Naval Special Warfare sailor tests positive for COVID-19, SEAL training at BUD/S suspended

Naval Special Warfare Center at Naval Base Coronado suspended training for some Navy SEAL and SWCC classes due to the risk coronavirus poses to trainees in “extremely strenuous, high-risk training,” according to a statement late Thursday from a Naval Special Warfare Command spokeswoman.

The training Navy SEALs endure to earn their coveted gold insignia, or “Tridents,” involves long periods without sleep and strenuous exercise along the Silver Strand and in the cold water of the Pacific Ocean. As a result, according to Navy Capt. Tamara Lawrence, a Naval Special Warfare spokeswoman, trainees experience a “high prevalence” of symptoms similar to COVID-19.

“It is not uncommon for BUD/S (Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL) students to experience various health issues, especially during evolutions where their physical and mental limits are tested,” Lawrence said in an email. “Due to the high prevalence of respiratory symptoms in BUD/S classes, almost every student would be pulled from training due to symptoms similar to COVID-19.”

Lawrence said training has been paused for three of 11 training cohorts in the training pipeline.

“The decision to pause training will reduce risk to students immunocompromised during high risk training such as Hell Week, which could cause more severe outcomes in candidates who might contract COVID-19,” Lawrence said.

Training stopped March 16 and is paused for the next eight weeks, the statement says.

Lawrence said the pause in training will not affect the school’s production of new SEAL and SWCC sailors or the special operations mission of the command.

Naval Special Warfare sailor tests positive for COVID-19

NSW also announced that one of its sailors — a petty officer 2nd class — tested positive for COVID-19 in Washington state. The sailor was training at Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor and tested positive Thursday, according to a Navy statement late Thursday.

Lt. Matthew Stroup, a Naval Special Warfare spokesman, declined to say whether the sailor is a Navy SEAL.

As in similar cases across the military, the sailor is isolated and restricted in movement in accordance with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines, the Navy said in a statement.