'They die before they quit': Former Navy SEAL Rep. Ryan Zinke DEFENDS Hell Week boot camp that claimed the life of recruit Kyle Mullen - as vets say commander who oversaw his training is being used as a 'scapegoat'

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Navy SEAL veterans have defended the brutality of 'Hell Week' after a scathing report found candidates were being pushed too hard the year recruit Kyle Mullen died.

Ryan Zinke, a former SEAL commander who is now a GOP Congressman for Montana, said the grueling test had to reflect the rigors of a warzone to adequately prepare recruits for battle. 

Carl Higbie, another former SEAL who now hosts a show on Newsmax, said the captain who was in charge of the 2022 boot camp which claimed Mullen's life was being used as a scapegoat.

Mullen collapsed and died of acute pneumonia on February 4, 2022 just hours after completing the rigorous five-and-a-half day test that includes 20 hours of physical training per day.

Naval Education and Training Command concluded in a nearly 200-page report last month that he died 'in the line of duty, not due to his own misconduct.'

Kyle Mullen, a 24-year-old from Manalapan, New Jersey, died during the intensive Navy SEALs program Hell Week in February 2022

Rep. Ryan Zinke (pictured), a former SEAL commander and GOP Congressman for Montana, said 'Hell Week' has to reflect the rigors of a warzone to adequately prepare recruits for battle

Former Navy Seal and TV anchor Carl Higbie (pictured) said the captain who was in charge of the 2022 boot camp which claimed Mullen's life was being used as a scapegoat

Brad Geary, commanding officer of Naval Special Warfare´s Basic Training, was accused of pushing candidates too hard and is among at least 10 military personnel who could now face prosecution.

Mullen's mother, Regina, said the captain was a 'murderer' and is responsible for her son's death and the three others who were injured during Hell Week.

Rep. Zinke was a Navy SEAL from 1986 until 2008 before retiring with the rank of commander to become the first SEAL to be elected to the U.S. House of representatives. 

Zinke said he is praying for the Mullen family, but that is death was simply an unfortunate tragedy. 

'And there's a long list of them,' he said, 'But I have full confidence that the commander was running with protocol, I have full confidence in SEAL instructors and full confidence in SEAL training.' 

'SEALs are never going to quit,' he added about the mentality of the candidates entering Hell Week. 

'Training must reflect their mission ... They have to become experts,' he added. 'And the most difficult task is executing the mission, not 'Hell Week'. 

Zinke even argued that 'Hell Week' might not be tough enough these days.  

'Bootcamp has been watered down, but the mission has not,' he said. 'Training is tough but do I think it could be tougher? Yes.' 

Higbie, who became a SEAL in 2005 and served in Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom before hosting 'Carl Higbie Frontline' on Newsmax, said Geary was being used as a scapegoat.

'If this commander could have intervened to save his life, I guarantee he would have but by the time they know it was too late' he said.

Having personally experienced Hell Week and knowing people from the class of 2022, he said the intensity remains unchanged over the past six decades, including the tragic year Mullen lost his life.

'The type of people who go into it won't quit,' he said 'even when injured.' 

The problem, he said, is anyone who admits to being injured risks being dropped from the program, so often they will conceal their injury in order to continue training.

'90 percent will say they will die before they quit,' he said. 'They'll tell the medical directors they're fine.' 

While expressing deep sympathy for Kyle's mother, Higbie said it's critical to maintain the rigor of Hell Week given the alarming fact 77 percent of American youth are currently ineligible for military service due to weight and fitness issues. 

'People have died in training before but they also do in college sports,' he said, explaining the accepted risk of becoming a seal. 

'It’s the hardest military training in the world. The job of the commander is to send out war ready SEALs ... that's the danger of dumbing down training.'

Mullen, a conference championship with Monmouth University in 2019, collapsed and died of acute pneumonia on February 4, 2022 just hours after completing the rigorous five-and-a-half day test that includes 20 hours of physical training per day

Several trainees have died throughout the years during the pool exercise (pictured), including Derek Lovelace in 2016, who died after becoming unconscious 

Only a quarter of SEAL applicants will make it through 'Hell Week,' considered the most difficult military training in the country

A study from the pentagon released last year said most Americans ages 17 to 24 years old are unfit for military service. 

