A Navy instructor initially implicated in the May 2016 drowning of a SEAL trainee will not face criminal charges, the Navy said Tuesday.

The head of Naval Special Warfare Basic Training Command, Cmdr. Liam Hulin, determined that no crime had occurred after reviewing the Naval Criminal Investigation Services inquiry into the case. ABC News was first to report on the developments.

The trainee, Seaman James “Derek” Lovelace, died May 6, 2016, during “Combat Swimmer Orientation.” The grueling water exercises are conducted during the first week of Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL training, known as BUD/S, in Coronado, Calif. The nearly year-long school is the first part of a pipeline of courses that turn sailors into fully trained Navy SEALs. The course is known for its high attrition rate and a seven-day period called “Hell Week.”

“Our thoughts and prayers remain with the Lovelace family,” Hulin said in a statement released by the Naval Special Warfare Basic Training Command. “No loss of life in training is an acceptable loss.”

 

Read the whole story from The Washington Post.

Featured image courtesy of U.S. Navy