This school evidently hails from Boulder, CO. Right around the corner from me. I wouldn't normally associate these tough Rambo style instructors people have been talking about with Boulder. Rather, I'd expect the Boulder style to encompass things like chanting whilst throwing dandelions in the air during adverse conditions.

When I first read this story in the local paper a few days ago I was thinking it was so one-sided in presentation that there had to be more to the story than was being told. Something that would in some way support the BOSS position. But as time goes on and I read other's comments in this thread, I have to agree ... those BOSS guys must be total nimrods. Training - and that is what this course was - should entail practice and learning for "the real thing" later on, should it ever happen to you. There might be some discomfort during the course. However, it seems like they artificially made the training worse than the real thing, with a terrible outcome. Who in their right mind, while trying to survive in a desert, would NOT try to carry as much water as they could should they find some? If I were lost in a desert and stumbled across a water supply, I think I'd just park my butt right there and concentrate most further efforts on attracting attention to myself. Hopefully they'd find me sitting there, cup full of water in my hand, thanking them for the rescue. Hiking onward and abandoning what might well be your top priority for desert survival is some pretty poor "training" IMHO.