I recall reading that SERE trainees undergo waterboarding and maybe some other typical forms of torture. Well, so what’s the point? Do people running SERE believe that they came up with a way to train people to successfully lie/deceive while tortured by the enemy? If so, is there corroborating evidence for that? Or is the motivation more along the lines of preventing long term mental damage to soldiers who survived torture even if they fessed up?
Soldiers are not taught to lie under torture, they are taught to resist – i.e., don’t talk. Most of the “resist” element of SERE is classified, so I doubt there’s any official citation available, though there are many anecdotes. However, it should be pointed out that SERE training isn’t exactly about withholding information. The methods of torment studied and used are reportedly those experienced by prisoners in Korean, Chinese, and Vietnamese prison camps, where the goal was often to procure confessions for propaganda purposes. Again, the Code of Conduct specifies silence in the face of interrogation, not deceit.
Been there, done that. Not a lot of fun.
The best high level explanation I can give is that your own fears can be your worst enemy. Getting a taste of them under controlled conditions can help you get through the critical first encounter with prisoner-hood.
Also, it’s a fact that book learning doesn’t stick well under stress. Having an opportunity to practice what you’ve been taught helps it to stick when you need it.
All indications from prior conflicts are that the training is beneficial. Certainly not a panacea, but not useless either.
One of the lessons learned from Viet Nam was that USAF & USN had been teaching a different interpretation of the Code of Conduct as well as different coping strategies. That led to some friction between captured aircrew from the two services which was exploited by the NV.
I’m not up on current DoD practice, but in my day the various services still had separate schools but a common high level message. By and large the formal SERE-type training in the USAF & USN was limited to officers or enlisted aircrew. As best I knew then or have heard since, there wasn’t/isn’t formal schooling or experiential training for ordinary Army or USMC combat enlisted folks.
Some official info on topic http://www.fairchild.af.mil/library/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=3771
SERE is more along the lines of what LSLGuy says. I’ve also BTDT. Here is the motivation behind SERE: almost everyone (if not everyone) that’s been through it, and also been through some type of capture/imprisonment, is very glad they went through SERE.
I hated SERE, but also very glad I went through it.
The people that can best answer your question, OP, are the people that design and go through the course. And none of them will be discussing the particulars of the program beyond what LSLGuy linked to.