. But Naval²⁰ Academy officers have an 89% success rate, mainly because they go through years of training and evaluation²¹ before they arrive. Former Navy SEAL Officer Jeff Butler.

JEFF BUTLER: I absolutely think they want to make the enlisted pipeline²² more professionalized and better at preparing those guys. Yes, I think that's been a goal for a long time.

WALSH: The secretiveness of the community makes it hard to get answers. Nadia Vetter's husband, Robert, died at BUD/S in 2004. It took her a decade before his former classmates revealed Vetter collapsed²³ during a forced run after he fell behind.

NADIA VETTER: I know that he wasn't going to give up. And he just kept pushing and pushing, and which is just crazy. But can't believe it's still affecting me this long.

WALSH: To regain²⁴ the trust of families who have lost loved ones in training, Vetter says the Navy should create a more independent process that takes death investigations²⁵ out of the hands of the Navy. Under the glare of the spotlight²⁶, the SEALs are also expected to look at the use of performance enhancing drugs among students.

For NPR News, I'm Steve Walsh in San Diego.

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1 amend   

vt.修改，修订，改进；n.[pl.]赔罪，赔偿

参考例句：

• The teacher advised him to amend his way of living.老师劝他改变生活方式。
• You must amend your pronunciation.你必须改正你的发音。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 elites   

精华( elite的名词复数 )； 精锐； 上层集团； （统称）掌权人物

参考例句：

• The elites are by their nature a factor contributing to underdevelopment. 这些上层人物天生是助长欠发达的因素。
• Elites always detest gifted and nimble outsiders. 社会名流对天赋聪明、多才多艺的局外人一向嫌恶。

4 elite   

n.精英阶层；实力集团；adj.杰出的，卓越的

参考例句：

• The power elite inside the government is controlling foreign policy.政府内部的一群握有实权的精英控制着对外政策。
• We have a political elite in this country.我们国家有一群政治精英。

5 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

6 exertion   

n.尽力，努力

参考例句：

• We were sweating profusely from the exertion of moving the furniture.我们搬动家具大费气力，累得大汗淋漓。
• She was hot and breathless from the exertion of cycling uphill.由于用力骑车爬坡，她浑身发热。

7 anonymous   

adj.无名的；匿名的；无特色的

参考例句：

• Sending anonymous letters is a cowardly act.寄匿名信是懦夫的行为。
• The author wishes to remain anonymous.作者希望姓名不公开。

8 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

9 pneumonia   

n.肺炎

参考例句：

• Cage was struck with pneumonia in her youth.凯奇年轻时得过肺炎。
• Pneumonia carried him off last week.肺炎上星期夺去了他的生命。

10 demolition   

n.破坏,毁坏,毁坏之遗迹

参考例句：

• The church has been threatened with demolition for years. 这座教堂多年来一直面临拆毀的威胁。
• The project required the total demolition of the old bridge. 该项目要求将老桥完全拆毁。

11 supervision   

n.监督，管理

参考例句：

• The work was done under my supervision.这项工作是在我的监督之下完成的。
• The old man's will was executed under the personal supervision of the lawyer.老人的遗嘱是在律师的亲自监督下执行的。

12 droplets   

n.小滴( droplet的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Droplets of sweat were welling up on his forehead. 他额头上冒出了滴滴汗珠。 来自辞典例句
• In constrast, exhaled smoke contains relatively large water droplets and appears white. 相反，从人嘴里呼出的烟则包含相当大的水滴，所以呈白色。 来自辞典例句

13 proximity   

n.接近，邻近

参考例句：

• Marriages in proximity of blood are forbidden by the law.法律规定禁止近亲结婚。
• Their house is in close proximity to ours.他们的房子很接近我们的。

14 inoculates   

n.给…做预防注射( inoculate的名词复数 )v.给…做预防注射( inoculate的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

15 antibiotics   

n.（用作复数）抗生素；（用作单数）抗生物质的研究；抗生素，抗菌素( antibiotic的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• the discovery of antibiotics in the 20th century 20世纪抗生素的发现
• The doctor gave me a prescription for antibiotics. 医生给我开了抗生素。

16 vaccine   

n.牛痘苗，疫苗；adj.牛痘的，疫苗的

参考例句：

• The polio vaccine has saved millions of lives.脊髓灰质炎疫苗挽救了数以百万计的生命。
• She takes a vaccine against influenza every fall.她每年秋季接种流感疫苗。

17 inoculating   

v.给…做预防注射( inoculate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He attempted to investigate bidirectional streaming by inoculating two dishes with R. oryzae. 他试图研究双向流动的问题，他把未根霉接种于两个培养皿。 来自辞典例句
• Doctors examined the recruits but nurses did the inocuLating. 医生们给新兵检查了身体，护士们给他们打了预防针。 来自互联网

18 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

19 enlisted   

adj.应募入伍的v.（使）入伍， （使）参军( enlist的过去式和过去分词 )；获得（帮助或支持）

参考例句：

• enlisted men and women 男兵和女兵
• He enlisted with the air force to fight against the enemy. 他应募加入空军对敌作战。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

20 naval   

adj.海军的，军舰的，船的

参考例句：

• He took part in a great naval battle.他参加了一次大海战。
• The harbour is an important naval base.该港是一个重要的海军基地。

21 evaluation   

n.估价，评价；赋值

参考例句：

• I attempted an honest evaluation of my own life.我试图如实地评价我自己的一生。
• The new scheme is still under evaluation.新方案还在评估阶段。

22 pipeline   

n.管道，管线

参考例句：

• The pipeline supplies Jordan with 15 per cent of its crude oil.该管道供给约旦15%的原油。
• A single pipeline serves all the houses with water.一条单管路给所有的房子供水。

23 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

24 regain   

vt.重新获得，收复，恢复

参考例句：

• He is making a bid to regain his World No.1 ranking.他正为重登世界排名第一位而努力。
• The government is desperate to regain credibility with the public.政府急于重新获取公众的信任。

25 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

26 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。