I Was on the Waterboard

Self | 12/11/2007 | Mariner

[Mariner]

Hey, dipshit. I did 10 years in the US Navy.

[Mariner]

No, I cannot remember the year or month.

It's not even on my DD214...only that I "graduated".

[Mariner]

"You didn’t fess up as to whether you “talked” or even worse... squawked like a chicken? :)"

I was never asked a single question. All the questions were asked of a young 1st LT as they took me through a slow, controlled drowning.

If course I was far more eager to answer than he was:)

[avacado]

Would you explain exactly what happens when waterboarded? Is cloth or plastic put over the entire face, just the mouth, or nose? Does water go up the nose? Does water go into the mouth?

Thanks.

[Mariner]

I was strapped to a board about the size of a stretcher...possibly plywood. Straps at my ankles, knees, waist, chest and arms.

A large beach towel was folded over 3-4 times and soaked in a bucket of water. Then, someone at my head held the towel over my face, pinned at each ear, while another poured water from a hose onto the towel.

I was never asked a question. All of the questions were asked of a LT1.

They would take you JUST to the point of passing out, then let you have air. There's always a doctor present.

[Minutemen]

constant blaring of rock music

Make that: constant blaring of RAP "MUSIC"

[avacado]

Thanks for the reply. So your mouth and nose were completely covered by the towel and no water was flowing into the nose or mouth?

[ArrogantBustard]

They would take you JUST to the point of passing out, then let you have air. There's always a doctor present.

Just curious ... what would happen if they didn't "let you have air"?

[numberonepal]

Just curious ... what would happen if they didn't "let you have air"?

You would pass out or cough uncontrollably. I've never been waterboarded, but I did drown. It was most unpleasant.

[ArrogantBustard]

You would pass out or cough uncontrollably

Passing out would seem to be a physiological reaction to hypoxia. Is the coughing a reaction to hypoxia or to a perceived obstruction (water) in the airway? Would either passing out, or uncontrollably coughing relieve the situation?

[smoothsailing]

LOL! OK, glad you cleared that up.

[numberonepal]

Would either passing out, or uncontrollably coughing relieve the situation?

The first time I sucked water into my lungs I coughed uncontrollably for what seemed like hours. Much like sucking water "down the wrong pipe" while drinking except on a much larger scale. On another occasion I passed out, probably from hypoxia. It was most definitely different than, say, getting knocked out.

Before y'all ask, this all happened in exactly the spot doing exactly the same thing. I was a dumb and cocky and show-off kid free-diving waaaaay too deep in some fairly dangerous currents.

Drowning is a lot less painful than coughing Jaggermiester through your nose.

[rightwingextremist1776]

Count me in on a grad of water boarding....been there, done that and yes...I have a T shirt to prove it.......

[rightwingextremist1776]

Count me in on a grad of water boarding....been there, done that and yes...I have a T shirt to prove it.......

[Marine_Uncle]

"...I honestly do not give a damn what happens to him!"
I am sure many of us maintain this sentiment.

[getmeouttaPalmBeachCounty_FL]

I laugh about him being so tight-lipped because my other options don’t help either of us. And over the years, I’ve come to accept that this character trait of integrity is what drew me to him in the first place. The fact that he won’t divulge things he shouldn’t has nothing to do with me; it has to do with him, and being a man of his word.

[Androcles]

They cut the heads off of our soldiers and booby-trapped their bodies, for crying out loud!

I would prefer they had waterboarded our soldiers.

As would most. However that doesn't make it the best course - after all, it would probably be better that one of our soldiers was tortured and mutilated rather than beheaded. Does that mean we should accept either outcome as reasonable? No.

When facing two bad options, the fact that one is worse does not automatically make the other one good.

[foreign3r]

In 1975, I was water-boarded three times at the SERE school in Warner Springs. Before and after, I knew it was just training, but at the moment that your gag reflex proves insufficient, your mind breaks. You realize the hard and cold truth: something has gone terribly wrong, you are actually drowning, dieing, and as much as you try to scream or wrestle, you’re helpless, unable to communicate, and you know you’re dieing. You learn then that panic is much different than fear.

They stop in a minute or two or three, and I’ve heard of SEALs getting it for an hour.

In the coming weeks, I was shy to put my face in water, in a shower, or on a pillow. But I got over it.

I was also slapped around, pushed around, boxed up, made to freeze naked, standing arms outstretched in the desert night while my interrogators hosed me down with water. The senior man in front of me shook so much from the cold, it looked like his limbs might break off his body.

When the music played and the US flag appeared, tears welled up in my eyes, like probably most of the 53 of us.

I’ve heard that the AF Academy didn’t keep their instructors in line and professional. That’s a shame. The trainers and the curriculum must always be evaluated for relevence.

There was, for me, one and only one lasting psychological effect: I am much more confident in my capacity to regain my composure after any ordeal.

To this day, I feel I was well-trained by professionals, and I thank the boatswains and quartermasters who embarrassed and humiliated me in a controlled environment, allowing me to grow as a person.

[Beckwith]

Good screen name.