Last year, while Coronado’s beaches were largely closed due to the ongoing Tijuana sewage crisis, the U.S. Navy SEALs kept training.
Leaders say they will develop protocol for relocating, rescheduling, or canceling trainings when bacteria exceeds state safety standards. The change will be implemented no later than Dec. 31, said Rear Adm. Milton J. Sands III, commander of Naval Special Warfare (NSW) Command.
The move came in response to a Department of Defense Inspector General report that recommended water trainings be relocated, rescheduled or canceled when bacteria levels are elevated.
The report found that, between February and September 2024, the water surrounding Naval Amphibious Base Coronado was deemed unsafe about 75 percent of the time.
However, only 5 percent of water trainings during that same period were relocated. Outside the gates, beaches both north and south of the base were closed.
This period included the SEALs’ infamous Hell Week training in Sept. 2024, which was not one of the relocated trainings. Hell Week is a part of at the Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (Sea Air Land) (BUD/S) training course for SEAL candidates. It’s notoriously grueling, and came under scrutiny after a SEAL candidate died during the training in 2022.
The report also recommends developing policy that clarifies the protocol for monitoring water quality and creates notification procedures for the NSW command when water is contaminated. The Navy uses San Diego County’s water test results.
“Our Sailors’ safety during SEAL candidate training and after graduation is paramount,” Vice Adm. J.V. Fuller, Naval Inspector General, wrote in his response to the report.
But, he said, relocation is a logistical hurdle.
“Naval Special Warfare (NSW) will have a challenge canceling or relocating 75 percent of their water training activities,” he wrote. “Practically speaking, NSW operators would require systems or protocols that would allow them to both train and operate while managing preventable risk.”
He suggested that conducting trainings on the San Diego Bay side of Coronado, rather than the NAB beaches, to mitigate exposure.
The NSW will establish a working group of experts in the fields of epidemiology, preventable medicine, and infectious disease to inform protocol.
The DOD IG report also recommends developing policy for monitoring water quality and determining when trainings must be adjusted. The Navy uses San Diego County’s water quality tests to gauge water safety, and the advisory suggested creating notification procedures for the NSW command when water is contaminated.
Between January 2019 and May 2023, NSW diagnosed 1,168 cases of acute gastrointestinal illness (such as nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea) among Navy SEAL and Special Warfare Combat Crewman candidates at NAB, the DOD IG report says.
Of those cases, 39 percent occurred within seven days of exposure to contaminated water, the report finds. It also notes that the Navy’s instruction on diving in contaminated water cautions that the effects can take years to present.
The NSW Command agreed with these suggestions, so the matter is considered resolved but still open. The DOD IG will close the case once a procedure for monitoring water quality is in place.
Leaders say the new procedure will be implemented by the end of the year.
