The man who supervised waterboarding and then fought to ban it

Wars & Conflicts · Published 16 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Malcolm Nance spent decades in the shadows of naval cryptology and clandestine warfare. A former Navy specialist who personally oversaw the use of waterboarding as a training tool, he later became one of the most prominent voices demanding its end, arguing that such tactics dishonor American service members.

Between 1981 and 2001, Malcolm Nance worked for the United States Navy as a Senior Chief Petty Officer focused on naval cryptology. During his career, he was an instructor for Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape (SERE) training. In this role, he helped establish the Advanced Terrorism, Abduction and Hostage Survival course, where he personally supervised the waterboarding of hundreds of people to prepare Navy and Marine Corps pilots for potential capture. In 2007, Nance sparked a national controversy by publishing an article in the Small Wars Journal titled "Waterboarding is Torture... During his U.S. During his statement, he asserted, "I am aware that waterboarding constitutes torture—since I personally performed it." He maintained that Congress played a key role, claiming such techniques fail to produce trustworthy data and that using the tactics of previous adversaries tarnishes the country's dignity. His advocacy significantly influenced the Pentagon to move away from using the technique, citing concerns over global reputation and the legacy of those who died in captivity. Beyond his role as a critic of torture, Nance is a prolific analyst of asymmetric warfare and jihadist radicalization. He founded a New York-based think tank to study terrorist strategies and has authored numerous books on ISIS, al-Qaeda, and Russian cyber espionage. Most recently, in March 2022, he joined the Ukrainian Foreign Legion to fight against the Russian invasion, framing his service as a defense of democracy.

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