The number is steadily increasing from 2017's already-troubling ineligibility rate of 71 percent, leaving a dwindling pool of those eligible to protect the country. 

'Hell Week', considered the toughest training in the U.S. Military, spans five-and-a-half days of relentless physical and mental strain, coupled with sleep deprivation. 

The unit's website outlines the various aspects tested during Hell Week, including physical endurance, mental fortitude, pain and cold tolerance, teamwork, and attitude. 

A mere 25 percent of SEAL candidates typically survive this brutal phase, according to the SEAL website. 

The SEALs who make it through Hell Week are rarely the largest or strongest men, nor the fastest swimmers, but those with 'burning desire to be SEALs', research shows. 

The Naval Education and Training Command report, however, cited an increase in the intensity of the training that produced an especially high dropout rate, a trend which Capt. Geary, allegedly blamed on the current generation's lack of mental toughness. 

The dropout rate reportedly rose to 50 percent since Capt. Geary took over the training and civilian observers complained that the SEAL instructors seemed more interested in weeding out weak performers than in training them. 

Mullen played football at Yale University before transferring to Monmouth University in New Jersey

Navy Captain Brad Geary has spoken out after a scathing report by the Navy suggested that under his brutal leadership candidates were pushed too hard

Regina Mullen, the mother SEAL candidate Kyle Mullen, called Geary a murderer over her son's death

The Navy report detailed how 'a near perfect storm' of circumstances at the Basic Underwater Demolition SEAL course, referred to as BUD/S, resulted in injury to a number of candidates and the death of Mullen. 

The training program was found to be plagued by widespread failures in medical care, poor oversight and the use of performance-enhancing drugs that have increased the risk of injury and death to those seeking to become elite commandos.

Three Navy officers received administrative 'non-punitive' letters as a result of Mullen's death including Capt. Geary, Navy Capt. Brian Drechsler, who was commander of the Naval Special Warfare Center before being pulled out of the job this month and an unnamed senior medical officer. 

Zinke raised concerns about the use of performance-enhancing supplements, suggesting that SEAL candidates should be tested as they can be used to mask serious symptoms. 

While the investigation into Mullen's death found no evidence of performance-enhancing drugs, they did not test for some steroids because the blood and urine samples required were not available, and multiple vials of drugs and syringes were later found in his car. 

 Ryan Zinke (right) and Carl Higbie (left) have both defended 'Hell Week' after the death of recruit Mullen

Capt. Geary on Tuesday said the death of Mullen was a 'tragedy' but that was about the only part of the report he agreed with.

'That entire report mischaracterizes, misrepresents and misquotes our organization and Naval special warfare,' Geary said to Stephanie Ramos on ABC News 'Good Morning America' Tuesday.

'Because it was built off of a bias that was inappropriate and regurgitated untruths that simply didn't exist.' 

When asked if he felt any way responsible for Mullen's death, Geary said: 'there's a weight on the shoulders of every commanding officer that has served and I don't think that weight can be reduced down to one responsibility.' 

'I will always carry the weight of Kyle's death on my shoulders.'

'Because it was built off of a bias that was inappropriate and regurgitated untruths that simply didn't exist.' 

When asked if he felt any way responsible for Mullen's death, Geary said: 'there's a weight on the shoulders of every commanding officer that has served and I don't think that weight can be reduced down to one responsibility.' 

'I will always carry the weight of Kyle's death on my shoulders.'

Rep. Zinke emphasized the importance of intense SEAL training and said the most difficult task is executing the mission, not 'Hell Week'

Zinke was a Navy SEAL from 1986 until 2008 and expressed his full confidence in the commander, seal training, and the Navy SEAL instructors

Geary said his only responsibility is to speak truth to make sure such a tragedy never occurs again.

'Is there anyone you do feel responsible for his death?' Ramos asked.

'No,' Geary replied. 'His death was a tragedy, and this is one thing I agree with the report on.'

Regina Mullen previously expressed frustration with what she said was a lack of accountability for her son's death.

'The Navy SEAL code item four says take responsibility for your actions and the actions of your teammates,' she said.

'He's the commander, the commander's supposed to command. Four people almost died that day. My son, unfortunately, died. He's responsible. I don't know how he could say he's not.'