Don;t try to turn it into something else. I went through SERE back in the 80's. The school has changed alot since then but the concept is the same. It's concept is to prepare service members for the event of possible capture behind enemy lines and to keep them alive in any event. The school works, and any downed aircrewman who has been shot down or had to ditch their aircraft and surveveved to this day will tell you that he is alive today because of what he learned in SERE. To discontinue the school decreases any chance of survival to aircrewmen that have to ditch their aircraft , whether it be in time of war or peace, and whether it be over hostile or neutral terrain or water. The schools design is to keep to service member alive until he or she can be extracted or rescued when help arrives

Survival training is one thing. What does that have to do with waterboarding? How does being locked in a box help you survive when your plane gets shot down?

Lid:

Survival training is one thing. What does that have to do with waterboarding? How does being locked in a box help you survive when your plane gets shot down?

Do you really want to know, or are you just trying to be sarcastic? The question has been answered in other posts. Along with the fact that waterboarding has not been used in the training that the other describes for a long long time. It helps you survive by realizing that it is far far better to survive and evade long enough to be recovered that it is to be captured and have to worry about being locked in a box. They teach that oftentimes, the hardest part of survival is fighting the thoughts in your mind that might convince you to give up or surrender.

In the 60s they'd just give you a hit of acid for the same effect.

any downed aircrewman who has been shot down or had to ditch their aircraft and surveveved to this day will tell you that he is alive today because of what he learned in SERE.

Name one.

It helps you survive by realizing that it is far far better to survive and evade long enough to be recovered that it is to be captured and have to worry about being locked in a box.

Wow, it must be some real rocket scientists we're recruiting as pilots and so forth today.

We have had SERE trained individuals captured in every major conflict from Vietnam to the present. Those who have been through it choose not to flaunt it.

Mmmmm:

any downed aircrewman who has been shot down or had to ditch their aircraft and surveveved to this day will tell you that he is alive today because of what he learned in SERE.

Name one.

Scott O'Grady?

"Mmmmm" must be the sound of the wind through your brain.

Since you're so experienced and knowledgeable - you had to ask for one person who has ever been shot down and survived? Really? Ever heard of Google? Wikipedia? History books? - and I'd like to hear your experience of being stranded behind enemy lines and surviving without any training or education whatsoever with only your amazing brain and willpower.

Someone named one pilot.

Name one experience. We're waiting.