First of all, I would like to know your answer as to where you got the prolonged part from. Other than that: > they are fine Do you really think that feeling close to actually drowning **repeatedly** does not cause mental agony? And my answer to your question: Yes, they are. They need to be trained to survive in real live combat, which could, unfortunately, also contain torture once captured. The thing is, SERE camp and the real world are very different. In SERE camp, the attendees always know that this isn't real, it's just training. It's the psychological difference between real fear and fake induced tension. In SERE camp, you have orders. Beforehand, you get your documents that tell you when you are flying in and after how many days exactly you are flying home. **You aren't actually being held by people you believe hate you and are never ever going to let you leave or see the light of day again.** That's an enormous psychological advantage.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qUkj9pjx3H0 >torture is when the body experiences prolonged pain (mental or physical) after the completion of the tortue Where do you get that part from? Going by [the definition of torture by Merriam-Webster] (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/torture), torture means: >1. the infliction of intense pain (as from burning, crushing, or wounding) to punish, coerce, or afford sadistic pleasure >2. something that causes agony or pain / anguish of body or mind >3. distortion or overrefinement of a meaning or an argument Similarly: [dictionary.com](http://www.dictionary.com/browse/torture), [Cambridge Dictionary](http://dictionary.cambridge.org/de/worterbuch/englisch/torture), [UN definition](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1505073/How-the-law-and-UN-define-torture.html), and more. # Also: [U.S. Code of Laws §2340](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/2340): >(1) “torture” means an act committed by a person acting under the color of law specifically intended to inflict severe physical or mental pain or suffering (other than pain or suffering incidental to lawful sanctions) upon another person within his custody or physical control; Nowhere does it say anything about the prolonged part.