Posted by
Ray on Wednesday, December 12, 2007 4:00:34 PM
The debate about water boarding terrorist has gotten ridiculas. As a Naval aviator I attended Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape (SERE) school in California in 1981. SERE school was created to provide a “taste” of what we might experience if shot down in combat. Part of the “education” included being captured and placed in a POW environment for a few days. During that time we were roughed up, sleep deprived abused mentally, and many of us given the water boarding experience. I had been a swimmer for years and didn’t believe it was as bad as rumored, but after 26 years, I still remember it vividly. Was it torture? Maybe, maybe not. However, I do not regret it or hold any heartburn against the Navy for doing it because I know that if captured by ANY foreign forces, their treatment would have been much worse; and the “taste” of it provided me with an idea of my limits. If this is the most we have done to people that are trying to kill us or blow up our cities to gain information, we are sitting ducks. I would do much more to protect my family and expect our government to use the most effective means to do the same for our country.
Ray Ivie
CAPT, USN (ret)
Heath, TX