Is Water Boarding Really Torture?

I thought I would write a short comment on all the hype about water boarding. As I understand it, essentially water boarding features tying the victim to something and slowly pouring water over a cloth placed over the subjects head for a length of time. This supposedly gives the subject (victim) the sensation that they can not breathe and are in risk of drowning.

This procedure is supposedly used on subjects (suspects) who are reluctant to talk about what they know of terrorist plans to do harm (bring death and destruction) to
American people and property. We are told water boarding is bad. We are not told the value or amount of information intelligence agencies have gained by the use of this method of "torture".

I am a US Navy veteran. In Navy boot camp I was sent into two very scary places where breathing was difficult if not almost impossible. We were sent as a group into a room and tear gas was released. When we felt we were going to die, we were allowed to put on gas masks. We were also sent into a building which was then set on fire and we had to extinguish the flames in order to breathe.

After boot camp some of us were trained in the aviation branch. A part of that training was to be strapped into a Dilbert Dunker. Which was a mock up of an aircraft cockpit which would very quickly be dumped upside down in a pool of water. We had to unstrap, figure out which way was up, and swim to the surface. I think I would opt to lay on a board and have water poured over my face were I given the choice.

Thought: Could I sue the US Navy for supposedly torturing me? Heck, maybe we could get up a class action suit.
Mac