{"id":32885,"date":"2019-10-01T17:31:53","date_gmt":"2019-10-01T17:31:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2019\/10\/01\/how-a-bet-on-a-land-nav-question-left-a-seal-in-a-coma\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T19:23:10","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T19:23:10","slug":"how-a-bet-on-a-land-nav-question-left-a-seal-in-a-coma","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2019\/10\/01\/how-a-bet-on-a-land-nav-question-left-a-seal-in-a-coma\/","title":{"rendered":"How a bet on a land nav question left a SEAL student in a coma"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The slap that nearly killed<\/a> a prospective Navy SEAL happened at 10:09 a.m. on Oct. 12, 2017, in the Donnell Classroom inside California\u2019s Naval Amphibious Base Coronado<\/a>, 24 minutes after BUD\/S Class 326 students handed out maps and compasses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The instructor posted a land navigation problem on the board and students started figuring out an eight-digit grid solution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt is understood by the class that in response to map and compass questions, Class 326 will have the opportunity to challenge one another with penalties for less accurate answers,\u201d according to an internal probe into a serious incident that was obtained by Navy Times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Navy officials say \u201cchallenge bets\u201d among SEAL students keep class fun and foster a competitive camaraderie, particularly during the third phase of training, which Class 326 had just begun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 33-year-old instructor helming Donnell Classroom had gone beyond burpees, pushups and dousing students before chow, the investigation determined.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wrong answers to his questions led to students drinking \u201cdip spit,\u201d getting their heads shaved or forgoing food until they left for training in the Laguna Mountains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the \u201cgo-to bet\u201d in his classroom was a slap, a witness later told investigators.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI grew up with two brothers and we got into a lot worse situations than slapping each other,\u201d he said. \u201cI figured this was just a way to toughen us up.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A 19-year-old student challenged the classmate who sat in front of him to deliver the right answer. And the challenged student botched it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While other candidates continued their work, the pair strolled to the front of the classroom and mounted a stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The challenger stood a yard apart and cocked back an open palm. The other student put his hands behind his back, his left cheek awaiting the blow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was a good slap,\u201d the instructor later told investigators. \u201cI guess he caught him on the button.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was pretty hard slap, but there was no attempt to seriously hurt him,\u201d the challenger added. \u201cIt was two men standing up on stage just trying to get it over with.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The slapped student stumbled. The sound of his head smacking the tiles of the concrete stage echoed through the classroom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c(The student\u2019s) skull strikes the stage with enough force to make an audible noise, causing many students who were not paying attention to the scene to look up from their maps and compass work,\u201d the investigator wrote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The man who lost the bet began to bleed out of his ear.<\/p>\n\n\n\t