The father of a Navy SEAL candidate who committed suicide over his training during “Hell Week” is demanding changes to the training system over his heartbreaking loss.
The father of a Navy SEAL trainee who killed himself after going five days without sleep during the notoriously grueling ‘Hell Week’ has demanded changes in the elite regiment’s training program.
On April 5, Danny DelBianco dropped out of the program that he had dedicated much of his life to joining. Hours later, the 23-year-old stepped off the 22nd floor of the Mariott Hotel in San Diego.
Now his dad, Steve DelBianco, wants assurances that the Navy will do more to ensure that no other parent has to lose their child in this way, NBC reported.
Before his suicide, Danny had said of his Navy SEAL application: ‘My life won’t feel complete unless I do this. Every time I read about or see pictures of SEALs, I feel motivated. The experience will shape and define the rest of my life.’
It was a goal he had been striving towards for years, and he approached his training for Basic Underwater Demolition/SEALs training, or BUD/S, with excitement and determination.
But after making it through almost the whole first phase he found himself struggling through the notorious ‘Hell Week’, in which trainees are kept awake for days at a time while undergoing intense physical and mental exertion.
According to the Navy SEAL official website, on average 75 percent of trainees quit at this stage.
Danny was one of those who ‘rang the bell’ and dropped out. A manager at the Mariott who saw him just before he jumped said the young man was staring vacantly at the ceiling in a closed hotel bar.
Since his death, the Navy has admitted that he should never have been allowed off the base, depressed and sleep deprived, without supervision – and they say they made changes. But those changes may not go far enough.
Despite the changes, some say a mere 24-hour hold is not enough and the Navy needs to take better care of those who drop out amid confusion, depression and suicidal tendencies.
For those interested in finding out how to prepare themselves for what they might confront during Hell Week, here is a great advice video…