# Suicide mission training **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 12, 2014, 8:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suicide-mission-training/698271 "2014-09-12T08:47:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![MichaelEmouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/michaelemouse/32/101_2.png) [@MichaelEmouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MichaelEmouse)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2014, 8:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suicide-mission-training/698271/1 "2014-09-12T08:47:11Z")
Alright, the title sounds like a joke but it’s a serious question. If you want to be a smartass about it, just get it out of your system and move on. What are the different ways in which personnel sent on suicide/low survival probability missions are prepared? I am aware that there are variations. I am interested in any data about them. For example, did kamikaze pilots get more or less training than other pilots? If they got particular training, was it chiefly technical, psychological, religious? The Japanese, Chinese, North Koreans and Iranians have also used human wave tactics. Did those involve preparation of the personnel in some way, even if informally? The Tet offensive also involved assaults which the planners had to know were going to be pushed back with heavy casualties. E.g.: The assault on the US embassy in Saigon was a great strategic move but all the assaulters were bound to die. How about car or explosive vest bombers? How about gunmen sent to shoot up a place in such a way that the only realistic possibilities are dying or involuntary capture? Hostage takers who hole up with important hostages (e.g.: the 1980 Iranian embassy siege) have to know that they’re unlikely to come back. How are they trained? Any other type of mission along these lines which I’ve missed? I’d like to know every way that their personnel are prepared. I do not mean to only include traditional training like marksmanship and small unit tactics. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2014, 9:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suicide-mission-training/698271/2 "2014-09-12T09:47:37Z")
Jeff Dunham: [referring to the suicide bomber training camp] Is that a nice facility? Achmed the Dead Terrorist: It used to be. Jeff Dunham: What happened? Achmed the Dead Terrorist: New guy. The idiot tried to practice. Jeff Dunham: What did you guys learn from that? Achmed the Dead Terrorist: Location, location, location. On a more serious note, the whole reason the Japanese kamikaze pilots existed was because they were running out of trained pilots and decent planes and were getting desperate. The pilots were not as well trained as fighter pilots. Kamikaze pilots also were given a lot of spiritual, mental, and physical training so that they would be ready to die. It may seem odd to train someone who is about to die that they need to keep themselves in the best of health, but that was part of their training. The wikipedia article on Kamikaze goes into some detail about it: > **[Kamikaze | Training](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kamikaze#Training)** > > Tokkōtai pilot training, as described by Takeo Kasuga, generally "consisted of incredibly strenuous training, coupled with cruel and torturous corporal punishment as a daily routine". The training, in theory, lasted for thirty days, but because of American raids and shortage of fuel it could last up to two months. > Daikichi Irokawa, who trained at Tsuchiura Naval Air Base, recalled that he "was struck on the face so hard and frequently that \[his\] face was no longer recognizable". He also wrote: ... This article has a lot of info on suicide bombers. How Suicide Bombers Work > **[How Suicide Bombers Work](https://science.howstuffworks.com/suicide-bomber5.htm)** > > Suicide bombers use a unique form of terrorism in order to advance their message. Learn about suicide bombers. And one of these guys must be Achmed. Suicide Bomb Trainer in Iraq Accidentally Blows Up His Class > **[Suicide Bomb Trainer in Iraq Accidentally Blows Up His Class (Published 2014)](https://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/11/world/middleeast/suicide-bomb-instructor-accidentally-kills-iraqi-pupils.html?_r=0)** > > Twenty-two militants at a training session were killed after a commander mistakenly used an armed belt during a demonstration. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2014, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suicide-mission-training/698271/3 "2014-09-14T01:25:39Z")
Kamikaze pilots got very little flight training – at that time, Japan had a great shortage of aviation fuel. That was one of the reasons for the kamikaze program – it saved the fuel that would have been needed for the return flight. ---
**Author:** ![chacoguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/50afbb/32.png) [@chacoguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chacoguy)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2014, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suicide-mission-training/698271/4 "2014-09-14T01:53:01Z")
They could also skip practicing landings. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Joker\_and\_the\_Thief](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e79b87/32.png) [@The\_Joker\_and\_the\_Thief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Joker_and_the_Thief)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2014, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suicide-mission-training/698271/5 "2014-09-14T02:27:00Z")
The movie _Paradise Now_ deals with the preparation of a Palestinian suicide bomber. It’s fictional, but critically acclaimed and probably a better source than Achmed the dead terrorist. ---
**Author:** ![Artemis\_Tardis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4bbf92/32.png) [@Artemis\_Tardis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Artemis_Tardis)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2014, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suicide-mission-training/698271/6 "2014-09-14T02:40:02Z")
well, they promise you will get 72 virgins… Now, it is more of a cultural factor, for terrorists. They REALLY believe in their cause because that said cause is deeply tied with religion. And the concept of heaven with virgins. Or blind obedience / brain washing, with Kamikazes. It was an honour to be one - to fight for the country. You can see that on a series of comic books called Barefoot Gen (a MUST read, IMHO). It really shows how Japan worked in the end of WW2. They actually believed that the emperor was a demi-god. ---
**Author:** ![obbn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/d6d6ee/32.png) [@obbn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obbn)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2014, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suicide-mission-training/698271/7 "2014-09-14T06:00:12Z")
> [@Artemis\_Tardis](#): > > well, they promise you will get 72 virgins… > > Now, it is more of a cultural factor, for terrorists. They REALLY believe in their cause because that said cause is deeply tied with religion. And the concept of heaven with virgins. Or blind obedience / brain washing, with Kamikazes. It was an honour to be one - to fight for the country. You can see that on a series of comic books called Barefoot Gen (a MUST read, IMHO). It really shows how Japan worked in the end of WW2. They actually believed that the emperor was a demi-god. Did you ever see the cartoon with the suicide bomber in heaven? He is surrounded by his virgins and they are all pimple faced males sitting in front of computers. Hilarious! ---
**Author:** ![Accidental\_Martyr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ce7236/32.png) [@Accidental\_Martyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Accidental_Martyr)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2014, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suicide-mission-training/698271/8 "2014-09-15T07:59:45Z")
- I was a, was a kamikaze pilot They gave me a plane, I couldn’t fly it home Taught how to take off, I don’t know how to land They say it doesn’t matter and I just cannot understand I was a kamikaze pilot They gave me a plane, I couldn’t fly it home - “I Was a Kamikaze Pilot”-Hoodoo Gurus