Id say what you witnessed was going overboard on the part of the instructors. Might have even called for some disciplinary action. But times were different back then. Real POWs who had returned from Korea or Vietnam were training newbies on the realities they would face if captured by certain elements that had no respect or intent to follow rules of war or Geneva conventions. Even back then, waterboarding would have been mild compared to real torture.
You don’t consider that event real torture?
You don’t consider that event real torture?
They didn’t even ask him any questions.
They asked a “confessed” Naval Pilot the questions. And made him watch the waterboarding.
The guy on the board would have gladly told them anything. Eventually even the pilot relented when the guy went limp.
I served in the same squadron with the guy.
He was a heavy drinker then.
I reconnected with him many years later and we began visiting.
He’s been married 3 times. Fired 3 times. Estranged from his family. Had guns everywhere. Still drinking heavily and started, sometime, using drugs.
Said it was the only way he could sleep.
His wife called me once, she was apoplectic. He came home from work one day (Clinton era) and started loading his guns, had them all laid out on the floor of the living room. When she asked him what he was doing, he told her “they” were going to confiscate everyone’s guns and that they were3 not going to take him alive.
I drove over and convinced him to go to VA. They rejected him as he was not in the system.
Luckily he had good insurance at the time and went to a civilian psych.
There he was diagnosed with PTSD...and the psych was ALSO a VA contract specialist. Filled out his forms.
He’s 50% VA disabled for PTSD, and for decades he didn’t know what was wrong.
He’s sober now and back with the wife that called me. He appears to be much better, but he did what the VA psychs told him to do, went to all the group sessions etc.
And he still triple checks all the doors and windows every night. Keeps a gun in every room.
And privately tells me he’ll never be taken alive. He will not be in a situation where somebody else has physical control of him.
https://openjurist.org/title-18/us-code/section-2340/definitions