SEAL Training #21: Hyping Out

As we came out of more surf torture in the cold Pacific Ocean, something unexpected happened. We stood together shivering on the beach—all of us except Petty Officer Lee, the Army Ranger Grenada veteran. He stood away from the rest of us, not shivering, staring off into space. We call it “hyping out,” Stage 3 hypothermia. Stage 1 is mild to strong shivering with numbness in the hands—most people have experienced this level of hypothermia. Stage 2 is violent shivering with mild confusion and stumbling. In Stage 3, Lee’s stage, the core body temperature drops below 90 degrees, shivering stops, and a person becomes a babbling, bumbling idiot. There is no Stage 4, only death.

Lee had hyped out during the first half of Hell Week with a senior class before rolling back to our class.

An instructor yelled, “Lee, get in formation!”

Instead of getting in formation, Lee staggered back toward the ocean. A SEAL instructor speedily cut him off before reaching the water. He led Lee to the green ambulance. Some of us started to follow Lee to help him, but another instructor barked, “Stay in formation!”

The ambulance sped away with Petty Officer Lee, taking him to Medical. The vehicle’s lights flashed and siren blared...