Originally Posted by Howitzer

Anyone that has been through SERE had a chance to go through water boarding, it can be the longest 5-10 seconds of your life, people trained to resist water boarding can make it 30 seconds, which used to be a requirement from what I gather this is not longer a requirement. With that said almost all SF personal Air Force pilots and some Soldiers go through the SERE training and go through all of the allowed interrogation techniques so why should it be illegal to put people through the same punishment we subject our own soldiers to?

. Water Boarding: The prisoner is bound to an inclined board, feet raised and head slightly below the feet. Cellophane is wrapped over the prisoner's face and water is poured over him. Unavoidably, the gag reflex kicks in and a terrifying fear of drowning leads to almost instant pleas to bring the treatment to a halt.
According to the sources, CIA officers who subjected themselves to the water boarding technique lasted an average of 14 seconds before caving in. They said al Qaeda's toughest prisoner, Khalid Sheik Mohammed, won the admiration of interrogators when he was able to last between two and two-and-a-half minutes before begging to confess.
"The person believes they are being killed, and as such, it really amounts to a mock execution, which is illegal under international law," said John Sifton of Human Rights Watch.